Thanks Penny for another great week of lesson plans.

Welcome to another edition of the Lesson Theme of the Week. This
week's lesson theme is all about Birds and I hope you enjoy this
theme and pass it on to other homeschool families so they also may
use it to teach their children.

General Information
All About Birds
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/
American Birding Association
http://www.americanbirding.org
Anatomy, Behavior & Diseases of Caged Birds
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=15
Audubon: Birds & Science
http://www.audubon.org/bird/
Bird Flash Cards
http://www.renaesroom.com/Hotflashes/BirdFlash/BirdFlash.html
The Life of Birds
http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/

Lesson Plans
Bird Biology Lesson Plan
http://www.kckpl.lib.ks.us/schlagle/lessons/Birds1.htm
Birds
http://web.utk.edu/~ctmelear/ossabaw/Collins/birds.html
Birds and their bird sounds
http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/education/intel/Projects/joan_hunn2.
htm
Birdwatching 101
http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu/LessonPlans/Wildlife/BirdsNest.html
Building a Bird's Nest Lesson Plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceLABirds-LearnAboutBody13.htm
Learning About a Bird's Body
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/virtualbird/educational.html
Virtual Birding
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/virtualbird/educational.html
What Makes a Bird a Bird?
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/virtualbird/teacher/lespl1.html

Multimedia
Bird sounds
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/radio/dawn_chorus/
Wild-Eyed Alaska
http://www.hhmi.org/alaska/
World Bird Guide
http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/

Crafts
A Variety of Bird Feeders
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/life15.html
Bird Binoculars
http://www.kinderart.com/crafts/birdbinoculars.shtml
Bird Crafts
http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/birdcrafts.html
Bird Mobile Craft
http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mbirdmobile.htm
Curly Bird
http://members.aol.com/Sabbeth/Warmcraft.html
Egg Cup Bird
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/birdprojects/a/blbirdcr2.htm
Nesting Supply Box For Birds
http://www.squiglysplayhouse.com/ArtsAndCrafts/Crafts/BirdSupplyBox.h
tml
Pinecone Bird Feeder
http://oldfashionedliving.com/birdfeeder2.html

Cooking
Bird Treats
http://www.robinsfyi.com/holidays/christmas/recipes/animals/birdtreat
.htm
Edible Bird's Nest
http://www.creativehomemaking.com/articles/030600c.shtml

Online Stories
A Bird Without a Song
http://www.marlo.com/wguy1.htm

Multimedia
Chick Hatchery
http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/videos/video-
detail/activities/the-hatchery/

Online Activities
Bird Migration Game
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Educa
tion/Kids_Stuff/Woth_game/default.cfm
Fly like a bird, a 3D fly around
http://www.gamevial.com/flylikeabird.htm
Home of the Virtual Owl Pellet Dissection
http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/index.htm
Test your Memory Skills - Birds
http://www.bellaonline.com/code/memory/birds2.asp

Printouts
Bird Themed Coloring Pages
http://www.coloring.ws/birds.htm
How Many Colorful Birds Book for Early Readers
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/books/howmany/birds/
Mega Birdsearch
http://www.rspbliverpool.org.uk/birdsearch.htm
Word Search Puzzles: Birds
http://www.thepotters.com/puzzles/birds.html

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 Free Printables - This site is mainly for young learners and is for English. You can find free flash cards, make custom worksheets, games, forums, lesson plans, interactive site for kids, and links to resources. A very interesting site with lots of information and fun to add to your day.

 Again today I came across another site in my email and thought I would share. It is new to me.

Free Worksheets - I really like the contents of this site. There is a short vowel poster that you can print up on card stock. There is a Zac and Deb Worksheet section that has little sentences one can color and read. Alphabet worksheets that you can print and use. A Word Formation with letters you can print and spell out words with and a few other printables.

I was going through my email today and one of the gals had shared three different links to lesson plan websites.Ones I haven't ever seen before. So I thought I would share them with all of you.

The Educator's Reference Desk - This site has lesson plans for almost every subject. You can search by category or by grade. The grades you can search are K - 12.

Cool Teaching Lessons and Units -  This site is designed for grades K - 12. This site contains web quests, lesson plans, ready made units, research modules, and project based learning. It links you to many other sites also. Very interesting website.

Economics and Geography Lessons for 32 Children's Books - This site is mainly for grades 1 - 5. You pick a book by grade and it gives you lesson plans that go with that particular book. Another interesting website.

Thanks Penny for another great week of lesson plans!!

Welcome to another edition of the Lesson Theme of the Week. This
week's topic  is on colors and I hope you enjoy this week's theme
and will pass it on to other homeschool families so they can use
this theme to teach their children.

