Janine directs 80% to 90% of the homeschooling in our home. She manages and organizes the day to day tasks. On a good week she'll build a fairly detailed list so our girls know what they are responsible for accomplishing that week.
One of the areas I help is working with my older daughters to have them read useful books, as opposed to just entertaining books. As part of this process my daughter is suppose to give me some feedback. Normally this is verbal. I want to make sure they read the chapter, and that they understand it.
Recently I had my oldest daughter start in on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. She was fussing a bit about not wanting to give a verbal report. I said fine that there were other reasonable options. I brainstormed a bit, she could write a report, build a comic strip, throw together a collage, make something with clay, and so on. Finally a bit exasperated she said she got the idea, but she wasn't going to do an interpretive dance. We both laughed.
She claims not to know where the idea of an interpretive dance came from. Maybe I'll have to find a reward for doing an interpretive dance.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, book, books, reading
Monday, December 31, 2007
You can have your own Custom Search Engines
After posting about Gary's Homeschool flavored Search Engine I got to thinking just how cool custom search engines could be, and some of the possibilities.
While reading at The Common Room I found out that custom search engines have been around awhile.
Kim set up a Frugal Hacks Search Engine.
Scribbit set up a Mom Blog Search Engine.
I did a little googling and found a claim that there are over 100,000 custom search engines. Google announced Custom Search Engines over a year ago. I wasn't able to find a list though.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
While reading at The Common Room I found out that custom search engines have been around awhile.
Kim set up a Frugal Hacks Search Engine.
Scribbit set up a Mom Blog Search Engine.
I did a little googling and found a claim that there are over 100,000 custom search engines. Google announced Custom Search Engines over a year ago. I wasn't able to find a list though.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
My wife and I are hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling this week. You have ten hours to send in your submission.
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Friday, December 28, 2007
Homeschool Family Video UPDATE
We now know who created the wonderful Homeschool Family Video:
Hat Tip: Demian~DreamSinger
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Here's the info from the webpage containing the video:
“Oh, the misconceptions and realities of homeschool life," from comedian (and homeschool dad) Tim Hawkins. Tim plays the dad in the video and his wife, Heather, plays the mom. Half of the kids are theirs – the rest are friends. To see this and other comedy videos from Tim Hawkins, go to: http://www.timhawkins.net."
Hat Tip: Demian~DreamSinger
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Submit your entry for a whatever size graphic for the Carnival of Homeschooling
There are no limits on the whatever size graphic. I wanted to have a third category so people could be very creative. The barn door is wide open. You can have a huge graphic, a really thin graphic, whatever size you think will help promote the carnival.
Please submit your candidate for a medium size icon for the Carnival of Homeschooling. Make sure to read the introduction and rules. Then post the graphic on your blog and add a link to the post here.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Please submit your candidate for a medium size icon for the Carnival of Homeschooling. Make sure to read the introduction and rules. Then post the graphic on your blog and add a link to the post here.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Submit your entry for a medium size graphic for the Carnival of Homeschooling
The medium size graphics can be up to 80 pixels wide. The suggested height is between 50 and 100 pixels high. You could do more, but be aware that a really tall graphic will probably not be used as often.
The goal for this graphic is to be used by bloggers who are strong supporters of the carnival..
Please submit your candidate for a medium size icon for the Carnival of Homeschooling. Make sure to read the introduction and rules. Then post the graphic on your blog and add a link to the post here.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
The goal for this graphic is to be used by bloggers who are strong supporters of the carnival..
Please submit your candidate for a medium size icon for the Carnival of Homeschooling. Make sure to read the introduction and rules. Then post the graphic on your blog and add a link to the post here.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Submit your entry for a small size graphic for the Carnival of Homeschooling
The small size contest is limited to 80 pixels wide by 15 pixels high. This is a standard size for a small graphic in a blogroll, for example:
People more readily will add small icons because they don’t take up as much room. This could be a challenge. I think it will be hard to get a good icon representing the Carnival of Homeschooling in only 80 by 15 pixels.
Please submit your candidate for a small size icon for the Carnival of Homeschooling. Make sure to read the introduction and rules. Then post the graphic on your blog and add a link to the post here.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
People more readily will add small icons because they don’t take up as much room. This could be a challenge. I think it will be hard to get a good icon representing the Carnival of Homeschooling in only 80 by 15 pixels.
Please submit your candidate for a small size icon for the Carnival of Homeschooling. Make sure to read the introduction and rules. Then post the graphic on your blog and add a link to the post here.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Contest for Carnival of Homeschooling graphics
Over the last two years several people have suggested we have a graphic or two for the carnival. I haven’t followed up on these suggestions. I’m not a very artsy person, so I didn’t feel confident in my ability to generate a cool graphic for the carnival.
Here are some great carnival graphics. I’ve really enjoyed the graphic for the Homeschool Blog Awards:
It recently occurred to me that one way to get some cool graphics for the Carnival of Homeschool was to invite others to generate candidates for a contest. This is taking advantage of the The Wisdom of Crowds. What we are going to do is have a two stage contest.
For the first stage people can generate and submit icons for the carnival. They can post the icon on their blog and use Mister Linky to generate a link back. Or they can leave a comment telling us how to get the icon. We want to make sure people have enough time to be creative, so the first stage will last until the 28th of January, 2008. I am hoping for a couple dozen entries for each category.
