Animals of YouTube sing "Jingle Bells"

Be sure to also watch the one of the animals singing "Deck the Halls" - the link appears at the end of the video. :)

Charlie Brown Christmas

Letting you know about a $25 Build-A-Bear Giveaway!

Image is from MomSpotted

Over at MomSpotted they are giving away a $25 certificate to Build-A-Bear!  Who doesn't like Build-A-Bear?  The contest ends 1/3/11, which is too late for Christmas, but you could save it for a beary special friend's bearthday!

Click HERE for the link!

Please pray for this family...

Pray for one another...

Dana Hanley, who blogs at Rosecommon Acres, has posted that they suddenly their young child yesterday.  Dana and her husband have five other children.  Please pray for this family in their time of grief.

UPDATE:  The cause was accidental, which she explains in detail on her blog.  Continue to pray for this family during the Holidays and afterwards.  Each of them has a long road ahead.

Christmas memories of Charlie Brown!

Math Doodling Fun

You can view more math doodling videos at Vi Hart - Math Doodling

H/T: Let's Play Math! - Fun with Math Doodling « Let's Play Math!

Applying Economics to American History | Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

Again, a video on economics and applying it to American history. You will learn some things you did not know. Tom Woods makes economics fun to learn for middle/high schoolers, or adults who know nothing about the subject!

Enjoy!

Lessons for the Young Economist by Robert P. Murphy

Economist Robert P. Murphy has written a book for middle/high school and above entitled "Lessons for the Young Economist".  The beta version is available for free as a pdf file HERE.   The hardback version is available for purchase HERE.  There is a teacher's guide in the works for this book as well!

Tie-Dye Milk!

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist also has a great blog!

A Libertarian Gallop Through American History - Thomas E. Woods, Jr. - Mises Media(WMV Video File)

Thomas E. Woods, Jr. gives a talk to a group of homeschoolers. About 52 minutes.


A Libertarian Gallop Through American History - Thomas E. Woods, Jr. - Mises Media(WMV Video File)

$45 Giveaway from CSN Stores at Homeschooler Cafe!

Janet at Homeschooler Cafe is giving away a $45 gift code to CSNstores! 

Click HERE to go to her page for the details! 

Kitchen Pantry Science!

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist also has a great blog!

Make a flexagon!

Go HERE to make a fun flexagon toy! Amaze your family and friends, and confuse your cat!

Which one, what kind, how many, and whose...

The Periodic Table of Elements - Awesome!

Head on over to Worldstar Academy and learn about Mendeleyev and the history of the periodic table of elements! 

It's back to (home)school time! How SWEET it is!

Get some free printable cupcake wrappers/toppers and other back-to-school printables at Living Locurto! Aren't they adorable?

Head over to ChartJungle for some school/homeschool printables to help get you organized!

Go to Homeschool Views and get tips on pre-homeschool organization and more printables to help!

Check out The Homeschool Messenger for some ideas for great, healthy snack ideas with recipes and even a scheduled rotation (for those highly-organized moms!) to keep your kids from having snack burnout!

Also check out Taste of Home's web site for tasty - and, maybe, not-so-healthy - back-to-school recipes!  ;)

Where is the hope?

"Where is the hope?  I meet millions who tell me that they feel demoralized by the decay around us.  Where is the hope?  The hope that each of us has is not in who governs us or what laws are passed or what great things we do as a nation.  Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people.  And that's where our hope is in this country.  That's where our hope is in life."

Chuck Colson

Amazing Cicada life cycle - Sir David Attenborough's Life in the Undergr...

When I dug up some old shrubs in the early Spring of this year, I ran across many young cicada larvae attached to the roots. Today, we had a cicada on a window screen. My girls were both horrified to look at it ("It's so uuuugly!") and fascinated to hear that this is the source of all that racket coming from the trees!

The above is a pretty good video produced by the BBC that tells about the cicadas.

Economics in One Lesson, Preface to the New Edition.

Preface to the "New" (1978) edition:

The first edition of this book appeared in 1946. Eight translations were made of it, and there were numerous paperback editions. In a paperback of 1961, a new chapter was added on rent control, which had not been specifically considered in the first edition apart from government price-fixing in general. A few statistics and illustrative references were brought up to date.

Otherwise no changes were made until now. The chief reason was that they were not thought necessary. My book was written to emphasize general economic principles, and the penalties of ignoring them-not the harm done by any specific piece of legislation. While my illustrations were based mainly on American experience, the kind of government interventions I deplored had become so internationalized that I seemed to many foreign readers to be particularly
describing the economic policies of their own countries.