If you would like to gain access to over 250 unit studies and lots
of other additional materials please visit The Homeschool  Network
Internet Library today.  http://www.homeschoolnetworklibrary.com

Lesson Plans
Colors
http://www.hummingbirded.com/lessonplan-colors.html
Colors: An Integrated Literature Approach
http://teacher.scholastic.com/grade/preK_K/oct_PreK_K_lesson2.htm
Colors Theme Preschool Activities and Crafts
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/colors.htm
Creating an Art Book - A Series of Portfolio Assessment Lessons for
the Primary Grades
http://www.kinderart.com/artbook/
Experimenting with Colors
http://atozteacherstuff.com/pages/213.shtml
Ice Cream Colors
http://atozteacherstuff.com/pages/342.shtml
Lesson 1: Primary Colors
http://www.thesolutionsite.com/lesson/818/lubeckelA1.html
Lesson 2: Secondary Colors
http://www.thesolutionsite.com/lesson/818/lubeckelA2.html
Lesson 3: Color Magic
http://www.thesolutionsite.com/lesson/818/lubeckelA3.html
Lesson 4: Brown Bear
http://www.thesolutionsite.com/lpnew/lesson/818/lubeckelA4.html
Teaching Colors to Preschoolers: Activities and Games that Help Them
Learn Color Recognition
http://kids-educational-
activities.suite101.com/article.cfm/teaching_colors_to_preschoolers

Online Stories
Color the Rainbow
http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/colorstory.asp
My Colors
http://www.lil-fingers.com/colors/
My Many Colored Days by Dr Seuss
http://www.seussville.com/titles/days/yellow.html
Teletubbies  Colour Story
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/teletubbies/funandgames/colourstory/ind
ex.shtml

Online Activities
A Rainbow of Frogs
http://www.meddybemps.com/9.500.html
Change the Color Activity for kids
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Themes/colors/colorchange1.html
Colors
http://www.akidsheart.com/threer/lvl1/colorsrt.htm
Colors And Reading Game
http://www.liveandlearn.com/cgame/colors.html
Colour Mix Cottage
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/fun/colourcottage.shtml
Little People
http://www.fisher-price.com/us/littlepeople/section.asp?
section=SHAPES
Mix & Match: The Exploratorium's Online Exhibits
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/mix_n_match/
What Color Is It?
http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/coloractivity.asp

Music
Color Songs
http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/preschool_themes/colors/colors_song
s.htm
Eight Pretty Colors
http://www.songsforteaching.com/intellitunes/colors.htm
Primary Colors
http://www.songsforteaching.com/intellitunes/primarycolors.htm
The Colors
http://www.songsforteaching.com/singdancelaugh/thecolors.htm

Printouts
Color Printables
http://www.songs4teachers.com/colorprintables.htm
Colors Printable Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/cp_colors.htm
DLTK's Coloring Pages
http://www.dltk-kids.com/coloring.htm
I Love Colors
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/colors/red.shtm
Rainbow Colors Flash Cards
http://www.first-
school.ws/activities/onlinestory/colors/fredafrogcolors.htm

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If I had ten thumbs, all ten would be going up for the Yourteacher.com math program.  It has been a month now since we have subscribed and started learning through their wonderful math lessons, and I can tell you it has been a great success!

Once you subscribe, you have access to over 450 on-line math lessons, with courses in Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2.  (I personally hope that in the future they expand their lessons to other subjects, because I am so impressed with the teaching methods.)

The videos feature a teacher, who speaks concisely and clearly, at a chalkboard, taking you step by step through different problems.  Don't get it?, then just back up and start again until you do.  They offer additional problems, along with challenging problems if you are feeling up to it.  When you answer correctly, cheering is heard, very good for the motivation factor.

My daughter, who is a reader, more than a math person, is really enjoying this program.  I never even have to remind her about math, she instantly goes on every morning for her next lessons.

Parents, for those of you (who like me), never excelled at math in school yourselves, this program will have you interested too.  It is like having a one on one math tutor.

Yourteacher.com is offering the first week free, so try it out for yourself, it is normally $29.50 a month, and you can pay month by month for the service.  IT IS WELL WORTH THE MONEY.  So worth it in fact, that when summer rolls around, we are not going to put it on hold until September.  We are going to just keep going with it and see how far it can take us here.

It offers structure, challenges, step by step learning, what more could you want for your math curriculum? Try it for the first week, you will be hooked.  By the way, this is not part of any affiliate program, I make no money pitching this program to you. So please know that I am really excited about this program, just because we are using it and succeeding beyond our expectations with it, and for home-schoolers everywhere, it would be a wonderful asset to your classroom.