For the second stage we’ll have a vote on which images people like. Janine and I will select the four to seven graphics we like best in each category, and then everyone can vote.
There are three categories of images: small, medium, and whatever.
The rules for the contest are:
1) The graphics have to be available for others to use. The only options I can think of are a) you created the graphic or b) the graphic is public domain.
2) There is a limit of two images per category, per person.
Are there any other rules we need?
Put on your thinking caps and see what kind of cool graphics you can come up with!
Here are some great carnival graphics. I’ve really enjoyed the graphic for the Homeschool Blog Awards:
It recently occurred to me that one way to get some cool graphics for the Carnival of Homeschool was to invite others to generate candidates for a contest. This is taking advantage of the The Wisdom of Crowds. What we are going to do is have a two stage contest.
For the first stage people can generate and submit icons for the carnival. They can post the icon on their blog and use Mister Linky to generate a link back. Or they can leave a comment telling us how to get the icon. We want to make sure people have enough time to be creative, so the first stage will last until the 28th of January, 2008. I am hoping for a couple dozen entries for each category.
For the second stage we’ll have a vote on which images people like. Janine and I will select the four to seven graphics we like best in each category, and then everyone can vote.
There are three categories of images: small, medium, and whatever.
The rules for the contest are:
1) The graphics have to be available for others to use. The only options I can think of are a) you created the graphic or b) the graphic is public domain.
2) There is a limit of two images per category, per person.
Are there any other rules we need?
Put on your thinking caps and see what kind of cool graphics you can come up with!
Let us know if you have any questions.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Carnival of Homeschooling is up - week 104
Silvia is hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling this week at Po Moyemu -- In My Opinion.
This is the last carnival of 2007. Wow, hard to believe.
Silvia starts and ends the carnival with poems about new years. Packed in between are a lot of good posts.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
This is the last carnival of 2007. Wow, hard to believe.
Silvia starts and ends the carnival with poems about new years. Packed in between are a lot of good posts.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas
Enjoy a little Christmas music. This is one of my favorites sung by Josh Groban.
Oh, Holy Night
Oh, Holy Night
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Another homeschool blog survey
Alasandra is hosting her own Homeschool Blog Award survey.
I think we'll take at least second place in the favorite group blog category.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
I think we'll take at least second place in the favorite group blog category.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Prince Caspian Movie Trailer
My daughters have greatly enjoyed the Narnia series. They even bought the DVD for the recent movie.
They were excited to see the trailer for Prince Caspian. (Be warned, the trailer is fairly large.) Unfortunately the movie won't be out until May, 2008.
(Hat tip: Home is where you start from)
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Technorati tags: Narnia, Prince Caspian
They were excited to see the trailer for Prince Caspian. (Be warned, the trailer is fairly large.) Unfortunately the movie won't be out until May, 2008.
(Hat tip: Home is where you start from)
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Technorati tags: Narnia, Prince Caspian
Friday, December 21, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Check out the Homeschool flavored search engine
Gary Davis of HomeSchoolBuzz is doing some cutting edge technology on his site. He has recently used a new Google technology to build a search engine with a specified set of web sites and blogs. The default for Google is to return results from the whole internet. This can be overwhelming. You may get millions of hits.
Gary has created a Homeschool flavored search engine. With this search engine if you enter some patterned Google will only search through home school related web pages. This gives you a might tighter focus of hits.
Here is the full announcement.
And here is a sample of the Homeschool flavored search engine:
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Gary has created a Homeschool flavored search engine. With this search engine if you enter some patterned Google will only search through home school related web pages. This gives you a might tighter focus of hits.
Here is the full announcement.
And here is a sample of the Homeschool flavored search engine:
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
The 33rd Carnival of Space is up
This week's Carnival of Space is up at Spaceflight, a blog from Germany.
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Technorati tags: carnival, space
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Technorati tags: carnival, space
Stop playing the victim? Or just quit the game?
Susan Bruce tells a powerfully moving story about rescuing her children from a poor education in public schools. Stop Playing the Victim - Become an Effective Advocate covers her multi-year long trek to have her sons taught how to read.
Her twin boys go off to school and from kindergarten they seem to be having trouble. By third grade there really seems to be a problem. Susan worked with the teachers and her sons. She read to her boys. They did extra homework. She made flash card and even bought a computer program. But still the boys were not learning to read.
The school tested the twins and decided to place them in special education. They made little progress. The boys repeated the 4th grade. Still little progress.
Susan did research and came to the conclusion that her children might be dyslexic. Susan asked the school if her boys might be dyslexic. The school said probably not. Susan struggled with the school, she did more research, and finally after several meetings and months of effort the school got a qualified teacher to teach her boys to read. Finally the boys learned to read.
She concludes by challenging other parents to stop being a victim, become empowered and save their children.
On one level this is a triumphant story about a parent successfully fighting to get a quality education for her children. You could probably even make a movie out of it. Against long odds our heroine saves her children from a dismal future.
But as I read the story I kept thinking that for every parent who is able to play the game and get the system to teach their children, how many other parents don't realize there is a problem or don't know how to deal with the schools? My guess is there are a dozen families whose children languish in public school suffering for every one family who successfully finesse the school, jump through the hoops, and rescue their children from a dismal future.
I am so glad that there is a third option: homeschooling!