Nevertheless, the passage of thirty-two years now seems to me to call for extensive revision. In addition to bringing all illustrations and statistics up to date, I have written an entirely new chapter on rent control; the 1961 discussion now seems inadequate. And I have added a new final chapter, "The Lesson After Thirty Years," to show why that lesson is today more desperately needed than ever.

H.H.
Wilton, Conn.
June 1978

Read Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt by clicking on the title.

Back to School: Do You Know What Your Child is Learning?

Article excerpt:

In their text The Living World (Fifth Edition, McGraw Hill, 2008) evolutionary apologists George Johnson and Jonathan Lobos rehearse the usual lies. Students are told that “Microevolution Leads to Macroevolution” with the giraffe’s neck serving as the example of how small change is supposed to accumulate to the large-scale change evolution needs.

Of course this is a long-standing, well-known problem for evolution. Mechanisms for large-scale change are speculative for it does not appear merely to be the result of repeated rounds of microevolution. Johnson and Lobos, of course, inform the student of none of this.

The giraffe example is also useful in explaining evolution’s concept of biological variation. The text explains that according to evolution variation arises independent of need or experience via mechanisms such as random mutation.

Contrary to such evolutionary dogma, it has been known for decades that variation is sensitive to experience and need. Evolutionists have resisted this and the text again leaves the student ignorant of the science.

Such misrepresentations of science, as damaging as they are, pale in comparison to Johnson’s and Lobos’ next move. The apologists make a pathetic attempt to enlist the fossil record as powerful evidence for evolution, and end up with only the usual religious dogma.

They write:

If the theory of evolution is not correct, on the other hand, then such orderly change is not expected.

Very interesting. And how do evolutionary clowns know so much? From where did Johnson and Lobos learn such ultimate truths? If evolution is not correct then such orderly change is not expected? Tell us more.

For the rest of the article, go here:

Darwin's God: Back to School: Do You Know What Your Child is Learning?

Former President Ronald Reagan on health care

Scientists discover antibody that kills 91 percent of HIV – SmartPlanet « The Stem Cell Blog

adult stem cell

Paving the way for an AIDS vaccine, scientists have discovered two potent antibodies, the strongest of which can neutralize 91 percent of HIV strains.

Researchers from the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases discovered the antibodies in the cells of a 60-year-old African-American gay man, whose body made the antibodies naturally.

“We have used our knowledge of the structure of a virus—in this case, the outer surface of HIV—to refine molecular tools that pinpoint the vulnerable spot on the virus and guide us to antibodies that attach to this spot, blocking the virus from infecting cells,” VRC director Gary Nabel said in a statement.
Last year, an HIV vaccine demonstrated roughly 30 percent efficacy. This new discovery triples the potency.

The announcement comes just over a week before the International AIDS Conference in Vienna.
The scientists found the antibodies, named VRC01 and VRC02, using a molecular device they developed — an HIV protein that the scientists modified so it would react only with antibodies specific to the site where the virus binds to cells it infects.

The researchers were able to determine the atomic-level structure of VRC01 when it’s attached to HIV, allowing them to design components of a potential vaccine that could teach the human immune system to make similar antibodies that could feasibly prevent infection by the vast majority of HIV strains worldwide.

The United Nations has estimated that more than 33 million people had HIV in 2008. An estimated 2.7 million contracted the virus that year. Led by NIAID scientists Peter Kwong, John Mascola, and Gary Nabel, the research team screened some 25 million cells to discover 12 that produced the antibodies, reports the Wall Street Journal.

One question is whether scientists will be able to successfully use the antibodies to develop a vaccine to protect against AIDS.

Another is how quickly the antibodies can influence the human body to produce its own. It’s entirely possible that they could take months or years — another hurdle.

For now, the researchers plan to test the new antibodies in several ways. According to the Journal report, that includes:

Directly administering them like a drug;
Applying them as a “microbicide” gel before sexual intercourse;
Boosting an infected patient’s existing drug regimen.

To begin walking down that path, the VRC has contracted with a company to produce an antibody that’s safe for humans. “Antibodies are like people: every single one is unusual in its own specific way,” said VRC structural biologist Peter Kwong to Nature. “These antibodies are freaks of nature.”
The research was published Thursday in the online edition of the journal Science.

via The Stem Cell Blog

Conservative Teachers Challenge NEA on Moral Issues

This is why we need to stop spending federal money on education and let private entities take over. The average per-student spending in the US, I believe, is around $11,000. It would be cheaper in the long run if we just gave every household with school-age children 11K per year to spend on education - however they choose to spend it, whether that be private school, homeschooling, or some type of community school. Wow! Just think of the field trips we could take for 11K per child - or even 10K per child, since that's a nice, round number!

