CT Old State House Women In History Interactive Kids Program
CT Old State House just announced their next Children’s Program. My girls are terribly upset that we have a schedule conflict for the upcoming Women In History (American Revolutionary War) because they had a blast at the two programs they participated in February.
Both program were so incredibly fun (and educational) that the girls told the organizers and me that they want to host an Eid Party there! The girls shared what Eid is, and I shared how Big of a compliment it is for OSH; because we go all out for our 3-4 day festivities (depending which Eid it is) with parties, carnivals, field trips, dinners, tons of gifts, and family visitations. Having attended a couple of less than exciting Eid parties or events in the past (none of which I organized, of course), my girls have high standards for good quality fun. 
And, yes, those three interested beauties listening politely on the flyer are our girls. The littlest one said, “Mama, I was taking tons of notes during that session on the scavenger hunt too!” 
Click here for the OSH Women In History Prg flyer
When: March 31, 2010 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Participants should arrive by 10 a.m. for the start of the activities.
Program Details: Participants meet Connecticut women who made a difference- like Revolutionary War publisher Hannah Watson and suffragette Frances Ellen Burr. Enjoy a variety of activities and crafts that will immerse kids in the past.
Cost: $5 per child (includes admission).
* Pre-registration is encouraged as there is limited space. Call 860-522-6766, ext. 11 to sign up today!
A True Confession from a New Homeschooling Mum
Hope Home Schooling is going on well. Let me make a confession to you:
I am enjoying every bit of homeschooling, including the preschooler’s “drama”, the Kindergartener’s whining and the first grader’s “all-of-a sudden” independence. Besides, I am learning a lot! I never took Geography in Nigeria, never!
I had the option of choosing Geography or English Literature. I chose the latter without qualms. And I enjoyed every bit of Literature.
But it is now, in my old age, that I am beginning to appreciate the beauty in Geography, through reading and activities in my first grader’s books. Subhanallaah.
Through educating my kids at home, I have discovered that I am also re-educating myself and gaining cultural competency about other countries in our world.
Last December, my kids and I attended a kids’ pre-exhibition on Timbuktu in Mali. The pre-exhibition took place at one of the ten public libraries in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was an eye opener not only for my kids but for me.
I knew from the on start that Mali is a Muslim country. But one thing I was ignorant about was the fact that Mali is one of the countries on earth that has a wealth of Islamic scholarship in terms of education and life enriching experiences. Besides their local languages, they also speak French, which is one of my favorite languages. Just in a day, my knowledge about Geography increased and my horizons were definitely expanded.
In life, there are challenges here and there. We cannot hide from there.
It is not the challenge that actually matters though. It is how we see it and tackle it that matters most.
Yes, homeschooling can pose its own challenges, upon the challenges of motherhood and parenthood. However, it can be very successful, refreshing, and enjoyable when it is not seen as a strenuous daily chore but as a privilege and gift that Allah has blessed us with.
What keeps me going is the flexibility in our home, the joy I see in my kids’ eyes, the ability for me and my hubby to do this homeschooling, and most importantly, the legacy my late parents laid down for me and my siblings. The legacy is nothing but education.
So, keep up the good work and stay refreshed.
Past articles by Maryam include:
Maryam Funmilayo is a homeschool mum of four (ages 7, 5, 2.5 years old and an 8 months old), pursuing a Master of Science degree in Nutrition. An accomplished freelance writer, Maryam particularly enjoys writing on-assignment because she loves the challenge of impressing her clients for repeat business. Please comment below to share your views on today’s post, or email her directly at mfunmilayo<at>yahoo.com
Washington Post – Muslim homeschooling population growing
Below is an interesting article that appeared in the Washington Post regarding Muslim homeschooling. As a mom (or dad), you always want what is best for your child, so that as they grow older they can make decisions of whether they wish to attend university or do a course found via eLearners (http://www.elearners.com/) or neither if they so wish. So, reading more about the growth of Muslims homeschooling may interest you greatly.
“Muslims turning to home schooling in increasing numbers” by Tara Bahrampour was published on Sunday’s Washington Post with a nice photo gallery for one homeschool mom of six. I agree with their observation that the delay in Muslims homeschooling may be due to the fact that many Muslim immigrants are unaware and/or not confident to explore this righteous option. But, by helping two immigrant Muslim families towards the happy and healthy lifestyle of homeschooling, I agree the number will very soon increase, inshaAllah (God willing).