Homeschooling allows us to react quickly when there is a problem and not let our children suffer for years. Homeschooling allows us to quit the game. We are empowered. In many ways we are more empowered than parents who still have to dance the tune played by the school. Maybe the parents can add a few new steps or beg for another tune, but they have to deal with all the bureaucracy.
We don't. We can get a new dance power. There is great power in being able to quit the game.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Her twin boys go off to school and from kindergarten they seem to be having trouble. By third grade there really seems to be a problem. Susan worked with the teachers and her sons. She read to her boys. They did extra homework. She made flash card and even bought a computer program. But still the boys were not learning to read.
The school tested the twins and decided to place them in special education. They made little progress. The boys repeated the 4th grade. Still little progress.
Susan did research and came to the conclusion that her children might be dyslexic. Susan asked the school if her boys might be dyslexic. The school said probably not. Susan struggled with the school, she did more research, and finally after several meetings and months of effort the school got a qualified teacher to teach her boys to read. Finally the boys learned to read.
She concludes by challenging other parents to stop being a victim, become empowered and save their children.
On one level this is a triumphant story about a parent successfully fighting to get a quality education for her children. You could probably even make a movie out of it. Against long odds our heroine saves her children from a dismal future.
But as I read the story I kept thinking that for every parent who is able to play the game and get the system to teach their children, how many other parents don't realize there is a problem or don't know how to deal with the schools? My guess is there are a dozen families whose children languish in public school suffering for every one family who successfully finesse the school, jump through the hoops, and rescue their children from a dismal future.
I am so glad that there is a third option: homeschooling!
Homeschooling allows us to react quickly when there is a problem and not let our children suffer for years. Homeschooling allows us to quit the game. We are empowered. In many ways we are more empowered than parents who still have to dance the tune played by the school. Maybe the parents can add a few new steps or beg for another tune, but they have to deal with all the bureaucracy.
We don't. We can get a new dance power. There is great power in being able to quit the game.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Another reason to do foster care
An initial reason for starting our blog was to track and document reasons for homeschooling. Over the years I've been surprised when finding yet another reason to homeschool.
Today a friend sent me a link about foster care. CNN reports that a study in Romania found "Toddlers rescued from orphanages and placed in good foster homes score dramatically higher on IQ tests years later than children who were left behind."
The CNN article continues with:
"The boost meant the difference between borderline retardation and average intelligence for some youngsters.
Most important, children removed from orphanages before age 2 had the biggest improvement -- key new evidence of a sensitive period for brain development, according to the U.S. team that conducted the research."
The research found that on average a child place in foster care had a 10 point higher IQ.
We didn't start doing foster care with the intention of helping children improve their brain. It is a pleasant surprise to find that we are helping children in additional ways.
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Technorati tags: foster care, parenting, family, children
Today a friend sent me a link about foster care. CNN reports that a study in Romania found "Toddlers rescued from orphanages and placed in good foster homes score dramatically higher on IQ tests years later than children who were left behind."
The CNN article continues with:
"The boost meant the difference between borderline retardation and average intelligence for some youngsters.
Most important, children removed from orphanages before age 2 had the biggest improvement -- key new evidence of a sensitive period for brain development, according to the U.S. team that conducted the research."
The research found that on average a child place in foster care had a 10 point higher IQ.
We didn't start doing foster care with the intention of helping children improve their brain. It is a pleasant surprise to find that we are helping children in additional ways.
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Technorati tags: foster care, parenting, family, children
A new chapter in the never ending saga
We've had quite a few reports about the difficulties of homeschooling in Germany.
However, I was surprised to read that Germany was threatening to deport American missionaries for not enrolling their children in public school. It is not like this family is petitioning to become German citizens.
Missionaries' deportation postponed, for now
Christians refuse to turn children over to state-run school system
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Germany
However, I was surprised to read that Germany was threatening to deport American missionaries for not enrolling their children in public school. It is not like this family is petitioning to become German citizens.
Missionaries' deportation postponed, for now
Christians refuse to turn children over to state-run school system
A deportation order scheduled to take effect today has been postponed, providing a brief extension for a family of Christian missionaries trying to set up a Bible-teaching church to share Jesus in Germany.
The deadline of Dec. 20 had been looming for Clint Robinson and his family, until late yesterday, when officials with two ministries working on the family's situation reported the order had been postponed.
The order's deadline had been set several months ago, when Robinson, in the process of requesting permission to live and minister in Germany, told officials his children would be homeschooled.
However, that remains illegal in Germany, and authorities, upset that he refused to turn his kids over to the state-run school system for their education, then denied him permission to remain in Germany.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, Germany
Would you like your own nuclear power plant?
OK, I know, this is way off field from what we normally blog about, but I think it is just amazing.
Toshiba will be selling a micro-nulcear power plant:
"Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual apartment buildings or city blocks. The new reactor, which is only 20 feet by 6 feet, could change everything for small remote communities, small businesses or even a group of neighbors who are fed up with the power companies and want more control over their energy needs."
They are looking at building one in Alaska.
If the price is right and they can be sold in the United States, it could make a huge difference in our demand for oil.
(Hat tip: Instapundit.com)
Update I: Brian of advanced nanotechnology has a nice write up on micro and small nuclear reactors.