Yourteacher.com Math Program

I apologize for not posting lately, we had the flu go through the household, and for the last few weeks it has gone from one person to the next.

I have a few great sites for you to check out:

Cyberguides  Grades 9-12:  This site is an excellent site for your older student for literature lesson plans.  Based on the California State Standards, it lists several works of literature and follow-up lesson plans and activities.

Get Writing:  An England based website that is stock full of activities and lesson plans for writing assignments.  I really loved the creative ideas that are put forth here.  This site is both for the beginner to the experienced writer.

The Basics of Screen-Writing:  If your child is a budding script writer, then this seminar is for him/her.  Created by the American Film Institute, this seminar takes you step by step in the basics of screen-writing, and it is absolutely free.

Annenberg Media:  I have highlighted Annenberg Media before, but it is well worth bringing to your attention again.  It has excellent teacher resources and media aids for your classroom.  Just a few of their offerings:

The Africans
Against All Odds: Inside Statistics
Algebra: In Simplest Terms
American Cinema
The Brain: Teaching Modules
Death: A Personal Understanding
Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish
Ethics in America
Growing Old in a New Age

There are literally hundreds of lessons, videos and articles to choose from.  It is not odd for me to spend a few hours here at a time.  So much to learn in so little time!

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and I’ve gathered some of the best resources available online for your teaching needs.

 

About.com offers wonderful teaching resources and links.  You’ll find plenty of Valentine’s Day resources here:

Valentine's Day Lesson Plans for K-6 Teachers

 

If you aren’t familiar with Ed Helper, they’ve been one of my favorite sites for nearly ten years.  They have some great Valentine’s Day Links here:

 

Valentine’s Day Lessons at EdHelper

 

Lesson Plans for teachers to use on Valentine's Day, brought to you by TeachNology.

Valentine's / Valentines Day Lesson Plans

 

 

Valentine's Day Activities and Lesson Plans

Holiday Lesson Plans & Activities A resource for Valentine's Day and other ... Visit Lesson Plan Search to find additional Valentine's Day Resources

 

Valentine's Day Theme - Lesson Plans, Thematic Units, Printables ...

Lesson Plan projects for Valentine's Day

 

Valentine's Day Links - Debbie's Unit Factory

Learn how to make Valentine's Day animals and get lesson ideas for February. Included are math and dental ideas. Teacher Support Site

 

MrDonn.org - Valentine's Day Lesson Plans and Activities for K-12 ...

Valentine's Day Teaching Tip Lesson Plan (Dev Teachers) Valentine's Day (Lesson Plan Page) & Saint Valentine's Day (language arts lesson)

 

Language Arts - Valentine's Day Language Arts Lesson Plan, Thematic ...

This is a  Lesson Plans Page lesson plan, lesson idea, thematic unit, or activity.  Printable Version for your convenience! Title: St. Valentine's Day by Olga Viniarskaya.

 

Valentine's Day Resources

Facts, history, crafts, worksheets, clipart, lesson plans about Valentine's Day

Goodmorning. Today and tomorrow I thought I would share with you the worksheet websites I came across.

ABC TEACH - This site is a wonderful site. There is printable worksheets, research cards , books marks, charts and more. This site covers all subjects.

Autumn's Free Activity Pages For Kids - This site is for younger kids. There is lots of colorful worksheets for a variety of subjects.

Dositey Educational Site - There is lots of free elementary level worksheets for reading and math. You can also find workbook type interactive exercises and mini lessons. I noticed this site had educational software too.

Free Worksheets - This site has over 7.000 worksheets available. The site is arranged by subject and has some answer keys with it. This site is aimed for primary students

Free Worksheets for Whole Number Arithmetic - Printable workseets for whole number operations with answer keys. You can also generate your own worksheets

One of my dearest friends has a group on yahoo where she shares weekly lesson plans for a certain topic and this weeks topic was Valentines Day.  She does alot of research in putting these wonderful plans together and she allows them to be shared. She also has a wonderful website which you will find in the beginning part of the message. Some of the stuff on her website you need to be a paid member but for me I felt it was well wother it. The links in the lesson plan are to all free sites. I will share them weekly with you all. You can find her group at the bottom of this page. Enjoy as there are alot of links to enjoy and spend time with this particular theme!! Thanks Penny for all you do!!

Welcome to another edition of the Lesson Theme of the Week. This
week's topic is on Valentines Day and I hope you enjoy this week's
theme and will pass it on to other homescoolies so they also can use
it with their children.