Having said that, I have found that most of the Muslim homeschoolers I know are American reverts, like myself. We have first hand experience of the many vices of the American schooling system, as previously explained in my “Creating the Ideal Islamic Educational System in America” series with the following articles:
4. What are Personalized Learning Centers?
3.We don’t need School Reform we need an Overhaul
2. Education of Muslim Children – Challenges and Opportunities (Problems with Islamic Schools)
1. Failures of Modern Schooling – Islamic Perspective
While started in 2008, I never finished the series by stating that
“Homeschooling is the most ideal Islamic educational system in America, with a healthy mix of coops, classes, field trips, group projects and academic-themed events (such as Spelling and Geography bees, Art galas, Science Fairs, Invention Convention, etc.) and of course, domestic and international travel”.
As for Meena the 15 year old who said she missed the “Harry Potter club” in this article, subhanallah, Glory be to God, her parents took her out of such an impressionable environment before it was too late. For example, when my daughters (younger than her) read her statement, they immediately winced at the thought of her liking, reading and participating in a club for a series of books not acceptable in Islam.
As always, we welcome your views and thoughts in the comments below.
Teaching Kids Idioms, Oxymorons, Onomatopoeia & More
Teaching Figurative Language to Kids
This is our first attempt to have a group homeschool project online for our kids, in which we’d like to showcase our kid’s work on one particular topic at a time. This group homeschool project topic is “Figurative Language”. Figurative Language is different sayings that do not express its literal meaning.
Below are some types of figurative language, definitions, examples, websites and pictures we drew to help learn about this topic. We’d like to welcome other children to draw funny figurative languages examples, you can scan and email the picture to us, or post them on your blog and trackback to this original post or comment below.
An idiom is is a combination of words that sound idiotic, but the meanings are typically popular and well-known by native speakers. Non-native speakers (foreigners) find them very difficult to understand.
Examples include: icing on the cake, is there a frog in your throat, dead meat.
An oxymoron is a phrase in which two words that typically contradicts themselves (good & bad, ugly & pretty) are used together to stress the point of the speaker.
Examples include: all alone, wise fool, awfully nice, legal murder.
Onomatopoeia is a word used to make a “sound”.
Examples include: meow, woof, bang, tick-tock.
-
Simile
Simile is comparing two things using the words “like” or “as”.
Examples include: his nose is as cold as ice, the girl ran like a cheetah.
-
Metaphor
Metaphor is a comparison between two things using descriptive or symbolic words without using the words “like” or “as”.
Examples include: My bike is my magical carpet, Juliet (from “Romeo & Juliet”) is the sun.
-
Hyperbole
A Hyperbole is a deliberate and obvious exaggeration to stress your point.
Examples include: The oven must be set at 1000 degrees! I could eat a 100, or 1,000,000 of these!
-
Personification
Personification is giving life-like qualities to non-living things; making a something ‘like’ a person.
Examples include: The teapot sang & whistled, the printer ate my paper!
We had a ton of fun working on this project one evening. Please join the fun! Grab your crayons, markers and pencils and send your drawing to us via email, or post on your blog & comment below with the link!
Freebies online galore!
Jazaka Allahu Khayrun for the sister who researched & compiled this incredibly comprehensive list of homeschooling resources (or educational materials). Allah ye ticki afia/May Allah reward her with rest.
Please note: I have not researched every single site, so proceed with caution.
Download Free Posters from Virtual Gettysburg
http://www.virtualgettysburg.com/sup…cation/poster/
Free Water Education Posters
http://water.usgs.gov/outreach/OutReach.html
Free Braille Alphabet Card
http://www.afb.org/braillebug/Braille.asp
Free Colgate Teachers Kit
http://www.colgatebsbf.com/teachers/tch_kits.asp
Free Educational Publications from the Federal Reserve
http://app.ny.frb.org/publications/result.cfm?comics=1
Free Second Hand Smoke Posters
http://www.epa.gov/smokefree/publications.html
Free Game printables (some are for sale, but the ones
on this page
are free)
http://www.gigglygames.net/freebies.htm
Mom’s Minivan Travel Games and Activities
http://www.momsminivan.com/
Building Blocks for a Healthy Future storybook,
coloring book, and
more
http://store.health.org/buildingblocks/default.aspx
Free things from Congress.