There was drama at this year’s National Education Association meeting because of the courage and commitment of a relatively small group of Christian and conservative teachers who introduced amendments to overturn the union's liberal policies on several key issues.

The amendments were defeated in secret ballots by the 9,000-strong delegation.First, teacher Christine Nowak from New York introduced an amendment to the by-laws that would prohibit the NEA from taking any position on the issue of abortion. This would include lobbying, filing amicus curiae briefs in support of pro-abortion court cases, and would mean revision of the NEA Resolution I-16 (Family Planning) to clarify that NEA's support for family planning does not include support for abortion.

The reason for the “no position” is the sentiment of many teachers that involvement in these issues is simply not appropriate use of teacher union dues. And many of the taxpayers who fund local teachers’ salaries agree.The amendment vote by secret ballot was defeated with 30 percent in favor, 70 percent against. A similar measure at the 2009 meeting was also defeated.Another amendment called for a similar stance by the NEA on the issue of homosexuality. This amendment, introduced by Ohio teacher Ruth Boyatt, would require that the NEA take no position on the issue of same-gender marriage. It too failed by a vote of 30 percent to 70 percent.

The influence of homosexual and “transgender” teachers was quite visible. Not only was there a booth by the NEA’s “GLBT” Caucus, but one sign announced a “Drag Queen” Caucus. A transvestite beauty contest is rumored to be on the schedule for next year’s meeting.The Ohio delegation includes many homosexual activists, according to reports from a teacher who attended the Ohio caucus meeting. One teacher rose at the meeting to praise the high number of Ohio teacher delegates who voted against the measure seeking “no position” on same sex marriage, despite its having been introduced by one of the Ohio delegation. Plans are in the works for a separate Ohio “GLBT” caucus as well.

The state affiliate, the Ohio Education Association, threw its support in 2009 behind House Bill 176, a measure to add homosexuality and cross-gender behavior to Ohio’s civil rights laws, a so-called “non-discrimination” measure. The bill, which passed the Ohio House but has not been considered by the Ohio Senate, would apply to employment practices in schools. The OEA also opposed the statewide ballot measure affirming traditional marriage in 2004. The constitutional amendment was approved by Ohio voters.

H/T: EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL

How to Choose an Algebra Curriculum by Maria Miller

This is a post by Maria Miller, author of the Math Mammoth curriculum. She describes in great detail what to look for in an algebra curriculum and why those features are needed.

In a nutshell, I recommend for most homeschooling parents to use a textbook along with some video instruction.

Why a textbook? Because it is good for students to learn to use a regular algebra textbook at this stage of their studies. It helps prepare them for any further studies (whether college or vocational) where they need to learn on their own, reading a textbook.

Also, good textbooks include not only basic exercises but also challenging ones. If you decide to go with some online algebra curriculum or video instruction, a regular textbook can act as a reference and as an additional problem "bank" for those challenging problems. You can also use it to check that your student is really getting instruction in all the typical algebra 1 topics.

Why videos? Because those replace the component that is present in regular classroom: the teacher explaining concepts and ideas. Learning algebra from a textbook alone might be too difficult for some students. If the parent cannot explain the math, videos will help bridge the gap. In today's world, there exist MANY free websites with algebra videos that can be used. And, some companies provide videos tailored to a specific textbook.

In this article, I first explain some basic options for algebra 1 in a homeschool setting. Then, three textbooks are described in more detail. The article also lists free algebra video websites, algebra online curricula, and gives a link to algebra tutorial website list.

For the rest of the post, go here:
Homeschool algebra 1 curriculum - recommendations for home schooling high school math

The Public Square Broadcast for 7/10/10

Dr. John Lennox

I am always hesitant to mix politics and religion and homeschooling.  However, as you know, sometimes they become sort of entangled with each other - especially when it comes to the teaching of science in the homeschool setting.  John Lennox has a way of showing how Christianity and science are not mutually exclusive ideas.


Quotes from the broadcast:

"Well, as I said to you earlier, it's a question of what is important in life.  For me, it's having an integrated worldview.  I don't want my science to be in one little compartment that never meets my Christian faith.  Either God is the God of the universe and He's the God of my life, or He's nothing.  And so, it's having that integration - and also talking to people about it - because, it seems to be perfectly logical, if the Christian faith is true, then it's something you want to share.  What could be bigger and more exciting than to introduce people to the God that invented the atom ultimately?"
  

