National ___ Month

Have you ever wondered about the weird little holidays each month? Or about which month observes which thing? I know I love having this info for our HS as it's FUN! (It was national doughnut day the other day!!). Here are some lists that might be of help:

National Awareness Months

Monthly Holidays (with great educational links)


Crazy Complete list of US Holidays, Observances and Celebrations

Furthermore, I like comparing the holidays in our country/religion to those around the world.

Earth Calendar

InterFaith Calendar

New Sites & Interesting Article!

Anyone learning about History (or the future for that matter) should check out Owl & Mouse's Build A Town website - Very cool indeed!

Ever want something truly inspirational for the kids to do on a rainy day? Ever looking for something the kids can do while you feed the baby/make dinner/fold the laundry? Then this is the treasure trove of ideas for you - Think!   - Encouraging kids to think outside of the box!

Further, one of the mom's in my Cafemom HS group brought this article to my attention - We Don't Believe in Socialization - it's a witty and honest look at the misconceptions of socialization for PS & HS.

Astronomy Vids

Well, you know my favorite new site is the ZuiKids (YouTube For Kids) so I'm just categorizing some of my fav's we're using for school -

ASTRONOMY/ SCIENCE:
The Sun Is Hot
The Real Perspective of the Solar System (earth's size in comparison to other planets)
Did You Know?....

DISCOVERY KIDS

 MATH:
Metric & Standard Measurement

HISTORY:
Social Studies
Mythology

READING / Words Helper


Little Genius

GRADES -

Homework Helper 1
Homework Helper 2
Homework Helper 3
Homework Helper 4
Homework Helper 5
Homework Helper 6

OMG I can't wait to join!!

I found this fantastic program for New England'ers - where there is precious little for homeschoolers - that gives discounts for all the museums, classes ,etc....and it's only $75/year!! I'm soooo joining!


The Family Resource Center

Cool New Site

As many of you know i use lots of lapbooks with my boys. But I also like to watch childrens videos for things like History topics. Let's face it, describing something like the Romans isn't as clear as watching it. But, on YouTube you're way more likely to find a History Channel clip (waaay to boring for my 8 & 6 y/o's) or a joke than something pertinant. So, this morning I was searching for clips on Christopher Columbus (as PS holidays just mean EXTRA work for us HS'ers..lol) and came across a YouTube-like site specifically for kids!!!! So I just had to share it with you all!!


ZuiTube - videos for kids

Some New Record Keepin Resources

I've been trying to keep better records of what we achieve, menus and finances. Here are some great free links -

http://highland.hitcho.com.au/Forms.htm - over 800 free form downloads!!

http://www.printablehomeschool.com/ - with a name like 'printable homeschool' it says it all!

Happy Autumn

Well, we're in full swing of our main curriculum - we tend to lighten up during the summer though we do technically school year round. I absolutely LOVE the change of seasons, and try to make school extra special on those days. Today is the first day of Autumn - therefore we'll be learning all about the season, what causes the change in seasons (here in the North East especially), what causes the leaves to change color, etc. We'll be using things like apples and corn in our lessons and we'll make some leaf decorations for the house and make some home-made candles to put in our emergency preparedness kit for the coming winter.

Some of the great resources we'll be using:

Worksheets & Resources:
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/fall/
Johnny Appleseed Lapbook - http://www.homeschoolshare.com/johnny_appleseed.php
My favorite kid's Pagan Ezine - http://www.pookapages.com/
Why do leaves change color in the fall? - http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html
Corn fun & lessons - http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson324.shtml