http://www.yourcongress.com/quickfree.asp
Register for periodic freebies from Crayola
http://www.crayola.com/registration/
2 Free books (fossils & dinosaurs)
http://geology.er.usgs.gov/eastern/fossils.html
Royal & Langnickel art samples for Educators
http://www.royalbrush.com/ver3/student/question.htm
Free music cds from our military bands
http://bandtek.com/free-cds/
Free Posters: Explore the facets of the Earth
http://eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/
TONS of free printables for Teachers and Parents
www.thevirtualvine.
Learn to Write…Free Tracing Paper
http://www.mymoondrops.com/spelling.html
Free Sample Issue of HSE Magazine!
http://homeschoolenrichment.com/
Free Natural Gas Materials
http://www.nef1.org/order_new.html
Free Fire Safety Posters, Reports and Publications
from the USFA
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/publications/
Free Educational printables about Peanuts
http://aboutpeanuts.com/educ.html
A Free Hazardous Waste Cleanup and Prevention Poster!
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/kids/poster.htm
Free Poster – The poster features lists of Summertime
Favorites, 300
classic books for young readers, and the We the People
Bookshelf
on “Freedom,” 15 books selected by NEH that explore
the idea
of “freedom.”
http://www.neh.gov/posterrequest.asp
Free Potato Educational Materials
http://potatoes.com/educational-hardcopy.cfm
Free PCs in Space CD-ROM for teachers or students.
This is a great
program! It has games and my kids absolutely love
playing them and
learning their planets and how to use the computer
also!
http://pcsinspace.hst.nasa.gov/freecd.htm
Free board game for parents and educators.
Part of the Too Smart to Start program, this colorful
board game was
developed to help parents and young people aged 9 to
13 talk about
underage alcohol use, why it’s not smart, and how to
prevent it.
Goals for the game include increasing the number of
conversations
about the harm of underage alcohol use and increasing
the percentage
of children and adults who view underage alcohol use
as harmful. The
game can be played with two to six players, but works
best when both
youth and adults play.
http://store.health.org/catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=16691
Free recess kits
This site is having a rescue recess campaign(rescue
recess week is
Sept.18-22nd) and they will send out recess kits that
include posters
and jump ropes and a playground ball and whistle and
more at
http://www.cartoonrecessweek.com/
Reading club that gives Pizza Hut coupons as rewards.
For schools or
home schoolers
http://www.bookitprogram.com/default.asp
Kids Earn Prizes for Reading. For teachers and
students.
http://bookadventure.com/
Free Book “Chicken Soup For The Preteen Soul”
http://www.chickensoup.com/Pre-Teen/order_form2.html
Free George Washington kit for teachers
http://www.georgewashington.si.edu/k…cherguide.html
The History Channel *Save our History* free manuals
http://www.historychannel.com/classroom/flag_form.html
FREE Earth/Mars Comparison poster / teachers &
homeschoolers
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom/earthMarsForm.html
Free Dole 5 A Day Educational for Teachers/Schools CD
Roms/Cassettes/Cookbooks
http://www.dole5aday.com/Teachers/Cl…ials.jsp#cdrom
FREE Life in the Forest Educational Material
http://www.internationalpaper.com/Ou…est/index.html
Free coloring books, pamplets etc about Inuit
community
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ks/12050_e.html
Free “Science & Our Food Supply” kit – teachers
(Middle- High School)
http://www.nsta.org/fdacurriculum
Free Stuff for Educators
http://www.kalama.com/~zimba/freeforteachers.htm
Educational Online Activities and Printables for
teachers, parents
and students.
1. Printable Tracer Pages. Type in the words/phrases
you like and
this program turns the words into dashed lines for
kids to trace
over.
http://www.kidzone.ws/tracers/ocean/tracer-form.asp
2. Kidzone.com printable pages. Pre-K thru 6th grade.
http://www.kidzone.ws/
3. Make your own Word Search puzzles. Just delete
their word list and
add your own! We survived on this during the summer!