(During a debate with Richard Dawkins)  "The danger of training children to be fanatics by not allowing them to question is a very serious one, and I'm so glad that I had parents who encouraged me to think. And part and parcel of the Christian faith was that thinking."


Now, you asked us to imagine with John Lenin a world without religion. Now, I'd like you to imagine with John Len-NOX a world without athiesm - with no Stalin, with no Mao, with no Pol Pot - to name the heads of the three officially athiestic States. A world with no Gulag, no culture revolution, no killing fields. I think that would be a world worth imagining, too."


"..ethics are worldview-dependent.  You will take a very different view of a human being if you believe, for example, that the human cell is simply an agglomeration of complex molecules.  You'll take a very different view if you believe, on the other hand, that that cell has all the potential of becoming an adult human being made in the image of God.   And what we're going to have to do, it seems to me, is think very hard about the foundation of  ethics.  Otherwise, people will just say, 'Who said so?..."


"The meaning makes all the difference, and the worldview makes all the difference."   


"The resurrection of Jesus Christ a miracle - something supernatural - for me, constitutes the central evidence upon which I base my faith - not only that athiesm is a delusion, but  justice is real, and our sense of morality does not mock us."


Listen to The Public Square.

Listen to Dr. Lennox debate Richard Dawkins

What a precocious pachyderm!

Forget grade levels, KC schools try something new

I wonder how this "new" idea will mesh with the move for national standards, which says that all students should be learning the same thing in the same grades?

Forget about students spending one year in each grade, with the entire class learning the same skills at the same time. Districts from Alaska to Maine are taking a different route.

Instead of simply moving kids from one grade to the next as they get older, schools are grouping students by ability. Once they master a subject, they move up a level. This practice has been around for decades, but was generally used on a smaller scale, in individual grades, subjects or schools.

Now, in the latest effort to transform the bedraggled Kansas City, Mo. schools, the district is about to become what reform experts say is the largest one to try the approach. Starting this fall officials will begin switching 17,000 students to the new system to turnaround trailing schools and increase abysmal tests scores.

Read more at The San Francisco Chronicle

Forget grade levels, KC schools try something new

"Learning More Deeply by Learning Less"

As I plan for the upcoming school year, this subject has crossed my mind - -in fact, it's like the author was reading my mind!  In this age of "information overload", it's difficult not to just hop on the computer and explain everything to your child - or, at least, make them think that ALL of the answers might lie in the computer...

Excerpt:

I have a tendency to over-educationalize everything, to turn everything into a formal lesson. For some time, I have been wrestling with the value of unanswered questions, simple wonder and how to build a more reflective homeschool. Sometimes, I’ve decided, it is better to experience, to ponder and to be filled with wonder rather than to have immediate access to a deluge of information.

Learning More Deeply by Learning Less — Heart of the Matter Heart of the Matter

Poulenc Sonata for Flute and Piano Cantilena

Just beautiful! Thank you, Barb-Harmony Art Mom!

School house Rock - Fireworks

"The Theology of the Declaration of Independence"

Excerpt:

The point here is that because your right to life and liberty are from God, no one can legitimately enslave or kill you, even if you consent to it. This was not a mere incidental addendum idea, it was central to Lockean political philosophy, which maintained (as the declaration does) that the government derives its powers from the consent of the governed. If a person can consent to be killed or enslaved then they can consent to the government enslaving them also to having the arbitrary power to kill them and hence tyranny can be
legitimate.

The reason tyranny is illegitimate is because, “No body can give more power than he has himself; and he that cannot take away his own life, cannot give another power over it.”

The declaration then makes a metaphysical claim: God exists.

It makes an epistemological claim about faith and reason: that belief in God is rational independent of proof.

It makes an implicit claim of political philosophy: religion is not a private thing that should not influence public life but rather, theological claims should influence public life.

Finally it makes a moral claim; that consenting adults do not have a right to do whatever they like with their own bodies, rather there are “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” that bind all human beings, that they are compelled to follow even if all parties consent otherwise.

Governments are legitimate to the extent in which they respect these laws.

For the rest of this excellent article, go here:

The Theology of the Declaration of Independence MandM

Citizenship: The Pursuit of Happiness

NEVER take your American citizenship for granted!

How to Teach Science with Candy!

Mr. Q strikes again! Another winning science lesson that your kids are sure to enjoy!  What are the main ingredients in every candy?  What's the difference between a sauce, a fudge, a caramel, a butterscotch?   Find out in this yummy lesson!


How To Teach Science… With Candy (Part I)

A girl and a half?

If a girl and a half
can read a book and a half
in a day and a half,
then how many books can one girl read in the month of June?