I have  found a lot of different downloadable resources for you to
use with your children. Please click here to visit and view all of
these.  http://homeschoolnetworklibrary.com/valentines/valentines.htm

General Information
Howstuffworks "How Valentine's Day Works"
http://people.howstuffworks.com/valentine.htm
Valentine Exhibition-- Origins of the Valentine
http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Valentines/origins.htm
Valentine's Day History
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/valentinesdayhistory.html

Lesson Plans
Candy Heart Sentences Language Arts Lesson Plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAArtCandyHeartSentences34.htm
Conversation Heart Candy Math Math Lesson Plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MathConversationHeartCandyMathIdea23.h
tm
Detective Valentine
http://www.pecentral.org/lessonideas/ViewLesson.asp?ID=3028
Graphing Valentine Candies
http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/Lessons/2563.htm
Mend My Broken Heart Math Lesson Plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MathLAAdditionSubtractionMendBrokenHea
rtIdea23.htm
The Language of Love
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20010214wednesday.ht
ml?searchpv=learning_lessons
Valentine Letter Writing
http://lesson-plans-
materials.suite101.com/article.cfm/valentine_letter_writing
Valentine Rap game Music Lesson Plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/MusicValentineRapGameIdeaP1.htm
Valentine's Day Language Arts Lesson Plan
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAValentinesDay6.html
Valentine's Day lesson plan
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/valentine_plan1.htm
Why Celebrate Valentine's Day?
http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/BuilderV03/LPTools/LPShared/lpdisplay.asp?
LPID=55041

Crafts
Bear Box Craft for Valentine's Cards
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mbearbox.htm
Chocolate Boxes Paper Crafts - Learning Colors
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/m-chocolates-colors.htm
Chocolate Boxes Paper Crafts - Learning Letters
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/m-chocolates-letters.htm
Chocolate Boxes Paper Crafts - Learning Numbers
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/m-chocolates-numbers.htm
Chocolate Boxes Paper Crafts - Learning Shapes
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/m-chocolates-shapes.htm
Easy Valentine's Day Kleenex Box Cover
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mkleenex.html
Gum Guy Cupids
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?
page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10788
Heart Pinwheels
http://www.homeschoolzone.com/craft/ripplepinwheels.htm
Heather the Heart Shapes Buddie
http://www.dltk-teach.com/shapes/mheart.htm
Love Bug
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?
page=CraftDisplay&craftid=11597
Scented heart ornaments Valentines Day craft project
http://www.craftown.com/valentine/val3.htm
Stained-Glass Hearts
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?
page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10556
Sweethearts Bookmark
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/parents/activity/article.php?
contentId=23482&categoryId[]=4473&contentId=23482
Valentine's Day Crown or Hat
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mcrown.htm
Valentine's Day Wreath Craft
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mwreath.htm


Cooking
Conversation Heart Fudge
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=40793
Cupid's Lemony Love Potion
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=40797
Lollipop Flowers
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?
page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10520
Sweet Heart Krispy Treats
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=40795

Music
CanTeach: Songs & Poems - Valentine's Day
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems13.html
Valentine's Day Songs: Lyrics for Children
http://www.songsforteaching.com/holiday/valentinesdaysongs.htm
MoJo's Musical Mouseum Song Lyrics - Valentine's Day Songs
http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/valentines.html

Online Stories
Lil' Fingers Storybook: Hearts
http://www.lil-fingers.com/hearts/

Online Activities
Make a Valentine with a Connecting Word
http://www.starfall.com/n/holiday/valentine/play.htm?f
Seek-a-Word with Billy Bear
http://www.billybear4kids.com/games/online/search/valentines.html
Valentine's Day Heart Scrambler
http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/valentine-sc.htm
Valentine's Day On-Line Coloring Pages
http://www.dltk-kids.com/color/valentine3.htm
Valentine's Day Tic Tac Toe
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/tictactoe/index.htm
Valentine Concentration Game
http://www.bethanyroberts.com/ValentineConcentrationGame.htm
Valentine Dress Up Game
http://www.billybear4kids.com/paperdoll/OnlineFlash/Valentine/DressUp
.html
Valentine Online Word Puzzle
http://www.bethanyroberts.com/ValentineOnlineWordPuzzle.htm

Printouts
Chocolate Box Tic-Tac-Toe for Valentine's Day
http://familyfun.go.com/printables/coloring-pages/printable/tic-tac-
toe-valentine/
Custom Tracer Pages
http://www.kidzone.ws/tracers/valentine/index.asp
How Many Colorful Hearts Book
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/books/holiday/valentine/colorfulhear
ts/
Math Activity Worksheets
http://www.kidzone.ws/math/valentine/index.htm
Valentine Activity Book for Children
http://www.allfreeprintables.com/valentine/activity-book.shtml
Valentine's Day Anagram
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/m-anagram.htm
Valentine's Day Coupon Book
http://www.activitiesforkids.com/holiday/coupon.htm
Valentine's Day Crossword Puzzles
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/m-crossword.htm
Valentine's Day Memory Game
http://familyfun.go.com/printables/games/printable/memory-game-
valentines-day/memory-game-valentines-day.html

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Miscellaneous Lesson Plans - This link is sponsered by Utah Education Network. This site has dozens of lesson plans with documents to support the lessons.