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/search/
4. Other vocabulary games.
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/
5. The best kids educational printables site. (Home
Page)
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/
6. Great Kid’s Printable Craft site. When you need
ideas…this is
the place to go!
http://www.dltk-kids.com/
7. Kid’s Click. A great web search for kid’s.
http://www.kidsclick.org/
8. Puzzlemaker web site for Parents/Teachers.
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/
9. Enchanted Learning. You can get lost on this site
for days! Very
cool. (They have a place to donate money to their
site, but it’s
totally free)
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
10. Free Smokey the Bear Stuff for kids. (Free
printables.)
Click on the bottom that says resources. Items it
includes are:
Smokey Bear Teacher’s Guide
Smokey Bear Activity Book
Smokey Bear Kid’s Poster
Wildland Communicator’s Guide
Smokey Bear Style Guide
Logo’s with Smokey the Bear.
http://www.smokeybear.com/
Online Study Guides:
http://www.sparknotes.com/
Free study guides in a wide range of subjects. Also
includes a
valuable Test Prep section.
http://www.bookrags.com/
Free study guides in many subjects, specializing in
Science,
Literature, and History. BookRags features an online
essay editing
service (fee required) and free articles on better
essay writing.
http://www.studygs.net/
Free study guides and general learning tips available
in multiple
languages.
http://www.pinkmonkey.com/index2.asp
Literary study guides. Note: About half of these are
completely free,
while others are only available for purchase from
their online store.
It is difficult to tell which is which until you try
to access it.
Test Prep:
http://quizhub.com/quiz/quizhub.cfm Free online
quizzes in many
categories and subjects.
http://www.testprepreview.com/ Free practice tests
(SAT, ACT, LSAT,
etc.) as well as free articles and tips on test
preparation and
taking.
Free Rocketry CD for Teachers
http://nar.org/teachercd.html
Lysol kids activity book
http://www.lysol.com/topic_fun.shtml
Free kit for teachers to teach students about how the
post office
works. From the USPS.
The direct number to order WEE Deliver is
1-888-332-0317. The kit
includes an instruction video, mail satchel, cardboard
sorter, and
other misc. supplies.
Free Share The World Kit & Video For
Teachers.http://www.sharetheworld.com/
Diabetic Eye Disease: An Educator’s Guide
http://catalog.nei.nih.gov/productcart/pc/mainIndex.asp
Olympic-themed lesson plans
http://www2.edgate.com/summergames/
Free Arbor Day Video and Teacher Materials
http://www.arborday.org/kids/
Teachers: Free Hands on Plastics™ (HOP) science
education
investigation kits
http://www.teachingplastics.org/
It’s O.K. to Spray! – education about aerosol cans
(teacher/home
schooler kit)
http://www.nocfcs.org/scc/kitrequest.asp
Cyberguides
Passed on…
For several years now, I have been using a
great resource for literture called Cyberguides. They
are done by the San Diego County Office of Education. Teachers have developed
these lesson plans for K-12 that utilize internet-based activities that related
to several popular pieces of children’s literature. They are divided by age
level and they are great. I love them and my kids love them. Check them
out.
Virtual Field Trips – Comprehensive list
Passed on…JAK Sister!
Hi Everyone! Thought I’d share this list
of virtual field trips….I have many others but these are some of our
favorites.
Enjoy!
http://www.thinkport.org/Classroom/trips.tp a listing of virtual field trips
http://www.bearcountryusa.com/tour.asp Drive thru animal park
http://bouldericecream.com/tour.htm Tour of a small ice cream factory
http://www.ecoed.org/index.cfm Tour of wild animals in Ontario Canada
http://jellybelly.com/Cultures/en-US/Fun/Tours/Virtual+Tour.htm a tour of the Jelly Belly jelly bean factory
http://website1.com/odyssey/ Odyssey in Egypt field trip
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/khufuenter.html Pyramids field trip
http://www.tomsofmaine.com/about/tour_factory.asp Toothpaste factory tour
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/whtour/index.html Tour the White House
http://www.theconstitutional.com/tour.php Take the Constitutional Woalking Tour of Philedelphia
http://geology.wr.usgs.gov/docs/parks/mojave/mojaveft.html Tour of the Mojave
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/index.htm Ellis Island tour from Scholastic
http://www.hersheys.com/discover/tour_video.asp Hershey’s making chocolate tour
http://www.thebeijingguide.com/badaling/index.html Great Wall of China tour
http://www.mda.state.mi.us/kids/pictures/rachel.html Dairy Farm
http://explorer.monticello.org/index.html Tour Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson
http://www.mountvernon.org/virtual/index.cfm/ss/29//cfid/5816670/cftoken/78983216 Mount Vernon, home of George Washington
http://www.plimoth.org/OLC/index_js2.html# Visit The first Thanksgiving
Comprehensive freebies list online!
