Free Fun Fridays - Just a few left!

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Random Update - Frogs Are Doing Well!

Charlie is most often found floating in the water...

...while Bert is generally well hidden.

You Tube Monday - MR MAGOO goes Surfing

Shakespeare on the Common Presents Coriolanus

We love Shakespeare! KM LOVES Boston Common! What better combination could we find than Shakespeare on the Common?

This year's play is one that is often noted as the least liked of all of the Bards work - Coriolanus. We knew little of the play before we went - I had explained to KM that it was one of Shakespeare's political dramas and that they had chosen it because of the connection with "The Occupy Movement," but really that was all we knew.

We sat through the performance becoming more and more perplexed and confused scene by scene, act by act. We didn't understand why they were fighting, we didn't understand who the good guy was suppose to be -  or the bad really - and there were a whole lot of rather bizarre side comments that made things even more bewildering.

The stage design, lighting, background, costumes and even the actors were all as good as we have come to expect from the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, but the story itself just left us in a state of puzzlement. We chatted the whole way home about how bizarre it was and were not able to figure out what it was we were missing. We went with a friend who also really loves Shakespeare, but was just as bewildered as we were. I was quite glad that none of KM's friends had been able to make it to the performance with us as I fear it would have turned them off of Shakespeare all together!

Vi Hart: Math Doodling

I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SITE!!!!!  ----- Vi Hart: Math Doodling:
Here is a taste of the great videos that can be found there -

Is Literature Study Important?

Every once in a while a discussion gets brought up on a national yahoo list for home educators that I am on, that really gets my brain moving and challenges me to think about what we are doing and WHY we are doing it. Recently someone asked what others thought of the importance of doing a formal literature program and whether it was really beneficial to have a student push through something that is suppose to be pleasurable. As with any such topic you will always get as many answers as people who are responding, and I was pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of options and alternatives that were presented. 


Personally, I think that some classics are important as iconic references rather than any lessons that might be learned from them. There are so many repeating story lines through books and movies that you could easily make some connections with the older versions and utilize the updated ones. In our ever evolving culture "reading and interpreting the classics" is not quite as necessary as it used to be and if you have a student that is hesitant you could do more damage than good. I am also conflicted with the impact of not having "iconic references" as I have made it through life just fine not always fully understanding quotes from Star Wars which I have NEVER seen, but everyone else around me has - GASP!!!

I truly feel that if you want to promote a love of learning, one of the most essential skills necessary to truly being educated, the worst thing you can do is force anyone to continue reading a story that they don't like, just for the sake of having done it. Another thing to consider is if a child doesn't connect with the story are they really going to be able to make the connections and find the hidden meanings? It is doubtful! 


As with any other area, approach and presentation are KEY! Reading Shakespeare is FAR more difficult and harder to comprehend, than watching it - the way it was meant to be experienced. Think about trying to learn a language and never hearing it spoken. Poetry can be the same way - you miss subtle rhythmic nuisances that aren't there if read improperly and this can fully change the meaning.


As I have said time and time again, before following the path set forth think about where it leads and where your child wants to be. Just as I would not force a child who is not going to a medical profession to take an Anatomy and Physiology class, why would you force a STEM focused student to drudge through Dickens? 


I would love to hear others opinions and experiences on this topic, so please feel free to share by posting a comment below!

Science Jim - Bringing Science to Life in Your Home!

For nearly three years now Science Jim has been our go to product for interesting, intriguing, engaging and amazing Science Curriculum! From his incredible FREE science webisodes to his well-written ebooks and his engrossing webclasses there are no other products being offered like these on the web!

Science Jim has a comfortable, humorous style that gets kids interested and keeps them hooked. The hands-on activities and experiments included in his ebooks always utilize things that can be found in most households and his sequential cumulative lessons have an overall focus of bringing science to life for learners.  Another important feature to me is always customer service and Science Jim has always gotten back to us in a timely manner no matter what question or issue was presented to him.




So if you are looking for affordable classes or ebooks to get your learners interested and engaged hop on over to Science Jim's site and check out some of his free samples!



To view pasts posts that have included info on Science Jim click HERE!

You Tube Monday - The Muppet Show - Surfin' USA

Don't Do Drugs Stay Out Of School - Book Review

Don’t Do Drugs Stay Out Of School challenges parents everywhere to rethink the necessity of conventional schooling. Probing questions explore the concepts of learning and childhood development and offer the suggestion that perhaps a life without school is healthier for children and thus for the world. Is learning the real purpose of school? Does school offer true educational value? Is there a better way? How can children learn and grow without school in their lives? How has the school culture affected society in the last hundred years? - description from UnpluggedMom.com

In Don't Do Drugs Stay Out of School the reader is taken on a journey through recent history as Laurette Lynn points out the undeniable correlation between our societal decline in educational acheivements, health, family connection and personal drive and the evolution of compulsory schooling. Laurette has taken some of the most common points, that are often presented in a disunited manner, and concisely connects the dots to allow the reader a chance to step back and see the real picture - SCHOOL IS NO PLACE FOR CHILDREN!!! 


Unlike others that have come before her, Laurette also gives a clear outline to the educational solution which emphasizes learning independently, as well as through cooperative community based learning programs and apprenticeships. These keys are currently working throughout the nation for freely educated children everywhere. 


As always Laurette does not tell you what to think, but presents you with a number of scenarios and facts, daring you to look deeper for yourself and your children! Anyone who reads this book and still thinks school is the "right place" for children should NOT have them! BRAVA Laurette!!! I can't imagine anyone laying things out any clearer! 