Go to Let's Play Math and find out how to solve this problem!

Clayton's Story

Hat tip to Janet at Homeward Bound!

Consumer recalls...

There have been several consumer recalls over the past couple of days that may affect Deal Seeking Mom readers, so be sure to check your stockpile this weekend. Please refer to the links included in each section for more details about the specific recalls:

Consumer Recalls: Select Kellogg’s Cereal, Scope Mouthwash + More

Hat tip to Deal Seeking Mom!

End Them, Don’t Mend Them | The Weekly Standard

Although I don't always agree with P.J. O'Rourke, I do enjoy his writing style.

Excerpt: America’s public schools have served their purpose. Free and compulsory education was good for a somewhat unpromising young nation. The country was half turnip-head hillbilly and half slum trash from foreign refuse heaps. Public schools were supposed to take this mob of no-account pea pickers and bumbling greaseballs and turn them into a half-bright national citizenry. It worked, causing six or eight generations of public school kids to rush home to their shanties or tenements shouting, “Everything’s up-to-date in Kansas City!” or “Mom, Dad, this is America, quit boiling cabbage!”

For the full story, click here:
End Them, Don’t Mend Them The Weekly Standard

The Engines of Our Ingenuity: Main Page

I just found this site with literally hundreds of radio programs that tell about the inventions and inventors of the past:

The Engines of Our Ingenuity is a radio program that tells the story of how our culture is formed by human creativity. Written and hosted by John Lienhard and other contributors, it is heard nationally on Public Radio and produced by KUHF-FM Houston. Among other features, this web site houses the transcripts for every episode heard since the show's inception in 1988.

The Engines of Our Ingenuity: Main Page

The Blog of Mr. Q!

Mr. Q. is an eighth grade science teacher, as well as the author of an elementary science curriculum especially for homeschoolers!  Mr. Q. also has a blog on which he features some very fun lessons every week!   These lessons have been revolving around something all kids like - food!  I've done them with my students and we have had a wonderful - and delicious - time of it.  The lessons are based on something kids might normally eat in the course of a week - like cereal, bacon, mustard - and what Mr. Q views as the four main concepts of science are applied to that particular food.  Very clever!  Here are the four concepts excerpted from the blog:

•Atoms: Everything is made of atoms.


•Density: The amount of atoms within every object is known as the density of the object.


•Diffusion: Areas with lots of atoms tend to move to areas with fewer atoms.


•Law of Conservation: Atoms cannot be created or destroyed, only rearranged
 
If you would like to start these lessons with your child, I recommend you go back and read THIS POST and then begin with the lesson on How to Teach Science During Breakfast.
 
Bon appetit!
 
 
 

Homeschooler Cafe': Making Math More Fun & A "Giveaway"!

Janet over at Homeschooler Cafe is giving away 4 ebooks of fun math games from Making Math More Fun! There are SIX ways to enter!

Homeschooler Cafe': Making Math More Fun & A "Giveaway"!

Great Homeschooling Links: June 18, 2010

If you're looking for even more summer fun, head over to The Homeschool Classroom and check out their list of links for some cool summer activities:

Great Homeschooling Links: June 18, 2010

Handbook of Nature Study: OHC Summer Series #1: Mosquitoes and World of Smell

For some serious educational (shhhh! - don't tell the kids!) and FUN summer activities, check out Barb's Outdoor Hour Challenge Summer Series! Her latest offering is a study about Mosquitoes and the World of Smell! I need to do this myself, as our mosquitoes seem to ignore everyone but me whenever we head outside in the early morning or at dusk!

Handbook of Nature Study: OHC Summer Series #1: Mosquitoes and World of Smell

Sunday Snippet: Bullies in Training… » se7en

This is an excellent post on Se7en +1 on bullying. Her posts aren't usually about such a heavy subject, but she does address it in a compassionate manner. I was one of those who always heard that Christians should turn the other cheek. I never thought of bullying as a subject addressed in the Bible but, surprise, it is.

Sunday Snippet: Bullies in Training… » se7en

You must watch this!

Here is a link to an article with a reprint of Warren Buffet's article, "Squanderville Vs. Thriftville."

He is risen!

Listen to this week's program on The Public Square with Dr. Erwin Lutzer - it's very appropriate for Easter!

Happy Easter!

He is risen, indeed!

March 29, 1886, Coca-Cola was first advertised!

"Dr. John Pemberton brewed his 'brain tonic' Coca-cola for the first time as a cure for hangovers, stomach aches and headaches."

Quote from Chemistry.About.com.  Go to the link to see other chemistry-related events that happened on this day in history! 