Jazaka Allahu Khayrun to the sister who researched & compiled this homeschooling (or educational) freebies list for us!
Please note: I have not researched every single site, so proceed with caution.
************************
http://www.adrianbruce.com/reading/posters/index.htm Free phonics posters!!!
http://www.adrianbruce.com/index.html other freebies from Adrian Bruce, a teacher in Australia who loves to share!!!
http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/kids.html Arthur reading kit from America Reads
http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/spidey/index.html Spider Man Reading kit from America Reads
http://www.udel.edu/ETL/RWN/POPindex.html Reading Readiness Activities
http://chumby.dlib.vt.edu/melissa/posters/posterset.html Social studies curriculum resources–printable posters for grades K-3
http://www.fema.gov/kids/freebie.htm Disaster Kids educational materials can be ordered from FEMA, USGS, NOAA National Weather Service, and EPA. All addresses are on the website with ordering information.
http://www.usmint.gov/kids/index.cfm?fileContents=htmlIndex.cfm U.S. Mint website games and other activities for money education
http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/main.cfm/learning/download U.S. Bureau of Engraving website on money education, including lesson plans, posters, interactive $10, $20, and $50 notes.
http://science.education.nih.gov/women/index.html Great video programs (currently out of stock) on women in health career fields. Posters are also available.
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/default.htm Federal Citizen Information Center There are several publications that are free on this website–go to education and see a FREE book on exploring federal lands.
http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/svl/posters/posts.html Free posters from the Wright Center for Science Education. You must snail mail for these posters and ordering information is on the website. There are beautiful posters on the Human Genome, Cosmic Evolution, Earth Anatomy, etc.
http://www.blm.gov/education/00_resources/articles/mojave/index.html resources for teching about American desserts–including a poster of the Mojave.
http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/poster.html materials for teaching about oceans. Includes cd-roms, posters, games.
http://www.thankscompany.com/pages/posters.shtml printable posters for volunteering.
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/farm_act.htm Make a farm downloadable software
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/town_act.htm make a town
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/vill_act.htm make a village
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/castle.htm make a castle,
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/heraldry.htm and then make shields, etc.
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/lettersounds.htm letter sounds free software
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/learnletters.htm learn letters
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps.htm maps
Map puzzles software:
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/us_features.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/features.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/monuments.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_us.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_mea.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_eur.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_sam.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_aus.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_afr.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_mea.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_con.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_asia.htm
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_cam.htm
http://www.familygames.com/freelane.html Lots of free downloadable games on geography, puzzles, strategy games, word puzzles, etc.
http://www.rayslearning.com/lettersa.htm Free Letters and numbers software
http://fusioned.gat.com/free.html educational materials covering Fusion (the reaction in which two atoms of hydrogen combine together, or fuse, to form an atom of helium)
http://www.nsc.org/ehc/rad/radbroch.htm Nuclear Science and understanding radiation
http://www.timesaversforteachers.com/ Tons of printables for educators!!
http://www.koko.org/kidsclub/teachers/ Free curriculum materials for teaching about Gorillas
http://www.storylineonline.net/ Hear stories read online by members of the screen actors guild (Jason Alexander, Camryn Manheim, etc.)
http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/new_years/crafts.htm free printable elementary school calendar to color.
http://www.benjerry.com/fun_stuff/papercrafts/ a free new England village to print and build, a baloon mobile, and a cow–from Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
http://www.makingbooks.com/projects.html directions for making several books with children.
http://www.cartoonster.com/ great site for learning about cartooning
http://clothdollconnection.com/FreePatterns.html FREE patterns for making cloth dolls
http://www.webspawner.com/users/pumpkintwopost/ tons of free posters
http://www.cabelasiditarod.com/poster_contact.html Get a free 2007 Iditarod poster from Cabella’s–they also have lesson plans that go along with the race.