Education World - This site is a great site for lesson plans and are submitted by teachers. This is a great place to spend a few hours at.

Zoom School - This site has many different lesson plans and is designed for elementary students. The lessons you can find here are biology, geography, language arts, and early child hood activities. This site looks like it's part of Enchanted Learning.

Now this is Western Civilization done right!  Annenberg Media has put together on-line, a 52 week series on Western Civilization, that is billed for High School and Adults.  I though will tell you that you can use this series for your home-schooled middle school child without it being too lofty for them, and the educational benefits are tremendous.

The 52 week series is done in video format, using thousands of images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it is interesting, and entertaining using these visuals to teach. Taking you from the dawn of civilization to a look to the future. It is an impressive mixture of History and Art woven together. These lessons are only 30 minutes in length, and can easily fit into your daily or weekly schedule, and are free of charge. Some of the lessons are as followed:

• The Dawn of History
• The Ancient Egyptians
• The Rise of Greek Civilization
• Greek Thought
• Alexander the Great
• The Hellenistic Age
• The Rise of Rome
• The Roman Empire
• Early Christianity
• The Rise of the Church
• The Decline of Rome
• The Fall of Rome
• The Dark Ages
• The Middle Ages
• The Late Middle Ages
• The National Monarchies
• The Renaissance and the Age of Discovery
• The Rise of the Middle Class
• The Wars of Religion
• The American Revolution
• The French Revolution
• The Industrial Revolution
• The Age of the Nation-States
• The First World War and the Rise of Fascism
• The Second World War
• The Cold War
• Europe and the Third World
• The Technological Revolution
• Toward the Future

I did not include all the subjects, but enough to give you an idea on the order the program heads.  You can read a description of each program on the website.  In the very first lesson within the first few minutes, there is a delightful 4 minute "short" movie on the History of Civilization done in four minutes.  It is quite charming! There is nothing to download or buy.  To access this wonderful series go here:

Annenberg Media

I came across this in one of the email groups I am in and thought I would share it. I think this would be a cute idea art project for either Valentines Day or thinking ahead to Mother's Day. Also after reading this you could use this for a primary science experiment in changing colors.

Coloured Flowers
Materials you will need:
. Water
. Scissors
. Food Colouring
. Jar, Plastic Cup or Test Tube
. A Flower (light coloured-white carnation) or Celery Stalk (with
leaves)

This is a colour changing experiment.

Steps:
1. Fill the cup with water.
2. Add a few drops of food colouring
3. Cut the end off the stem (stalk)
4. Put the flower in the water

Watch and in time the food colouring will be sucked up the stem
along tiny tubes (called vessels) and the petals of the flower will
start to change in colour.
Another way to try this experiment is to get a flower with a long,
thick stem (or a celery stalk with leaves) and slit it carefully
from the bottom and put one end in separate test tubes (with
different food colourings).  Your flower (or celery) should have
petals (or leaves) in two different colours.
Did you know that plants need water to live?  As well as absorbing
water from the atmosphere (air) through their leaves, they suck
water up through their stems.  If you used the celery stalk for the
above experiment you could cut the stalk and see that the little
holes inside are coloured.

A fellow home-schooling parent the other day asked me what "Bible Study" I used with my daughter.  She was having a hard time finding a good program for her 12 year old son that wasn't too elementary.

We start our day with Bible study each morning, which is not at all unusual for a home with Christian based education.  I had looked into many different curriculum and lesson plans, a lot of them well done, but we settled upon our own way of studying the bible, let me explain.

Word of Promise Audio Bible fit our need.  It is not your average audio bible, this bible has theatrical sounds and quality, and features several Hollywood "stars" as the voices:

• Jim Cavieziel
• Michael York
• Richard Dreyfuss
• Stacy Keach
• Marisa Tomei
• Lou Gossett Jr.
• Lou Diamond Philips
• John Heard
• Kimberly Williams-Paisley
• Luke Perry
• John Schneider
• Ernie Hudson
• Rebecca St. James
• Michael W. Smith
• + more........

As your student reads along with his/her bible, the chapters come alive in the ears (and the heart) as it is acted out for them on audio.  The sounds are fantastic, the music dramatic, it is extremely powerful.