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Technorati tags: nuclear power, Toshiba
Toshiba will be selling a micro-nulcear power plant:
"Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual apartment buildings or city blocks. The new reactor, which is only 20 feet by 6 feet, could change everything for small remote communities, small businesses or even a group of neighbors who are fed up with the power companies and want more control over their energy needs."
They are looking at building one in Alaska.
If the price is right and they can be sold in the United States, it could make a huge difference in our demand for oil.
(Hat tip: Instapundit.com)
Update I: Brian of advanced nanotechnology has a nice write up on micro and small nuclear reactors.
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Technorati tags: nuclear power, Toshiba
Maybe we can make money when we travel
Someone is offering to send three postcards from Poland. With just three days left the bidding is already up to $255.
I wonder if we could provide a regular service and get people to pay us to travel to Europe.
(Hat tip: Clicked!)
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Technorati tags: prank, money
I wonder if we could provide a regular service and get people to pay us to travel to Europe.
(Hat tip: Clicked!)
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Technorati tags: prank, money
A nice interview with Jay Mathews
I have a lot of respect for Jay Mathews. Jay is a education reporter and columnist for the Washington Post. I've set up a Google Alert so I get notified when Jay writes columns. I've posted several times in response to some of Jay's columns.
Michael Shaughnessy recently interviewed Jay. If you'd like to know more about Jay, check out the interview.
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Technorati tags: public school, public education, children, education, Jay Mathews
Michael Shaughnessy recently interviewed Jay. If you'd like to know more about Jay, check out the interview.
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Technorati tags: public school, public education, children, education, Jay Mathews
Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
You have several days, but with Christmas around the corner, it is best if you send in your submission now, so you don't forget.
The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be hosted by Silvia at Po Moyemu. She announces:
"I'll be hosting the next carnival, #104--it will not come out on Tuesday, Christmas Day, but on Wednesday the 26th. I have a theme in mind, but of course I'll still accept posts that aren't on topic as well.I'd love to have stories or examples which show how homeschooling brings your family closer--nuclear and/or extended. What does homeschooling (not being tied to a school schedule, etc) make possible for your family that you'd miss out on otherwise? Maybe look back on your last 12 months of homeschooling, or even if you're a new homeschooler and started in September, and start thinking about what you'd like to tell us. I'd love posts with photos, too!"
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be hosted by Silvia at Po Moyemu. She announces:
"I'll be hosting the next carnival, #104--it will not come out on Tuesday, Christmas Day, but on Wednesday the 26th. I have a theme in mind, but of course I'll still accept posts that aren't on topic as well.I'd love to have stories or examples which show how homeschooling brings your family closer--nuclear and/or extended. What does homeschooling (not being tied to a school schedule, etc) make possible for your family that you'd miss out on otherwise? Maybe look back on your last 12 months of homeschooling, or even if you're a new homeschooler and started in September, and start thinking about what you'd like to tell us. I'd love posts with photos, too!"
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Linda Schrock Taylor proclaims "Writing Is Not a Team Sport, Learning Is Not Team-Dependent"
Linda Schrock Taylor laments public education's insistence to use class led instruction:
"I earned (ha!) only one failing grade during my entire college career, and that grade was in a class in my major area, Education of the Deaf. I had to retake the class, of course, but I waited until I could attend a different college in another state; until I could take the class from a professor who actually taught the class instead of assigning group projects that forced us, unwillingly, into peer-led instruction."
Linda explains why this education fad is so ineffective.
I agree with Linda. Students go to class to learn a subject. Public school teachers are suppose to have mastered the material. By forcing students to teach each other you often get the blind leading the blind. There are a few situations in which it may make sense for students to study the subject and then teach each other, but in general group instruction doesn't work for children who know nothing about the material.
One of the reasons we homeschool is so we can avoid the latest education fad. Diane Ravitch documents that education fads seem to come every couple years in her book Left Back: A Century of Battles over School Reform.
(Hat tip: The Crimson Wife)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
"I earned (ha!) only one failing grade during my entire college career, and that grade was in a class in my major area, Education of the Deaf. I had to retake the class, of course, but I waited until I could attend a different college in another state; until I could take the class from a professor who actually taught the class instead of assigning group projects that forced us, unwillingly, into peer-led instruction."
Linda explains why this education fad is so ineffective.
I agree with Linda. Students go to class to learn a subject. Public school teachers are suppose to have mastered the material. By forcing students to teach each other you often get the blind leading the blind. There are a few situations in which it may make sense for students to study the subject and then teach each other, but in general group instruction doesn't work for children who know nothing about the material.
One of the reasons we homeschool is so we can avoid the latest education fad. Diane Ravitch documents that education fads seem to come every couple years in her book Left Back: A Century of Battles over School Reform.
(Hat tip: The Crimson Wife)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Judge threatens to take away children from single mother
Dana has more information on the Utah mother threatened with jail.
Update:
Woman abandons home to escape public schools
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Update:
Woman abandons home to escape public schools
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Do you need a Christmas laugh?
Mother Tenn has the inside scoop on why Christmas might be late this year.
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Technorati tags: Christmas, humor
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Technorati tags: Christmas, humor
Classical Unschooling
I enjoyed Willa's thoughts on Classical Unschooling.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Spunky is back with thoughts on Huckabee
Spunky use to blog frequency with wise and thoughtful posts. Just over a year ago she decided to take a break. Spunky started posting again Monday. Several people asked her what she thought of Huckabee. On Monday she started writing, part II came out on Tuesday, and part III came out today. She documents her concerns.