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41 The Academy of American Poets distributes the National Poetry Month poster (April) for the current year FREE to educators.
http://www.healthypotato.com/nutrition_plan.asp from the United States Potato Board, lessons, poster, etc. about potato nutrition
http://www.ksgrains.com/corn/edu.html Kansas Corn Learning Center
http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/educators/main.asp fun activities for nutrition education
http://www.4tests.com/ Take practice for SAT, ACT, GED, etc.
http://www.capilano.com.au/education/index.aspx learn about honey bees
http://www.sunkist.com/kids/pandt/ activities and lessons from Sunkist fruit
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/shopcart/shopcartintro.html publication from USDA entitled Science in Your Shopping Cart
http://depts.washington.edu/ceeh/Outreach/ecb.html Essentials of Cell Biology cd-rom
http://www.cloroxclassrooms.com/ get a free classroom kit from Clorox
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/numb3rs/ti/ Curriculum from Texas Instruments using the TV show “Numbers”
http://www.dissectionalternatives.org/ FREE copy of Digital Frog 2 the dissection alternative
http://www.internationalpaper.com/Our%20Company/Learning%20Center/Life%20Of%20The%20Forest/index.html Life of the Forest educational materials from International Paper
http://www.homesofourown.org/default.asp Build a home in this simulation game from the National Association of Home Builders.
http://www.peachtree-online.com/Kids/TeachersGuide.html Teacher Guides for Peachtree Publishers Books
http://www.failurefree.com/p_overview.htm Free online demo of literacy material for not-yet readers
http://www.breadworld.com/justkids/school.asp Three lesson plan books using bread baking from Fleischman’s Yeast
http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/Flashcard_Creator.html Free Math flashcards creator
http://www.teachingteens.com/index2.htm Teaching teens about puberty and menstration
http://www.educationassociates.com/Survey.html career education and life skills book from Education Associates
http://teacher.scholastic.com/index.asp educational materials and lesson plans from Scholastic
http://www.mysterynet.com/learn/ Free lesson plans, ideas, and online mysteries to teach critical thinking and reading comprehension
http://www.educationalpress.org/educationalpress/ Print free word lists, flash cards, bingo cards, etc.
http://www.microsoft.com/education/lessonplans.mspx lesson plans from Microsoft
http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/Default.aspx Receive a free dvd of the May, 2006
http://www.justicelearning.org/ Civic eduation int he real world. Conversation between students and Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer, Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O’Connor discussing the Constitution among other things
http://www.imagisoft.com/wizard.htm a digital coloring program that stimulates childrens’ perceptions of light, shade, color harmony, shape and depth. A trial version of this program, complete with six images to colour, may be ordered at no cost
http://www.wxdude.com/ Tons of free weather activities/lessons from Weather Channel meteorologist Nick Walker
http://www.vpw.com/ LARGE number of free sponsored educational videos and print materials to schools, educators and yough group leaders throughout the United States. All you must do to receive these materials is register as a member (which is also free).
http://www.wordcommand.com/wordoftheday.htm Sign up for their free Word of the Day email service
http://www97.intel.com/discover/JourneyInside/TJI_TOC/default.aspx The Journey InsideSM is a collection of interactive resources to answer commonly asked questions about technology.
http://www.epa.gov/kids/ great lessons on environmental education from the epa
http://www.sf.pii.orders.com/commoncents/ Program from State Farm Insurance that teaches all about introducing good money habits in a fun, memorable way to kids from kindergarten to 12th grade
http://www.freekidsmusic.com/ This is the place for great free songs for kids! Download all the terrific children’s songs you want to. There are no guarantees how long any of them will be here, so grab them while you can. Have fun exploring!! And don’t forget to click on the artists’ names to visit their web sites!