We listen to a chapter a day, and we chose to go right in order, from Matthew to Revelation.  But you can certainly listen to whatever you want to fit your lesson plans.  After we listen to a specific chapter, my daughter then asks me questions that came up during her listening and reading.

You can download the whole New Testament right to your computer (our choice), or you can order the discs to be sent to your home. (I have also seen them for sale at Sam's club).  To order to your computer on-line it costs $28.95, to order the set for your home library $32.99.

Also, Word of Promise has a pay it forward program where if you sign up your church, a percentage of what is ordered is then sent to your church, a double blessing.

There are samples of the program on the website, you can also watch a trailer of the Word of Promise project, be sure to watch both before you decide to order.

Sometimes (actually a lot), I am unclear what a particular passage means.  That is when I find my way on-line to "Thru the Bible" with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.  Pastor McGee died over 30 years ago, but his teachings live on through Christian radio, and through the website that is accessed from all over the world.  From the site, you can download Dr. McGee's teachings for free, and then go right to the chapter that you are having problems with, and get an understanding of it from Dr. McGee perspective.

There are many many programs out there for bible study for your home-schooled child, but I wanted to share the two that work very well for us, perhaps they will work well for you also:

Word of Promise Website
Thru the Bible

In our home, we home-school though a private school in Ann Arbor Michigan named "Clonlara".  We choose this school because it has over 40 years of home-schooling experience and has students world-wide.  I choose it personally because they are much better at keeping records than I am, and though it provides broad lee-way on curriculum, keeps me focused on where my child should be academically. . .a.k.a. I need structure!.. :)

Clonlara also encourages volunteering in some capacity for the student in home-schooling in their communities.  And I for one think this is an awesome idea!

It is vitally important for a child to feel connected to his/her community, whether it is through their place of worship, their city, their country or their world.  My daughter for example is 12, and volunteers in the Sunday school classes through her church.  She loves doing it, and loves the children.  It wouldn't matter if there was a severe storm watch out in our area, if it is her day to volunteer, we get there (her orders, not mine)

She is ready though to spread her wings and add to her volunteering portfolio.  So we are now beginning to discuss the things that she cares deeply about...children, elderly, sick, dying, environment, politics, teaching English, or reading to the blind???  There is a lot she cares about, so she is going to keep narrowing it down until she comes up with a few that are dear to her heart.

I in the meantime am checking out volunteer sites, not only for this area, but nation-wide so I can pass on this information to you, and I have come across a site that seems very helpful in planning all this.

The site is called Volunteer Match, and all you do is type in your zip code, how far you are willing to travel and press enter.  The next page you see is all the listings of volunteer opportunities in the area you have chosen.  It supplies the following information for you:

• Opportunity (what they need you to do)
• Organization (who needs the help)
• Location
• Date (some are special events, others are on-going needs)
• Great For (whether its good for teens, elderly etc...)

The "Great For" category is perfect for finding a opportunity for your teen.  Most companies seeking help list an age preference and makes your job a whole lot easier by not having to call around asking if they take 14 year olds.

If you belong to a local home-schooling group, you can also organize a teen volunteer group, help set it up, ask for volunteers, set monthly meetings, elect a leader, and let the kids go from there. They as a group can find a need to be filled. This is a fantastic way to foster new friendships also.

Discuss with your student whether they would like to contribute time to something or someone they care about, and continue to plan such things as time available to volunteer, and how they think they can help.  Thinking outside of one's self is extremely rare these days.  Equipping your home-school child with a volunteer experience, or on-going experiences is going to add to your child's character more than you know.

Volunteer Match

   The bitter cold temperatures in our area over the weekend provided me with an opportunity to make some old fashioned homemade "stained glass" hard candy. Every winter family and friends eagerly await the Arctic blast that drives our temperatures into single digits with low humidity knowing that the candy soon will be ready. The phone rings, the emails arrive, and notes placed mysteriously throughout the house appear as soon as the forecast is known, they all want to make sure I am aware the cold air is on the way. "Hurry up and get ready, the deep freeze is coming!" has to be one of my favorites. The weather is important because after the molten candy is poured from the kettle onto the tray I immediately (but carefully) rush it outside and place the tray in the snow. Between the very cold air on the top surface of the candy and the ice cold snow on the bottom of the tray, the candy instantly freezes and cracks into gorgeous pieces of old fashioned candy.
   I use a very old recipe that my neighbor just recently passed on to me from her great-grandmother. I grew up with her candy but it was always a "secret". It is a time consuming and labor intensive process but it creates some of the best tasting, most beautiful candy I've ever had.
   Over the 2 days I managed to make 10 different flavors, peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, cinnamon, cherry, lemon, lime, orange, root beer, and red licorice. That certainly does not appear to be a lot, but it takes on average 2-3 hours per flavor. Of course I already have orders for second batches, but I am at the mercy of Mother Nature and the weather. 
   The boys help out a lot, they measure out the ingrediants, watch the kettles to make sure that the heat is just perfect, and most importantly remove the molten candy from the heat source when it reaches exactly 310 degrees. This experience of making candy actually is a science, chemistry and math lesson, all rolled into one delicious "class." Sometimes homeschooling teachs us all when we least expect it.