I don't have an informed opinion about the presidential candidates, yet. I do want a smaller federal government. Several people I respect have commented that Huckabee see the government as the solution to many problems. If that is what Huckabee feels, then it is a big strike against him.
If you want to learn more about Huckabee, check out Spunky's blog.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
I don't have an informed opinion about the presidential candidates, yet. I do want a smaller federal government. Several people I respect have commented that Huckabee see the government as the solution to many problems. If that is what Huckabee feels, then it is a big strike against him.
If you want to learn more about Huckabee, check out Spunky's blog.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The importance of sleep in the learning process
We've already posted a couple times about how important it is for children to get enough sleep.
PhysOrg.com reports on a study out of Belgium that found:
"As time passes, our memories are transferred to different parts of the brain in order to ideally store our past experiences. While scientists have known that sleep plays an important role in helping consolidate memories, a new study investigates the role of sleep a step further, and shows how one night of sleep can lead to changes in brain activity six months after an event has occurred."
The study found:
"Two days after the initial learning, the subjects were again tested. Not only did the sleep-deprived forget a significantly greater number of word pairs..."
The surprising thing for the researchers was that when the subjects were tested six months later those who had a good nights sleep had different brain activity:
"This time, subjects in the sleeping group had greater brain activity in the left ventral medial prefrontal cortex (but not the hippocampus) compared with the sleep-deprived, who had a more active hippocampus. "
We do a pretty good job of making sure our daughters get enough sleep. But both Janine and I tend to try and cram the evenings with chores, blogging and reading. This study gives another reason for getting enough sleep.
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Technorati tags: parenting, children, sleep
PhysOrg.com reports on a study out of Belgium that found:
"As time passes, our memories are transferred to different parts of the brain in order to ideally store our past experiences. While scientists have known that sleep plays an important role in helping consolidate memories, a new study investigates the role of sleep a step further, and shows how one night of sleep can lead to changes in brain activity six months after an event has occurred."
The study found:
"Two days after the initial learning, the subjects were again tested. Not only did the sleep-deprived forget a significantly greater number of word pairs..."
The surprising thing for the researchers was that when the subjects were tested six months later those who had a good nights sleep had different brain activity:
"This time, subjects in the sleeping group had greater brain activity in the left ventral medial prefrontal cortex (but not the hippocampus) compared with the sleep-deprived, who had a more active hippocampus. "
We do a pretty good job of making sure our daughters get enough sleep. But both Janine and I tend to try and cram the evenings with chores, blogging and reading. This study gives another reason for getting enough sleep.
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Technorati tags: parenting, children, sleep
The Carnival of Homeschooling is up - week 103
The Headmistress is hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling this week at The Common Room. She has organized the carnival alphabetically.
There is a nice selection of posts.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
There is a nice selection of posts.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Monday, December 17, 2007
Babies like Good Samaritans
This is fascinating: a study out of Yale found that children as young as six months will select Good Samaritans. As reported in the Christian Science Monitor:
"The study released last month presented babies with a diorama-like display of an anthropomorphic circle struggling to make it up a hill. Just when it appeared that all hope was lost, a heroic triangle appeared, and pushed the circle to the top. The round climber bounces, clearly elated to have reached the summit. The same scenario is played out again, only this time a square appears at the top of the hill and pushes the circle to the bottom.
The babies were then asked to pick a toy – the helper or the hinderer, as scientists called them. One hundred percent of 6-month-olds and 87.5 percent of 10-month-olds chose the helper. The results were consistent even when the triangle and the square swapped places as good guy and bad guy. In several other iterations of the experiment, the helper, regardless of shape or color, won out. "
'Babies are very competent socially,' says Kiley Hamlin, lead author of the study. 'They can figure this kind of stuff out without people explicitly teaching what's nice and not nice and who's nice and who's not nice.'"
I was surprised that babies so young could recognize, and choose a Good Samaritan.
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Technorati tags: children, family, parenting
"The study released last month presented babies with a diorama-like display of an anthropomorphic circle struggling to make it up a hill. Just when it appeared that all hope was lost, a heroic triangle appeared, and pushed the circle to the top. The round climber bounces, clearly elated to have reached the summit. The same scenario is played out again, only this time a square appears at the top of the hill and pushes the circle to the bottom.
The babies were then asked to pick a toy – the helper or the hinderer, as scientists called them. One hundred percent of 6-month-olds and 87.5 percent of 10-month-olds chose the helper. The results were consistent even when the triangle and the square swapped places as good guy and bad guy. In several other iterations of the experiment, the helper, regardless of shape or color, won out. "
'Babies are very competent socially,' says Kiley Hamlin, lead author of the study. 'They can figure this kind of stuff out without people explicitly teaching what's nice and not nice and who's nice and who's not nice.'"
I was surprised that babies so young could recognize, and choose a Good Samaritan.
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Technorati tags: children, family, parenting
Homeschool Family Video
I got the pointer to this one from a homeschool newsgroup.
Homeschool Family (To the music of the Adams Family)
You can watch it on Google Video too, but the picture isn't as clear.
UPDATE:
Does anyone know who produced this video? They did a wonderful job and I would like to give credit where credit is due.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Homeschool Family (To the music of the Adams Family)
You can watch it on Google Video too, but the picture isn't as clear.