Related Links:

For a complete history of Coca-Cola, go to the Coca-Cola Company Heritage Timeline!

For information about the Coca-Cola bear, as well a a section on recipes and more, go to this Coca-Cola Company page.

To learn more about John Pemberton, go to this page at IdeaFinder.com.

Pizza Box Solar Oven

The nice lady at The Kitchen Pantry Scientist (and, yes, she is an actual scientist) demonstrates how to make a simple pizza box solar oven. I am thinking this has real possibilities - especially when the weather warms up a bit. Maybe you could even make a homemade pizza in the pizza box - who knows what you and your kids could cook up right in the back yard?

Here's the link to the Pizza Box Solar Oven.

Check out Handbook of Nature Study's giveaway!

Image from Guardian UK

Barb (Harmony Art Mom) at Handbook of Nature Study is having a giveaway!  You could win one of six different resources.  Just leave a comment by Friday, March 26th at Noon PST and you will be entered for the giveaway.

While you're there, check out her new Spring Nature Study with Art and Music Appreciation ebook.   The study is based on Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study  - the 1918 version available for free download on Google Books.  You can download the Handbook of Nature Study for free at Internet Archive.  The Spring Nature Study ebook contains fifty pages of Outdoor Hour challenges, art appreciation, and music appreciation - enough to keep your students busy for almost three months!

Check it out! 

Regarding Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and evil spirits making you sneeze!

ThinkQuest about Superstitions

This post from Jimmie at Jimmie's Collage caught my eye.  It's about customs and knowing why we do certain things - like saying "God bless you" when someone sneezes, or celebrating certain holidays.  Jimmie lives in China and has just observed the Chinese celebrating the Chinese New Year with some rather strange customs...or are they supersitions?   That part is confusing! 

We have to be very careful when dealing with these questions, though.  Sometimes, the fact that you don't celebrate this or don't acknowledge that can become just as much of an idol as someone with a stone god in their home!

Lost Ladybug Project

Lost Ladybug Project - Here's a (free) project that would be perfect to do this Spring with the kids! I love ladybugs - they're so cute!

Actually, the page isn't complete, but you can probably find other resources for information as well. Just get outside and study, draw, write about, and take pictures of ladybugs!

ETA:  For everything you would ever want to know about ladybugs, photos of ladybugs, ladybug crafts and activities, check out Everything Ladybug!


Also check out:

Ladybug crafts at Enchanted Learning as well as information about Ladybugs.

Some awesome information and photos of Ladybugs at the University of Kentucky's Ag web page.

A whole page of Ladybug stuff at Kennesaw.edu.

Here is a Ladybug Lapbook from Lapbook Lessons.

For the older kids, they might be interested in doing a Ladybug science fair project from Super-Science-Fair Projects.

and

Make an origami Ladybug.

Math Teachers at Play #24 « Let's Play Math!

Image from children's author Jan Brett's web site!

The new Math Teachers at Play blog carnival is up and running - and it's a BIG one! I haven't had a chance to peruse all of the posts, but I always find something interesting and/or helpful!

Math Teachers at Play #24 « Let's Play Math!

Explanation of the Debt Limit from the Heritage Foundation...

Why is Obama Recruiting in the Public Schools? | Gather

It seems that Organizing for America is using the captive audience of the public school system to recruit volunteers for their organization. If George Bush had such an organization, what would people have thought of him doing the same thing? (Or even Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton?) This just doesn't seem like it's legal - and it's certainly not ethical.

Why is Obama Recruiting in the Public Schools? Gather

Does McDonald's Sell Cheeseburgers? Mnemonic device for long division...

Does McDonald\'s Sell Cheeseburgers? (long division)

View more presentations from sarahclifford202.

The best part of the superbowl was the Tim Tebow ad!

The creativity of some homeschoolers!

This is what my friend Dawn and her family did when we got some real snow here in the South - enough to make a snowman, even!  I don't know if you can see it or not in the pictures, but the large snowman is holding a sign that says:  "Beware of Global Warming" and the little snowman with the tin-foil hat says "and Aliens" - I thought it was hilarious!  :)

Send in your submission for the Carnival of Homeschooling!

Don't forget to send in your post for the next Carnival of homeschooling! The deadline is always the Monday before the Carnival each week before 6:00 pm PST. The Carnival will be up every Tuesday.

If you participate in the Carnival, please make sure you promote it on your blog and let your readers know to be looking for your contribution!