 

Many of you may already be aware of the fact that an asteroid is set to hit Mars on January 30th, 2008, or is it?  It has been called a hit and a miss so many times that it's hard to keep up with it.

If it does hit, what affect will it have here on earth? Any? One great way to find out is to visit NASA's website and visit their podcast section, and if your student is an ipod user, NASA has a special NASA room set up at itunes.

The Audio Podcasts are set up into these categories:

• This Week at NASA
• Shuttle and Station
• Solar System
• Universe
• Earth
• Student Opportunities

The Video Podcasts are set up into these categories:

• This Week at NASA
• NASA edge
• Shuttle and Station
• To the Moon
• Solar System
• Universe
• Earth
• What's Up

But it doesn't end there.  Your children have a whole library full of podcasts from additional NASA resources:

• Ask an Astronomer
• Astrobiology Magazine
• Brain Bites - Ask NASA
• Chandra X-ray Observatory
• Digital Learning Network
• Hubble Watch
• + more

My daughter who loves science, but detests boring book science was busy yesterday downloading her own selections onto her computer.  We only stumbled upon this section of NASA yesterday and we were hooked.

These podcasts can easily fit in to your current science curriculum and lesson plans, and who better to learn science from and keep on top of current events in space than the NASA scientists?

To visit: NASA podcast Room

I am so glad it's the weekend so I can finally sit down and update on some new discoveries and current events that have occurred in the last few weeks.  There is some interesting stuff here, hopefully some of it will interest you enough to inspire some new lesson plans for your children:

New Game Builds Vocabulary for Kids - and Adults:  There is a new game in town for your Nintendo DS, it is called "My Word Coach", and it is getting great reviews. It was inspired by a college professor and has six different vocabulary games that also tracks your progress, read about it here:
My Word Coach

Indoor Gardening: Growing your own Vegetables and Herbs Indoors durinig the Winter: This is a fantastic and informative article about how to grow vegetables inside your house during the winter.  It is written with clear direction and really shows you how to get started with little cost. This would make a great home-school family project! (Not to mention fresh vegetables around the house year-long)
Indoor Gardening

Scottish Water Plant Dig reveals ancient Roman Fort:  This is a cool story! When construction workers in Scotland were readying a site for a new treatment plant, they came upon an ancient Roman fort, which is dated 2000 years old. To read about the discovery:
Ancient Roman Fort

Puzzle Pouch and Free Patterns:  If you have a student who likes to sew and if looking for some easy patterns, don't miss this article. The sewing blog at About.com has found some terrific free patterns for a Puzzle Pouch, and don't worry about not having a sewing machine, these can all be done by hand:
Puzzle Pouch and Free Patterns

Fortune Cookie - Made in Japan?:  This is a fun story, it has been discovered that fortune cookies are not Chinese at all, they are Japanese!  Read the story of how one history graduate in Japan discovered this shocking fact:
Fortune Cookies: Made in Japan?

U.S. Scientists Create beating Hearts in Lab:  This was a huge story in the science and medicine world.  A group of scientists created beating hearts in aging rats, they feel that this could lead to some mighty new changes in health-care in the future. Read about the discovery and story:
Beating Hearts in Lab

Sir Edmund Hillary, who first climbed atop Mt. Everest, has died:  Yes, Sir Edmund Hillary died at the age of 88 on January 11, 2008.  This story made me put a note to myself about future lesson plans on Sir Hillary and Mt. Everest in general.  Children will find his story exciting, and his life even more so:
Sir Edmund Hillary dies

On-Line Tangram Puzzle Games:  If your student is into puzzles of any kind, then your student is going to love Tangrams.  Dave at About.com has put together a few sites for you involving Tangrams. Tangrams may look simple enough, but believe me it is not, some of these are wonderfully challenging:
On-Line Tangram Puzzle Games

Tornado Handbook, an Interactive Guide:  You have to love the people over at the Discovery Channel, they are always coming up with some unique learning tools! This is a interactive Tornado handbook, that allows your student to participate in making a tornado, while learning step by step along the way how tornadoes form, you are going to love this!:
Tornado Handbook