UPDATE:
Does anyone know who produced this video? They did a wonderful job and I would like to give credit where credit is due.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Last week's Charlotte Mason blog carnival
The Charlotte Mason blog carnival last week was at Freedom Academy.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Charlotte, Mason, Charlotte Mason
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Charlotte, Mason, Charlotte Mason
Does Time Really Slow Down during a Frightening Event?
I found this fascinating. Three researchers (Chess Stetson, Matthew P. Fiesta, and David M. Eagleman) tried to answer the question: Does Time Really Slow Down during a Frightening Event?
From the abstract:
"Observers commonly report that time seems to have moved in slow motion during a life-threatening event. It is unknown whether this is a function of increased time resolution during the event, or instead an illusion of remembering an emotionally salient event. Using a hand-held device to measure speed of visual perception, participants experienced free fall for 31 m before landing safely in a net. We found no evidence of increased temporal resolution, in apparent conflict with the fact that participants retrospectively estimated their own fall to last 36% longer than others' falls. The duration dilation during a frightening event, and the lack of concomitant increase in temporal resolution, indicate that subjective time is not a single entity that speeds or slows, but instead is composed of separable subcomponents. Our findings suggest that time-slowing is a function of recollection, not perception: a richer encoding of memory may cause a salient event to appear, retrospectively, as though it lasted longer."
For the experiment they first measured how quickly the subjects could differentiate two numbers in a normal, restful situation. Then they dropped people 150 feet. During the 2.9 seconds of the fall, the subjects were again asked to differentiate between two new numbers. They didn't find any increase in the rate of perception.
While time dilation in movies can be a cool plot device, it looks like it is just fiction.
(Hat tip: PhysOrg.com)
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Technorati tags: Time Dilation, slow time
From the abstract:
"Observers commonly report that time seems to have moved in slow motion during a life-threatening event. It is unknown whether this is a function of increased time resolution during the event, or instead an illusion of remembering an emotionally salient event. Using a hand-held device to measure speed of visual perception, participants experienced free fall for 31 m before landing safely in a net. We found no evidence of increased temporal resolution, in apparent conflict with the fact that participants retrospectively estimated their own fall to last 36% longer than others' falls. The duration dilation during a frightening event, and the lack of concomitant increase in temporal resolution, indicate that subjective time is not a single entity that speeds or slows, but instead is composed of separable subcomponents. Our findings suggest that time-slowing is a function of recollection, not perception: a richer encoding of memory may cause a salient event to appear, retrospectively, as though it lasted longer."
For the experiment they first measured how quickly the subjects could differentiate two numbers in a normal, restful situation. Then they dropped people 150 feet. During the 2.9 seconds of the fall, the subjects were again asked to differentiate between two new numbers. They didn't find any increase in the rate of perception.
While time dilation in movies can be a cool plot device, it looks like it is just fiction.
(Hat tip: PhysOrg.com)
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Technorati tags: Time Dilation, slow time
Physical affection is different with boys and girls
One of my brothers is in town. He and his family arrived last Wednesday. They'll be here for about three weeks. He has three boys. Their ages are 6, 4, and 7 months.
I'm used to my three daughters. They give nice gentle hugs.
My brother's middle son came over at lunch today to give his little brother a hug. I had forgotten that for boys physical affection is really a contact sport. The four year old gave a minor head bump, push the baby around, and almost mauled him. The baby put up with it.
If one have my daughters had received a similar hug, she probably would have cried.
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Technorati tags: children, family, parenting
I'm used to my three daughters. They give nice gentle hugs.
My brother's middle son came over at lunch today to give his little brother a hug. I had forgotten that for boys physical affection is really a contact sport. The four year old gave a minor head bump, push the baby around, and almost mauled him. The baby put up with it.
If one have my daughters had received a similar hug, she probably would have cried.
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Technorati tags: children, family, parenting
Extending the school day
I really hate this push to institutionalize the care of children. Academic gains are fine, but what about family life? Who is going to pay for it? Are they going to force families who don't need or want state "day care/school" to attend longer hours anyway?
Needs of new economy trump old school calendar
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Technorati tags: public school, public education, children, education
Needs of new economy trump old school calendar
Students weren't thrilled at first with leaving school at 4:15 p.m. instead of at 2:20 p.m. But the added hours gave them more time for physical education and let them select special interest classes, in which teachers bolstered student skill deficits as revealed by testing. By the end of the year, student scores had risen by enough to enable Kuss to make the progress required under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The only surprise is that more districts haven't lengthened school schedules set decades ago to accommodate a farm economy rather the information economy of today.
New research suggests the time is ripe for a change:
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Technorati tags: public school, public education, children, education
The Carnival of Family Life is up
This week's Carnival of Family Life is being hosted by Adventures in Juggling.
To sumbit to the next carnival click on this carnival submission form.
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Technorati tags: children, family, parenting
To sumbit to the next carnival click on this carnival submission form.
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Technorati tags: children, family, parenting
Things have been a little slow
We are in, what I like to call, an unschooling phase.
With illness, the holidays, adjusting to a toddler in the house again, relatives visiting from out of the country,we are not doing as much "school work" as we normally do.
Our children have learned a lot by caring for the little ones who have passed through our home and our other activities, but it is not the sort of thing you can quantify easily, like doing a math assignment or pages in a work book.