There are two ways to submit a post for the Carnival of Homeschooling:

1. You can send your post via BlogCarnival. Just go here and follow the instructions.

2. You can email your entry to : CarnivalOfHomeschooling@gmail.com by 6:00 PM (PST) on the Monday evening of the week. It will be greatly appreciated if the submissions come in earlier. Please send the following information:

Title of Post
URL of Post
Name of Blog
URL of Blog
Brief summary of the post
(With "carnival" or "submission" in the subject field of the email.)

English Grammar Revolution

I have not tried this curriculum, but I do know that sentence diagramming is missing from the language arts curriculum we are currently using. It seems quite interesting, and at $12 for the downloadable e-book, it is very affordable.

This isn't a complete language arts curriculum, but teaches English grammar through diagramming sentences which, they claim, children love to do! We shall see! ;)

At the English Grammar Revolution web site, you may also sign up for their free monthly newsletter, as well as subscribe to their RSS feed so you can be notified when something new comes up.

Worth the tuition? ;)

Barb the Evil Genius thinks this private school may want to hire a proofreader in the future!  ;)

(H/T Joanne Jacobs)

Valentine's Day ideas and crafts are just everywhere!

Do you need some ideas on what to do for Valentine's Day this year?  Thank goodness for the Internet!  I have found oodles of stuff that would keep anyone busy for several Valentine's Day's to come!

Activity Village has a bevvy of beautiful Valentine cards, Valentine jigsaws, and Valentine coloring pages to keep the kids occupied from now until Valentine's Day!

The Wonder Years has an adorable craft - thumbprint heart magnets - that are perfect for gift giving!  (H/T: The Crafty Crow)

Kids can turn plain white flowers into beautiful pink or red flowers for Valentine's Day by following the instructions given at Zoom's web site at PBS Kids!

Here's a picture tutorial on flickr on how to make an origami puffy heart for Valentine's Day.  (Parents - Do not let children explore photo or video sharing internet sites alone...please.)

Roots and Wings has suggestions for a Valentine's Day book activity!

That Artist Woman has instructions on how to make a Valentine's Day diorama for those special people in your life by recycling a frozen juice can!

On the Homeschool Showcase #39, Factory Direct Craft blog has instructions on how to make a really cute paper mache Valentine's mailbox!  (H/T Weird, Unsocialized Mom at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers)

Learn how to make some sweet "Hostess Cupcakes" for your sweeties at Heart of the Matter Online!

The Long Thread has instructions for turning junk mail into precious Valentine's cards.  (H/T The Crafty Crow)

Roots and Wings has instructions on how to make a long-heart-shaped "box" to put Valentine's Day sweets in for all the little Valentine friends.  The instructions will reveal a "secret cheat", and you may be surprised at what is used to make these beautiful treasure holders!

Fun in the Making shows you how to make Valentine message magnets from recycled materials.  (H/T The Crafty Crow)

For those who are handy with a sewing machine, or needle and thread, Roots and Wings has instructions for a rather ambitious gift to make - a portable felt Tic-Tac-Toe board that uses hearts and arrows instead of x's and o's!  Very cute!  (H/T The Crafty Crow)

Art Projects for Kids has instructions on how to make some adorable paper pulp hearts!

How About Orange has FREE printable Valentine goodie bags!

That Artist Woman has instructions for making Valentine's Paper Dolls.  These are no ordinary paper dolls that you can just cut out and play with, though.  These are works of art, and I can think of many uses other than Valentine's Day.  They could be dressed any way you want to reflect any time period.  The midievel ones that are shown would be great to do for art when you're studying the subject.

For those of you that would like something special to give that green-thumbed person in your life, Fun in the Making has the perfect craft - give that special someone a "pot" with all the materials needed for growing some sweet peas!  Included are printable growing instructions you can attach to the pot.  The pot and plant stake are made from recycled materials as well - so you're being frugal and "green" at the same time!

That Artist Woman has instructions on how to make an adorable King of Hearts puppet!

Making Friends has a whole PAGE of Valentine's Day goodies to make!

The Toymaker also has some Valentine's Day themed paper projects to print.

Mama Bear's Cub House has instructions for a torn paper heart/collage project that the littlest Valentine crafters can do!  (H/T:  The Crafty Crow, of course!)

Just in case you get carried away and make so  many Valentine crafts that you run out of paste or glitter, here are some homemade solutions from Nikki Shell and Learning Vicariously!  (H/T:  The Crafty Crow)

Here come national standards for education...

From Projo.com:  Alongside the attempted federalization of health care in Washington, with details being hashed out behind closed doors, a parallel bid to nationalize K-12 education is going forward more subtly but just as surely.

“Sight unseen” is the mode of operation in both cases.  (Which seems to be the way this administration and Congress like to operate.)