To receive a Underwriter’s Laboratory Safety Awareness Wristband (while quantities last), send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
“I Am Safety Smart”
333 Pfingsten Road
Northbrook, Illinois 60062
http://www.justchoices.com/ FREE social justice curriculum entitled “Just Choices” Through this program, students will learn how their everyday choices affect others in society and will be inspired to take on issues with passionate civic engagement.
http://www.sharetheworld.com/index.html Share the World is a free educational program designed to help your students better understand and appreciate the animals with whom we share our world. In the reproducible activities that form the heart of this program, your students will use their thinking and writing skills to imagine the feelings and consider the incredible abilities of other animals, examine how our relationships with them have changed through history, discover alternatives to their use, and respond to situations in which their well-being is threatened.
http://www.aywregistration.com/ free animation/character education program from Cartoon Network
http://www.a-three.us/starbright/default.html This is a free game to teach children with asthma about asthma in a fun way.
Attention, ocean creatures! Life originated in the ocean, and all occupants of this planet, including humans, are still marine creatures. That’s because the survival of life on land and at sea depends on healthy oceans. And that’s why One Earth, One Ocean, One Life – our interactive CD-ROM – explores the world’s underwater wonders and our need to protect them. To request a copy, CONTACT: WILD Education, Canadian Wildlife Federation, 350 Michael Cowpland Drive, Kanata, Ontario K2M 2W1 OR E-mail: info@…
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/kinderactive/ Receive a a copy of Kinderactive’s next product, when you fill out their marketing survey, from Kinderactive.
http://rochester100.com/index.jsp?action=show_teacher Get free samples of folders, sheet protectors, stick on holders, and mini-wallets.
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/canwaters-eauxcan/bbb-lgb/club/index_e.asp Join the Water Wizards and receive membership card, nickname, certificate, and a goody package, for kids 8-15.
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/kidsteachers/bookmarkorders/form_bookmarkorder_kids.asp Send a SASE and receive FREE bookmarks!!
http://www.osmre.gov/order1.htm receive free posters, videos, etc. about surface mining
http://www.helios.gr/dis/rhodes/artgallery/form.htm Get a free poster of a Greek painter
http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/kids/site/poster.htm free posters on estuaries
http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/info/pubs/e_teach.htm free environmental education materials
http://www.mathprojects.com/lessons.asp free math lesson plans
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/resources/childrens_march.jsp Tolerance education
http://www.dole5aday.com/Teachers/ClassroomResources/Materials/OrderFormDetails.jsp?topmenu=1 Dole 5-a-day teaching materials
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/kids/ppcform.htm Planet Protectors–environmental education
http://www.esbnyc.com/kids/kids_coloringpages.cfm?CFID=210368&CFTOKEN=6536289 free coloring pages from the Empire State Building
http://www.aztecafoods.com/kidsclub/index.html Join the Azteca Kid’s Club
http://www.signaturebrands.com/cake_mate/cmbdayclub.html Join the Cake Mate Birthday Club
http://www.bowater.com/en/education.shtml Resources to learn about paper making and instructions to make your own paper.
http://www.mcgruff.org/order.htm Get a set of free McGruff the Crimefighting Dog trading cards.
http://www.cooltoys.com/free-srv.html free toys. Send a SASE
http://www.candybarwrapper.com/kidswrapper.html You’ve seen the customized candy wrappers–now make your own!! Your child can create his/her own customized candy bar wrapper!!!
http://www.dvd2vu.com/DVD2Critic.asp?source=CRFamilytv1# You will receive a movie that is good for a one-time viewing. You will then critique the movie.
http://www.asahq.org/patientEducation/MyTrip.pdf Coloring book for a trip to the hospital
http://www.pppst.com/games.html free online games
Free, 32-page booklet about the American Flag
Send a postcard to
U.S. Marine Corps
Dept of the Navy, Washington, D.C. 20380
Ask for:
How to Respect and Display our Flag Booklet
http://forumancientcoins.com/forvm/Articles/Ancient_Coins_For_Schools_Form.html free ancient coins
http://www.homeschoolinglibrary.com/homeschool_free_help_teleseminar.htm free home schooling teleseminars
http://www.phil.frb.org/education/fedtoday.html history of the Federal Reserve
http://www.lbl.gov/MicroWorlds/teachers/teacherpack.html
http://www.savethemanatee.org/edmat.htm save the Manatees educational resources
http://www.wrinstitute.org/ The Will Rogers Institute has several booklets available for free on topics such as stress, asthma, exercise, nutrition, etc.
http://www.charlesedisonfund.org/Experiments/experiments.html The purpose of the Science Teaching Experiments is to stimulate an interest in science and technology among elementary school students through easy to perform experiments in basic scientific concepts.