Long term, what we having been doing will be far more important than the things we have let drop for a while. However, I'm conventional enough to get nervous when not enough "workbook like" stuff gets completed.
Of course, the kids are always reading and we limit television and computer time, so I don't think their brains are wasting away.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
With illness, the holidays, adjusting to a toddler in the house again, relatives visiting from out of the country,we are not doing as much "school work" as we normally do.
Our children have learned a lot by caring for the little ones who have passed through our home and our other activities, but it is not the sort of thing you can quantify easily, like doing a math assignment or pages in a work book.
Long term, what we having been doing will be far more important than the things we have let drop for a while. However, I'm conventional enough to get nervous when not enough "workbook like" stuff gets completed.
Of course, the kids are always reading and we limit television and computer time, so I don't think their brains are wasting away.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Homeschool Blog Awards results are posted
The winners for the Homeschool Blog Awards have been announced.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
You have 6 hours to send in an entry.
The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be hosted by The Headmistress at The Common Room.
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be hosted by The Headmistress at The Common Room.
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The 33rd Carnival of Space is up
This week's Carnival of Space is up at Universe Today.
It is nice to see the carnival is still going strong.
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Technorati tags: carnival, space
It is nice to see the carnival is still going strong.
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Technorati tags: carnival, space
Kids do the strangest things
We've always homeschooled. My older children have had no interest in attending public school. My youngest is in a different place. She very much wants to imitate "school."
For example, a few years ago, she really wanted have a lunch box. To humor her, we got all the kids lunch boxes and used them to take our lunch to homeschool co-op. This was enough "school-like" to satisfy her.
More recently, when we do her school work, she wants me to mark her papers and give her a letter grade. That is not something I normally do, but I've tried to humor her. So, I will put a letter grade on her assignments.
Here's where it gets strange. My youngest daughter will purposely put the wrong answers down. She will pretend that she didn't understand, and then ask me, "So, this would be a B- in school, wouldn't Mommy?" or 'Is this the average grade at school?"
I've noticed her deliberately writing wrong answers on more than one occasion. Getting a grade isn't enough for her. She wants to get different grades. I can tell when it is deliberate because she won't get upset when I mark something wrong, but will pretend to be disappointed.
Today, she did a math fact mostly correct, but there were a few very easy questions wrong at the bottom of the page. She was trying so hard not to smile every time I marked a problem wrong.
This is also the kid that likes to dress up in a black pleated skirt and a white shirt (because she thinks it looks like a school uniform.)
I blame some of it on watching PBS shows like Arthur and Dragon Tales and reading/listening to books like the Berenstain Bears and Harry Potter. I believe she is pretending to be a character in a story.
For now, I will let her have her fun. I will mark her papers and pretend that I don't know what she's doing.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
For example, a few years ago, she really wanted have a lunch box. To humor her, we got all the kids lunch boxes and used them to take our lunch to homeschool co-op. This was enough "school-like" to satisfy her.
More recently, when we do her school work, she wants me to mark her papers and give her a letter grade. That is not something I normally do, but I've tried to humor her. So, I will put a letter grade on her assignments.Here's where it gets strange. My youngest daughter will purposely put the wrong answers down. She will pretend that she didn't understand, and then ask me, "So, this would be a B- in school, wouldn't Mommy?" or 'Is this the average grade at school?"
I've noticed her deliberately writing wrong answers on more than one occasion. Getting a grade isn't enough for her. She wants to get different grades. I can tell when it is deliberate because she won't get upset when I mark something wrong, but will pretend to be disappointed.
Today, she did a math fact mostly correct, but there were a few very easy questions wrong at the bottom of the page. She was trying so hard not to smile every time I marked a problem wrong.
This is also the kid that likes to dress up in a black pleated skirt and a white shirt (because she thinks it looks like a school uniform.)
I blame some of it on watching PBS shows like Arthur and Dragon Tales and reading/listening to books like the Berenstain Bears and Harry Potter. I believe she is pretending to be a character in a story.
For now, I will let her have her fun. I will mark her papers and pretend that I don't know what she's doing.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Do you have a child with Dyslexia?
Joanne Jacobs blogs about Dyslexics' success. She references a recent New York Times article on Tracing Business Acumen to Dyslexia. A recent study found that an above average number of entrepreneurs have dyslexia. The article starts with:
"It has long been known that dyslexics are drawn to running their own businesses, where they can get around their weaknesses in reading and writing and play on their strengths. But a new study of entrepreneurs in the United States suggests that dyslexia is much more common among small-business owners than even the experts had thought."
It is an interesting article.
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Technorati tags: entrepreneur, Dyslexia
"It has long been known that dyslexics are drawn to running their own businesses, where they can get around their weaknesses in reading and writing and play on their strengths. But a new study of entrepreneurs in the United States suggests that dyslexia is much more common among small-business owners than even the experts had thought."
It is an interesting article.
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Technorati tags: entrepreneur, Dyslexia
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
You have just three days to vote in the Homeschool Blog Awards
You have until the 15th of December to vote in the Homeschool Blog Awards for 2007.
There are 23 categories, and a lot of great blogs.
If you haven't voted, drop in and check out the huge variety of blogs.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
There are 23 categories, and a lot of great blogs.