New Solar System could Breed Life:  Astronomers are very excited about this one.  The beginning stages of a new solar system have been discovered, and scientists believe that this new solar system could breed life. To read more on this discovery:
New Solar System

Time-Line Greenland:  This is just a great time-line for Greenland that will enhance any study or lesson plan you may be doing on Greenland. Done in chronological order and stacked full of information:
Time-Line Greenland

Civil War Detective Solves Grave Mix-Up:  Imagine that you really really really don't like the neighbors down the street "The Smiths", you are feuding constantly. But then you die and for some strange reason, end up buried in the Smith family plot! Read the story of the Civil War soldier, who really wound up buried in the wrong place, and the person who solved it:
Civil War Grave Mix-Up

Make your own Sock Puppets:  Finally, some hands-on fun for the little ones.  Very good article on making your own sock puppets and a list of materials that you will need to get the project done:
Sock Puppets

Going High-Tech: Geo-caching in the Classroom:  This is one gold-mine of a find for classroom fun with GPS.  This site will help inspire hours of learning and fun using a GPS for your older or advanced students. The blog has several ideas to get you started:
Geo-caching in the Classroom

Volunteers needed to join International Bird-Feeding Study!:  Be part of an international study on bird-feeding.  There are two different programs to choose from. This would be an ideal on-going lesson plan for the entire family, and a chance to be part of something very special and important:
Volunteer for Bird-Feeding Study

That is it for this week, hope you found something new for your home-school curriculum planning!

I love to find amazing talents and outstanding people who have been home-schooled. Christophe Bisciglia is just one of those people.

He was one of those kids in a public school, who just couldn't keep still, kept asking questions, often annoying teachers, he wanted to learn and he wanted to learn now. So he was taken out of public school to be home-schooled, where he found the time to pursue the things that he loved

Not one for ordinary lesson plans, he started raising horses and collecting computers, and this is really where he found his spark.  He learned to hack all his video games, he grew up and attended University of Washington, and at the age of 22 started working for Google.

This is where the Hero part comes in.  Now that he is 27, and still hacking games, he designed a program called Google 101, which became a class at University of Washington that teaches students a new concept called "cloud computing".  The concept hit big, so big that through a partnership with IBM, it will spread to other Universities.

To learn more on cloud computing click here:  Cloud Computing

Christophe Bisciglia is making his mark in the world, and that is why he is a Home-school Hero.....

Music is important and children need to learn music to be well-rounded. You can teach your child music appreciation and music history or how to play an actual instrument or how to sing. Kids love to learn about music and teaching your child will foster a life long love of music. If you homeschool your child, then you need to take a look at some of the following music curriculum.

Stories of the Great Composers: This book and compact disc is appropriate for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. This series takes a look at 12 famous composers, their life, a story about the composer, a list of three important compositions and a question and answer page about each composer. This set can be used with all ages and is easy to read and follow.

Meet the Great Composers: There are two books in this series, which takes a look at famous composers throughout history. This set is appropriate for children in 3^rd through 9^th grade. The series shows students important facts about the composer, a story about the composer’s life, interesting facts and activity sheets. In addition, each set comes with a CD with music samples. All activity sheets are reproducible so you can use the set over and over again.

Silver Burdett - Making Music: This series has a book for each grade level. Each book has a complete list of activities and learning activities that will teach children about the history of music, music awareness and music literacy. Each set comes complete with several books, music CDs and other extras, such as hand puppets for the pre-k series. This curriculum series is a bit more expensive than other programs, but it offers a complete music learning experience for homeschoolers.

Pheiffer House Music: This is specially designed with homeschoolers in mind and for parents looking for a Christian approach to teaching music. Sets are available for kindergarten, first, second, third and fourth through sixth. You can even order the entire set for a discount price. The goal of this music curriculum is to enable anyone, even those without musical experience to teach children about music. Each set comes with a detailed booklet and a CD as well as worksheets and flashcards. The CD contains lessons to teach pitch, rhythm and fun songs appropriate for each age level.

Sing N Learn: This company has many books and instruction sets that can be used with homeschooled children of all ages and skill levels. One of the most popular choices if the Classical Kid’s Collection Pack that includes educational information on famous composers such as Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Mozart. Each unit features detailed information about each composer along with questions about each one and has integrated curriculum to combine music with social studies, creative writing and other subjects.

Essentials of Music Theory: This is a complete set where you can pick and choose the books and CDs you are interested in using. This set is perfect for children that want to not only learn about music appreciation, but also has a keen interest in learning musical theory as well. Choose from books, compact discs and even software that all work together to teach your child all about music. Even if you have very little music experience, you can use this series at home.