Triggering Positive Health Choices,” a free videotape and teacher’s guide to help kids learn about peer pressure and decision-making, is available from Met Life, Health and Safety Education, One Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010-3690.
http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/educators/PostalPack.pdf National Postal Museum’s Postal Pack
Children’s book author Jan Brett has a special free packet for teachers and librarians. Request your packet by writing to Jan Brett, P.O. Box 366, Norwell, MA 02061.
http://papertoys.com/ many different toys to print
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/plantbio/cell/ this is a virtual cell–you can disect, look under a microscope, etc.
http://www.consumerfed.org/consumerinf.cfm The Consumer Federation of America has severl PDF guides–including one entitled “Teaching Your Children How to Save & Spend” that is perfect for teaching teens about spending/saving.
http://www.yo-yo.com/teachers_section/teach_index.html How fun to learn physics, etc. through using a yo-yo.
http://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncounts/resources.cfm PDF documents to help in learning about cotton
http://www.teachcoal.org/teacherstore/index.html American Coal Foundation materials for teaching about coal, including a sample kit of different types of coal.
If you would like to receive a free “bottle cap yo-yo” project sheet and illustrated instructions to make this great toy, Send a LARGE self addressed stamped envelope to: Bottle Cap Yo-Yo Sheet
c/o of Recreational Recycling
9318 Bay Vista Estates Blvd
Orlando, Florida 32836
http://www.deltacrafts.com/Projects/ Delta Crafts have tons of projects on their website…project sheets are free
Home education quotes and reflections
Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned from school.
~ Albert Einstein
=> Thankfully our girls are not in “school”…ha ha hee hee
The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.
~ Carl Rogers
=> We lay the foundation by giving them resources and research skills, and together we’re all learning and growing as a family. What’s not to love?
Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.
~ W.B. Yeats
=> Through enthusiasm and love, I feel blessed that our girls never get bored of learning!
By educating our girls at home, one amazing thing is how they’re the ones pushing us for more…more books, more projects, more “family time” etc.
And, “family time” to them is doing anything “together as a family”. This is truly amazing, becuase we do everything together as a family…we are inseparable compared to all our friends and family…and yet they want more!
We eat, sing, dance, shop, read, watch movies, play cards (our newest passion: Go Fish, Memory Match, Old Maid & Crazy Eights)…We’re constantly doing art projects, coloring, and we have to make at least 1 meal or dessert a day…this just blows my mind!
Even during “quiet time”, they want us to be with them: playing computer games with them, coloring with them, sitting on our naps while watching TV…really playing with their toys with them.
And, as girls…they never stop talking, asking questions, debating, etc.!
Yet, I still wonder why I’m so exhausted at the end of the day when I only homeschool the girls…
Toledo Home Education League of Parents
We had a blast on Monday at the Toledo Home Education League of Parents (H.E.L.P.)’s Not-Back-To-School Picnic!
Fox News showed up [we missed the 4pm broadcast 
], we took pictures of the 30+ kids who actually stood still for a minute. [ At the busiest time, there had to be at least 50 kids. ]
I proudly recruited 3 new families to become members. I’ve been a member for a year, and it is a great local homeschool organization.
There’s an extremely active Discussion Group [I can never keep up with their numerous posts. And, I subscribe to the "digest". Fortunately, these great parents appreciate me hopping in and out of the discussions as time allows.] .
But, I personally enjoy the monthly newsletter. It is JAM-packed with useful activities, tips, and discussions sent directly to my mailbox at home. All for $15.00 a year! What a bargain!
What I love the most of the parents I’ve meet so far, is that we’re all busy homeschooling parents who have crazy agendas and different schedules. We all fit in the activities that interests our own families, and participate whenever we can. There’s no pressure to do this or that, and we’ve only received warm greetings whenever we do show-up. My girls absolutely love every activity we went to, and I promised to be more active for them.
It’s great to know there’s a resource group to turn to for advice, a place to brainstorm, and have a support system whenever you need them. Join right now! And, please write a note or tell them I referred you!
