Showing posts with label interesting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interesting. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 2, 2012


What is NaNoWriMo?


National Novel Writing Month happens every November! It's a fun, seat-of-your-pants writing event where the challenge is to complete an entire novel in just 30 days. For one month, you get to lock away your inner editor, let your imagination take over, and just create!
That means participants begin writing November 1 and must finish by midnight, November 30. The word-count goal for our adult program is 50,000 words, but the Young Writers Program (YWP) allows 17-and-under participants to set reasonable, yet challenging, individual word-count goals.
In 2011, 250,000 adults participated through our main site, and 50,000 young writers participated through the YWP.


Some of the skills NaNoWriMo builds:
  • Fluency:
  •  Writing so much in so little time boosts students’ proficiency in grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and will help them approach future writing assignments with ease and confidence.
  • Confidence:
  •  When creating so much text in such a short period of time, students realize just how much they can accomplish when they put their minds to it. NaNoWriMo leaves young writers asking themselves, “What’s next?”
  • Creativity:
  •  Creating characters, situations, dialogue, and even whole planets from scratch helps kids think, but it also teaches them how to apply their fanciful ideas to a full project.
  • Time Management:
  •  Our curriculum teaches students how to tackle a huge project by breaking it down into manageable bites!

http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

Friday, June 8, 2012

ScienceFusion Homeschool


We are searching for a Chemistry curriculum for 5th grade.  This one looked interesting so I am passing it on!For grades K–5, kits include materials for one year of science study. In addition to traditional science topics, each elementary homeschool package includes a unit on science and technology, progressing from science skills to understanding technology to the engineering process.K–5 Contents
For grades 6–8, we offer eleven modules, ten covering key life, earth, and physical science topics, plus one on science and technology careers. These modules are not designed as full-year science curriculum; three or four modules can be completed in one year. Modules are appropriate for all middle grades, so parents can choose whether to mix life, earth, and physical science topics or focus on one.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Compass Store Free Downloads: A Great Introduction

Learning to Read in Latin

 

 

 

  • Lessons for the Young Economist

    eBook | Lessons for the Young Economist [epub/PDF]
    A very readable and friendly introduction to free market economics good both for high school students and lots of adults. It's written by one of the best economic teachers in the U.S. today and makes a fairly complex subject...
  • The Duties of Parents

    eBook | The Duties of Parents - J.C. Ryle [Epub/PDF]
    J.C. Ryle was an Evangelical Anglican pastor living in England during the 19th century. This little volume is one of the best encouragements toward Biblical parenting ever written. If you are not familiar with what he says,...
  • George Grant | American Culture Sample Lecture

    George Grant | American Culture Sample Lecture
    Dr. George Grant surveys the history, literature, philosophy, theology, and civics of American Culture, in this Kings Meadow course. He primarily focuses on the Age of Exploration and Colonization to the advent of...
  • George Grant | Modernity Sample Lecture

    George Grant | Modernity Sample Lecture
    In this King’s Meadow Modernity course, Dr. George Grant surveys the history, literature, philosophy, theology, and civics of Modernity—an epoch focusing primarily on the 19th and 20th centuries, but with roots...
  • Seek Social Justice | Transforming Lives in Need

    Seek Social Justice | 6 Lesson Study on Poverty & Compassion
    LifeWay sells the DVD version of this series as well as study books for use in small group setting. Click here to buy the physical products. Seek Social Justice is a small group video curriculum on poverty and social...
  • Visual Latin | Free - 4 Intro Lessons + 2 Regular Lessons

    Visual Latin | Free - 4 Intro Lessons + 2 Regular Lessons
    These four introductory lessons provide background and tools for learning Latin. They are intended to be watched before starting  Visual Latin and are different from the normal teaching lessons.   The 2 free...
  • Ask Me WhoOo | Sample Songs

    Ask Me WhoOo | Sample Songs
    Download these 3 free sample songs from the wonderful Ask Me WhoOo series and see why kids love to sing them! MP3s Included: VOL 1 | TRACK 1 | Q&A 1-3Who made you, who made you? God. Who made you? God. Who made you?...
  • Gregory Wilbur | Songs for Christmas

    Gregory Wilbur | Songs for Christmas
    These free MP3's showcase choral pieces arranged by Gregory Wilbur. The sheet music is also available in the Compass Store. Come Ye Souls - Congregational (2:54) Mighty Lord, Extend Your Kingdom - Congregational...
  • My Cry Ascends | Congregational Singing