Members of Congress have had to vote on complex health-care-overhaul details they have not studied and sometimes not even seen. Similarly, states seeking to win juicy shares of the $4.35 billion in one-time education grants dangled before them by the Obama administration must agree to adopt a set of national education standards and a national test.

State and local school systems had until this past Tuesday to have their so-called Race to the Top (RttT) applications filed with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. His office has stated clearly, in writing, that states will have no real shot at this slush fund unless they have agreed to adopt “common standards” and “common assessments.”

The consortium of Big Education interests behind the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) released a first draft of national “college and career readiness” standards last fall, but its grade-by-grade K-12 standards for language arts and math either have not been completed or are not available for public inspection. Texas and Alaska are the only two states that have declined to hop aboard this Race over the Cliff.

Meanwhile, the common assessment — a national test — is currently just something Duncan vows to purchase with a spare $350 million from his federal stimulus stash, employing yet another handpicked consortium to write the test for all American children.

In short, states must accept the national standards and national test — essentially a national curriculum — sight unseen if they want the federal largess.

Read the rest HERE.

Amazing Mathemagician!

H/T:  Math-Whizz

Free Elementary Life Science Curriculum!

This is a download and print curriculum, complete with teacher's manual.  There are fun experiments and zany pictures to keep kids interested.  There are comprehension questions and tests - a complete curriculum.  The reason it's so well put-together may be because it was written by, of all things, an 8th-grade science teacher!  "Mr. Q." has also taught classes for homeschoolers, so he knows what a homeschooler needs. 

The first level of this curriculum, "Life Science", is free for you to download and use in your homeschool.  Mr. Q has also written three other levels - Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physical Science - which he sells for $50 for the full curricula, or for $15 per month-long unit.  This is a secular curriculum, but it is suitable for homeschoolers of all persuasions!

At the Lab of Mr. Q web site, you can download the free Life Science, download sample chapters of the Earth/Chemistry/Physical Science, as well as read his new blog, and sign up for Mr. Q's "Lab Notes" - which are little extra goodies that he throws in for free as well!

School Administrator allegedly ignores pleas for help...

Darren from Right on the Left Coast put up a story about racial violence in a Philadelphia high school.  The story, originally from The Detroit News/AP told of a group of Asian kids who were harassed by some African-American kids.  The Asians pled for help from the school administrator, apparently only to have their cries fall on deaf ears, until the group of Asian kids were attacked by the bullies.

An excerpt:

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The blocks surrounding South Philadelphia High School are a melting pot of pizzerias fronted by Italian flags, African hair-braiding salons and a growing number of Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian restaurants.

Inside is a cauldron of cultural discontent that erupted in violence last month - off-campus and lunchroom attacks on about 50 Asian students, injuring 30, primarily at the hands of blacks. The Asian students, who boycotted classes for more than a week afterward, say they've endured relentless bullying by black students while school officials turned a blind eye to their complaints.

"We have suffered a lot to get to America and we didn't come here to fight," Wei Chen, president of the Chinese American Student Association, told the school board in one of several hearings on the violence. "We just want a safe environment to learn and make more friends. That's my dream."

Read the rest of the story HERE.

Donate $5 or $10 to Haiti through CurrClick and they will match it!

Click HERE to donate!

Submit your post for the Carnival of Homeschooling!

Don't forget to send in your post for the next Carnival of homeschooling! The deadline is always the Monday before the Carnival each week before 6:00 pm PST. The Carnival will be up every Tuesday.

If you participate in the Carnival, please make sure you promote it on your blog and let your readers know to be looking for your contribution!

There are two ways to submit a post for the Carnival of Homeschooling:

1. You can send your post via BlogCarnival. Just go here and follow the instructions.

2. You can email your entry to : CarnivalOfHomeschooling@gmail.com by 6:00 PM (PST) on the Monday evening of the week. It will be greatly appreciated if the submissions come in earlier. Please send the following information:

Title of Post
URL of Post
Name of Blog
URL of Blog
Brief summary of the post
(With "carnival" or "submission" in the subject field of the email.)

This week's carnival will be held at Corn and Oil - - don't miss it!

New Amanda Bennett Unit Study - Winter Olympics - special price...

Amanda Bennett of unitstudy.com has her new Winter Olympics unit study (available in download only) on sale for $8 through today!

"The Lottery"

This is a documentary, which will be out on May 7, that follows the stories of four Harlem families who sign their children up for a lottery for a spot in a charter school.



H/T:  Joanne Jacobs

Related:  Gotham Schools, and 60 Minutes - The Harlem Children's Zone