Readers or Test Takers ~ What really is the intent of this book? - Review of Motivating Teen and Preteen Readers by Jeffrey Pflaum

Repost---- Originally posted Nov. 1, 2011

I would like to preface this review with the information that I love reading, my daughter loves reading, my stepson loves reading, however, in my previous life – prior to unplugging – I worked and volunteered in schools, mostly with kids who were wrongly diagnosed, grossly neglected by and often tortured through the system and more often than not HATED reading. I feel reading is the most important skill for a successful life. Reading opens minds to worlds without limits, breaks through any restrictions, and allows true freedom from everything, so when I was contacted to review Motivating Teen and Preteen Readersby Jeffrey Pflaum, I was really excited to delve into something that might help those who have no interest in reading.

The outline of the program that Pflaum puts forth is this -

• 4 books of questions on reading and reading life
  • students answer questions on a schedule spread out over a course of a year and then discuss answers
• brief teacher/parent raps and mini-discussions examine the experience of reading
• class or 1:1 discussions bring out reading-world encounters and ideas
• evaluations follow up each set

The list of goals that Pflaum lays out on pages 6-8 are somewhat inspiring and include -

• Motivate, reading by heightening understanding of its processes.
• Reveal the power of the written, spoken and imagined word.
• Define reading as a process of self-communication.
• Deepen students' understanding of reading's affective side.
• Create confident, intrinsically motivated, effective, independent, lifelong readers.

Throughout the first few sections of the book, I felt there were a number of contradictions that I had a difficult time getting past. The author seems to illustrate that these books of questioning techniques will boost adolescents' motivation to read, but he states that motivation for reading must be intrinsic.  My question to the author is, "How are these extrinsic questions going to bring about a self-motivating drive?" A quote from page 1 "Reading in the 2000s is functional: to get grades on standardized tests." may seem to be taken out of context, but shortly there after Pflaum states "They [the questions] motivate students to make sense of reading and realize that testing is only a small part." p. 8. This leads me to wonder the actual intent of the book - is it to increase test scores or to create an interest for teens to read?  I am uncertain as to whether it is about essay writing and expression of experiences than actual useful tips to help teens WANT to read.

The four books of questions - which by the way are actually all included in this compilation - are comprised of questions which are suppose to make the reader enjoy reading more by teaching them "fundamental prerequisite skills or tools needed to enjoy reading and learning".   After looking over the questions I could picture was a class full of high schoolers rolling their eyes at these touchy feely questions -

• How cool and calm are you when you are reading? Explain your answer.
• Do you enjoy the solitude and silence of reading and your reading life? Explain your answer.
• When is reading sweet peace for you?

Again I am no expert in this area, but my 14 year old daughter said it rather eloquently when she stated - "You just need to find a book genre that you like and read." To me this is the quintessential solution - let kids read what they want to read when they want to read it. Many kids hate to read because they are forced to regurgitate the information to pass a test. They are made to feel inferior if they cannot read at the same time or earlier than kids their own age. They don't connect with the book because they see it as "work". They have no time to read for "fun" because they have homework and sports and dance and even over the summer they have stacks of books that MUST be read by the fall. While I don't want to say that ALL home educated kids like to read, I have never met one who doesn't.

When kids aren't rushed, prodded and ordered to read restricting possibilities, content and given strict timelines, they tend to have that intrinsic motivation that Pflaum mentions naturally. This is just another approach to the same end, get the kids to write so they can pass the test. I don't mind offering the advice of my young sage!

I'm interesting in learning from the author during his upcoming interviewwith Unplugged Mom, whether the intent of the book is to "teach the test" or to motivate a true love of reading and appreciation of literature.   I look forward to the opportunity to hear from him. ---- 

Updated– Nov. 15, 2011

After listening to Pflaum's interview on UMRadio, I feel like he has the best intentions, but the ideas expressed in his interview did not translate into his writing. It is my opinion that this is a teacher trying to make better students, rather than make better readers and I don't know if he truly understands the difference! This may sound harsh, but I feel as though it is my duty to call out a wolf when I see one! 

Free Fun Fridays - Still Plenty of Opportunities!!!!

Free Fun Fridays | Highland Street Foundation:



'via Blog this'

You Tube Monday --- This Week In...

Free Resources in Your Mailbox from NRCS

This is just one of the many - 277 to be exact - resources that you can receive FREE in your mailbox from the National Resources Conservation Service! Pop on over to see what might inspire you and your children!

I love the ocean!!!

Introduction to Essentials of Cell Biology | Learn Science at Scitable

Stumbled across this great FREE Resource Introduction to Essentials of Cell Biology and just had to pass it on!

Synopsis ~ What do an amoeba and an elephant have in common? If liver cells have the same DNA as brain cells, why are they different? What goes wrong during cancer? The answers to these questions depend on the properties of cells, the fundamental units of life. Essentials of Cell Biology introduces readers to the core concepts of cell biology. This course can provide an introduction to cell biology for beginning students of all ages or be a springboard to more specialized topics for advanced students. The course begins with a discussion of the fundamental properties of cells: the origin of the cell, how cells are organized, how they reproduce, and how they use energy. Other units in the course expand these topics and provide insight into the processes that regulate cell function and generate the amazing variety of cell types seen in living organisms. Topics include the decoding process that produces distinct sets of proteins in different cell types, the cellular structures responsible for cell function, the signals that cells use to communicate with one another, and the intricate controls on cell division. At the end of each unit in this eBook there is the option to test your knowledge with twenty multiple-choice questions.


Scitables also has other FREE resources available and some very interesting Knowledge Projects ~ The Knowledge Project is an effort to work with the science academic community to build a reliable, openly accessible library of educational science content for college and high school students. Each article is written by experts in their field. The Knowledge Project is a living effort; articles will be updated over time in response to new developments in the field and specific suggestions by users.