    My Cry Ascends | Congregational Singing
    These Free MP3's showcase a congregation singing arrangements from My Cry Ascends | New Parish Psalms. Gregory Wilbur originally wrote this music with congregational singing in mind, and these versions provide the...
  • Gregory Wilbur | Songs for Worship
     Gregory Wilbur | Songs for Worship
    These four pieces were recorded live at Parish Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee. They are normally used in the context of the complete service of worship with other hymns, songs, and scripture readings. You can...
  • Modern Parables | 6 Trailers [Download]

    Modern Parables | 6 Trailers [Download]
    All 6 trailers from Modern Parables, Vol 1: Hidden Treasure Samaritan The Shrewd Manager The Widow & The Judge The Sower The Prodigal Son Format: Quicktime MOV and Windows Media Video...
    You can find all these at:

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A Great "Take" on Home Educating Boys

Another Mom of a few Boys has shared her thoughts on learning. If you are feeling like you are spinning your wheels, take a minute to be refreshed!  Wendy, at Living Creatively, always has some great kinetic learning ideas  that will get you back on track.
http://wendyjanelle.blogspot.com/2011/09/school-days-at-adler-academy.html

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Nature Journaling

We are in full swing with our Nature Notebook group.  There has been some discussion about  Charlotte Mason notebooking and the dear mother coordinating our group came up with this Jewel!

If you are in need of a good look at what Nature Journaling is all about, this blog will give you the eye candy you have been looking for.  

http://naturejournaling.blogspot.com/

Beautiful.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Learning with Visual Latin is F.U.N. !

Vl_icon

::Visual Latin ::
Laugh Through Latin and Master English!
Welcome to the funniest way to learn two languages

My Experience
While latin is not new around our home, the focus has been on vocabulary.  But, now that 2 of the boys are older, it is time to delve into sentence structure.  I have been very nervous about trying new programs due to initial costs and the possibility of them being a complete failure.  I stepped out once with what I considered a great program, but, the all text format  wasn't working for the boys.  Since then, I have come across Visual Latin and they gave me the opportunity to give an open review.

The teacher for the Visual Latin videos is Dwane Thomas.  Mr. Thomas has been teaching latin for 15 years and his wife homeschools their 5 children.
Thomas Purifoy, Jr., is the producer for Visual Latin.  Compass Cinema, has already produced 2 other series; Modern Parables and Seek Social Justice.  Mr. Purifoy's wife homeschools their 3 girls


Each lesson is divided into 3 parts:
Grammar
Sentences
Reading 


Each part averages ~7 minutes and is followed by a worksheet so the student can immediately put to use what they have learned before moving on.  
This set up allows for the flexibility in scheduling and pacing that is needed in homeschooling. The lessons can also be synched with your phone or IPad to take advantage of windshield time or other down time.


The See, Hear, Write format of Visual Latin is top notch for retention!

Dwane's relaxed and funny teaching style is both interactive and engaging. 
My boys have commented on how much more they are retaining in this course and they love his random references.  The younger boy also adds "...It doesn't cram a lot at you at once so I can remember more..." and  "...Mr. Thomas is funny!"



Look!
Here are 4 free introductory videos plus 2 free lessons (click here!) that you should try!  They are rather addicting, so, try at your own risk ;)


The Take Away
The guys at Visual Latin love language and their enthusiasm shows.  The course work reinforces the student's understanding of English while learning Latin. You purchase the lessons in sets as downloads (I had no problem downloading the lessons) or DVD's. Each set includes the videos, instructions, worksheets and answers.  


The Best Part!
Visual Latin has offered to give a 25% off coupon to my readers!  Use the code Latin Is Fun in their store. The coupon is good for only 3 days, so take a quick peek now :)

Monday, December 13, 2010

A Quick History Lesson: Leap Year

A Quick History Lesson

The Egyptians were the first to come up with the idea of adding a leap day once every four years to keep the calendar in sync with the solar year. Later, the Romans adopted this solution for their calendar, and they became the first to designate February 29 as the leap day.


Read more: Leap Year 101 – Next, When, List, Days, Calendar, Years, Calculation, Last, Rules — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/leapyear2.html#ixzz181RF1wRr