If you haven't voted, drop in and check out the huge variety of blogs.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
The Carnival of Education is up
This week's Carnival of Education is being hosted at The Colossus of Rhodey.
There are a few posts by homeschooolers scattered through the carnival, and then we wrap up the end of the carnival.
If you would like to submit to the next Carnival of Education, go here.
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Technorati tags: education, school
There are a few posts by homeschooolers scattered through the carnival, and then we wrap up the end of the carnival.
If you would like to submit to the next Carnival of Education, go here.
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Technorati tags: education, school
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
I finished "From the Earth to the Moon" by Jules Verne
Again I'll mention that I like DailyLit. They provide an amazing service. They deliver books via email in manageable chunks.
I just finished From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne. It was pleasant, not great, but a fun read. The basic story is about a group of Americans who after the Civil War build a huge cannon to blast a rocket to the moon. Jules Verne goes into great detail about how long the cannon is, how much gun powder is needed, and so on. He gets some of the physics wrong, but he also gets some of it right.
Several times I've posted about David McCullough's account of Teddy Roosevelt reading Anna Karenina. I've decided that for my next DailyLit book I'll try "Anna Karenina."
If you haven't checked out DailyLit, give it a try.
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Technorati tags: reading, classic, books
I just finished From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne. It was pleasant, not great, but a fun read. The basic story is about a group of Americans who after the Civil War build a huge cannon to blast a rocket to the moon. Jules Verne goes into great detail about how long the cannon is, how much gun powder is needed, and so on. He gets some of the physics wrong, but he also gets some of it right.
Several times I've posted about David McCullough's account of Teddy Roosevelt reading Anna Karenina. I've decided that for my next DailyLit book I'll try "Anna Karenina."
If you haven't checked out DailyLit, give it a try.
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Technorati tags: reading, classic, books
More on following the money
The internet is amazing. Last month we posted a link to a summary of how much money various presidential candidates have raised. Today I came across Campaign Finance which list the top donors for the presidential candidates. It also lists the top donors for Senate and House races, just enter the name of a candidate.
There are dozens of donors to Hilary Clinton who have given over $6,000 each. In contrast the top Republican fund raiser, Mitt Romney, only has three people who have donated over $5,000. One of these individuals is Mitt himself who has donated $61,435. These lists have a date. I think it may be possible for someone to make two smaller donations at different times and not show up as a large contributor.
Check out who are the big spenders in your zip code. The site also tracks who celebrities are donating to. For example you can find out who Tom Crusie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bill Gates have donated to.
As with anything on the internet you should be cautious about completely accepting the information. I did a quick Google search and didn't turn up anyone saying the information was false. Another factor that leads me to think the site is good is their numbers were similar to Opensecrets.org.
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Technorati tags: election year, presidential campaign, money, election, whitehouse
There are dozens of donors to Hilary Clinton who have given over $6,000 each. In contrast the top Republican fund raiser, Mitt Romney, only has three people who have donated over $5,000. One of these individuals is Mitt himself who has donated $61,435. These lists have a date. I think it may be possible for someone to make two smaller donations at different times and not show up as a large contributor.
Check out who are the big spenders in your zip code. The site also tracks who celebrities are donating to. For example you can find out who Tom Crusie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bill Gates have donated to.
As with anything on the internet you should be cautious about completely accepting the information. I did a quick Google search and didn't turn up anyone saying the information was false. Another factor that leads me to think the site is good is their numbers were similar to Opensecrets.org.
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Technorati tags: election year, presidential campaign, money, election, whitehouse
Alexis Lemaire calculates the 13th root of a random 200 digit number
This is amazing:
"Alexis Lemaire, a 27-year-old Frenchman, correctly calculated the 13th root of a random 200-digit number from a possible 393 trillion answers.
The so-called 'mathlete' produced the answer of 2,407,899,893,032,210 in 70.2 seconds, beating his previous record of 72.4 seconds, at London's Science Museum."
I first thought Alexis Lemaire had a gift for calculating large numbers.
After I did some Googling on the internet I found a reference which explained a technique for calculating the 13th root of 100-digit numbers. It involves using logarithms and knowing the properties of 13th roots. I'm still impressed.
If you have a child interested in math, they might enjoy showing off as they caclulate the 13th root of large numbers.
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Technorati tags: Alexis Lemaire, math, 13th root
"Alexis Lemaire, a 27-year-old Frenchman, correctly calculated the 13th root of a random 200-digit number from a possible 393 trillion answers.
The so-called 'mathlete' produced the answer of 2,407,899,893,032,210 in 70.2 seconds, beating his previous record of 72.4 seconds, at London's Science Museum."
I first thought Alexis Lemaire had a gift for calculating large numbers.
After I did some Googling on the internet I found a reference which explained a technique for calculating the 13th root of 100-digit numbers. It involves using logarithms and knowing the properties of 13th roots. I'm still impressed.
If you have a child interested in math, they might enjoy showing off as they caclulate the 13th root of large numbers.
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Technorati tags: Alexis Lemaire, math, 13th root
The Carnival of Homeschooling is up - week 102
Jacque is hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling this week at Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths.
As a parent do you struggle to juggle the many demands on your time? Jacque acknowledges that homeschoolers wear many different hats.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
As a parent do you struggle to juggle the many demands on your time? Jacque acknowledges that homeschoolers wear many different hats.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
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