School Report, Winter 2011

Snow. Lots of snow. Weeks and weeks of snow, on the ground since sometime in the beginning of December.

We've been sledding several times since mid-December, usually with Elizabeth and once with Ken. Or rather, they've been sledding. Going down the hill on a sled makes me nauseated, which is really, really wimpy, I know. So I sit in the van at the bottom of the hill and read books on the Kobo reader that Evan gave me for Christmas. Can't get bored with 150+ books along!

Any suggestions for books to download?

As for our school report...

Ken as started studying Geographic Information Systems online with Columbus State. Basically, he'll be making sense of all the magnificent information that is available from satellites, Google, surveys, etc. He's been into geography since he was able to think about the world. I think that it started with this book:



We recently got one for Brenna and Noah. Now they can plan their trips around the world, and start their own imaginary travel agency!

Neal and Alanna are studying Twentieth Century History together. We're using a wide variety of books, and a set of videos:


They're nice for giving an overview of time periods, and they help make mental pictures that stay in the mind. They're a bit graphic, though. I skipped through the parts about amputation in the Civil War. It was more than we needed to see!

I also looked up a list of interesting people, places and events that the kids should know, put them on slips of paper, and let them draw three or four a day. They look them up online and report back to us on what they've found. We discuss not only the subject matter at hand, but also the methods of research used and the reliability of various sources.

In the end, it's most important that they know how to learn and how to find out. Knowledge will grow, and many 'facts' they learn today will be disproved tomorrow, but the thrill of the chase of knowledge will still be there.

Neal is taking a break from Algebra to do some Geometry, as is Alanna.

I'm reviewing a Chemistry book from CK-12 that is online, excellent and entirely free! Open Source texts are awesome! I've also found a Conceptual Physics text that is also OS.

Homeschooling Chemistry - Online Reosurces

Chem 4 Kids
An excellent site with a complete chem course for seven- to twelve- year olds. Very nicely done!

All Info About Chemistry
News, experiments, clip art, science fair projects...a lot of info here!

About.com Chemistry for Kids
Experiments, evaluations of chemistry sets, and good explanations.

MathMol Hypertext
Links chemistry and math with excellent graphics.

Chymist
Experiments and explanations...really useful!!

Periodic Table Worksheets
here at AIA

Science with me

A cheery, colorful website with games, animations, worksheets and coloring pages for preschool to about age 10. Subscription required, but it's free!

Experiments and Helps

Chemistry Comes Alive!
Several really fascinating experiments that you can watch...and probably not try at home!! Nice explosions!

Delights of Chemistry
Photos and video of over 100 experiments from the University of Leeds.

United Nuclear
Many fun experiments, with supplies sold onsite. Our favorite is "Water starts a Fire."   Be aware, though, that this doesn't start a small  flame: it starts a whooshing bright green blaze that destroyed the foil we started it on....

The pH Factor
A fun site for 8 to 12 year olds.

How to Color Fire
One of our family favorites! Try this at your next bonfire, and you can call it school!!

Burning Money
What you often feel like you're doing anyway...so why not do it literally?

Common Chemicals Around Your Home
Need something for an experiment, but afraid that ordering it will put you on a list at Homeland Security? Check other sources.

Fun With Alkali Metals!
A video of something that you probably don't want to try at home!

Curiosities
A list of things that keep science interesting.

Elements and Periodic Tables

WebElements Periodic Table
An excellent interactive table for teens. Has videos and information about each element.

Printable Periodic Table with Common Uses
A nice poster for kids. Features pictures of common things made with each element.

A Few Other Possible Periodic Tables
A new way of looking at things. Have your teen design her own!

Fun

Chemistry comics

The TWINKIES Project
Fun with bored college students. What happens to a twinkie when you....?

The Google Periodic Table
The top Google picture for each element.

Tom Lehrer
An animated song of the elements...

The Periodic Table of Comic Books
Calcium in Wonder Woman, Tungsten in Metal Men...

My Mad, Mad Love for The Teaching Company

When kids make the transition into True Teenhood, it can be hard to satisfy their innate curiosity without boring them to tears : that is, the format in which they learn may bore them excruciatingly.


For instance, while Neal may love to read, he finds that most textbooks are mentally anesthetic. They give stock answers to unenticingly-asked questions, then proceed to make it sound as if all the answers have been found. This make subjects like science, which are intrinsically  fascinating, into Butt-blasting Boredom with a capital 'B' or two.


Happily, Neal has taken quite well to dvds and such from The Teaching Company (no $$ or free products have exchanged hands here, : we have really, honestly used and enjoyed them after paying with our own hard-earned monies.) We've used ones on Algebra, history (we're currently using The Early Middle Ages set), World History (the ones for High school are great fun and very memorable) and science (cosmology and more.) Neal gets college-level teaching that respects his curiosity and caters a bit to his need for a bit of entertainment and variety. It works well all around.


The DVDs are pricey, but watch the site for sales. All of the sets go on sale quite regularly at amazing discounts. Occasionally, used ones are available on Amazon or Ebay. They have a great resale value also!