May 2003 Newsletter

 

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Classroom Technology for HOMESCHOOLING

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Issue 4
May 2003
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Dear Homeschooler,

Welcome to the current issue of the new Classroom Technology for HOMESCHOOLING Newsletter published monthly as a free service by Classroom Technology. You are receiving this message because you have subscribed to the Classroom Technology for HOMESCHOOLING newsletter. The previous issues of this newsletter can be found by clicking on the "free stuff" link on our Internet site. If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to other homeschoolers. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, you may sign up at:
http://www.classroomtech.com/subscribe.html

We will be sending you this newsletter around the twentieth of the month proceeding the month all of the information is for. We hope that this will allow you to insert some or all of the activities into your homeschool curriculum schedule. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas please contact us at:

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Just Because


We have been wondering how to let you know about some unique web sites,
tips, tricks, and other information that will make your job of educating your
children easier. This new section of our free newsletter will now include this information just because I think you might want to know. Have fun.

Fun Recipes

How many ways can you think of to make playdough? Bet that even if you're a pro, you'll find some new ideas here, along with goop, glurch, silly putty, sand clay, and thematic ideas to use with all your clay recipes. All of these recipes and much more can be found at:

The Kids Hall of Fame

This award-winning site publishes inspirational stories and pictures of positive peer role models under age 20. At this site you and your students can read and discuss these wonderful kids. You can also make nominations of others that you think belong to this group. This site can be found at:

Libroman

This site has an ongoing serialized story that is about a super-hero who is non-violent and who uses knowledge as his super-weapon. In addition, there is a wonderful list of books that are connected to the story. To read Libroman go to:

Maps, Maps, and More

This site is a great collection of free maps for parents and teachers. Take some time to look at all that they have. My personal favorite is to use the link to the Owl and Mouse Educational Software. Here you will find a great collection of inexpensive and free software. If you are using maps (I personally use them in every subject that I teach) their free software "MegaMaps - Walk Through the Continents" is for you. This easily downloaded software will allow you to print U.S. and World maps from a single page to 8 pages across (nearly 7 feet). Students love to decorate these large maps and use them for their education. This extensive site can be found at:

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Important Dates for MAY

(Some great sites for research and activities have been included with some selected dates.)

May - National Bike Month

For many people across the country, spring marks a shift in activities from inside to outside; and bicycling is a popular choice. Bicycling is one of the most popular activities in the United States. National Bike Month provides an opportunity for educational programs, bicycle community events, bicycle helmet promotions, and even bicycle rodeos to draw positive attention to bicycling and bicycle safety.

More than 70 percent of children age five to 15 (27.7 million) ride bicycles. Almost one-third (28%) of bicyclists killed in traffic crashes in 1999 (750 bicyclists were killed and an additional 51,000 were injured in traffic crashes) were between 5 and 15 years old. The fatality rate for bike riders, aged five to 15, is nearly double the rate for all bicyclists. Head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle crashes and is the most important determinant of bicycle-related death and permanent disability. (Information provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

The following sites have excellent information about bike safety:

http://gateway.library.uiuc.edu/doc/Exhibits/bike.htm

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/bike/

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/bike/month.htm

A copy of some Safe Bicycling Rules can be found at:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/bicyclingrules.doc

An excellent list of books that have to do with bicycle riding and bike riders can be found at the site below. In addition, at this site there are book lists for other topics.

http://estabrook.ci.lexington.ma.us/Library/May/May02.html

May (1st week) 1915 - National Be Kind to Animals Week

One hundred years ago, the idea that people should be kind to animals was considered avant garde. Common opinion held that animals were placed on this earth for us to use - and abuse, if need be - for our profits.
But in 1877, several groups courageously defied the status quo, joining together to form the American Humane Association (AHA). The goal of this organization was to build a national entity that would be a voice for those who had none - the animals.

To bring further attention to this new perspective of helping, instead of hurting, animals, AHA established the country's first national week for animals - Be Kind to Animals Week® - in 1915.

May (1st week) - Cartoon Appreciation Week

Visit the International Museum of Cartoon Art and see some work by various cartoonists at:

http://cartoon.org/artists.html

The sites found here are about famous comic book superheroes and their special powers. Included are Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and more. There are videos, games, and students' descriptions of their own imaginary superheroes. This superhero site can be found at:

http://emints.more.net/ethemes/resources/S00000915.html

May (1st week) - National Postcard Week

Weather is beautiful, wish you were here. It all started with the humble 'souvenir card.' Since long before the days of e-mail and faxes, postcards have delivered panoramic sunsets, palm trees and pithy greetings from folks far away. For many people, they are more than mail, they are keepsakes. Affection for the clever little cardstock rectangles comes out of the mailbox the first week of May every year, for National Postcard Week.
If you are looking for postcards to add to your curriculum check out the links found at:

http://www.educationworld.com/search/search.jhtml

May (1st week) - Wildflower Week

To find information about celebrating wildflowers, wildflower coloring pages, and educational resources about wildflowers go to:

http://www.nps.gov/plants/cw/index.htm

May (1st week) - National Pet Week

May 1 - Save the Rhino Day

Some information and an activity sheet about rhinos can be found at:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/rhinos.doc

May 1 - Mother Goose Day

May 5, 1862 - Cinco de Mayo

May 5, 200 - Ethiopia established

May 5 - Children's Day (Japan)

May 6, 1840 - First Postage Stamp

Some information and an activity sheet about Penny Black, the first postage stamp, can be found at:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/stamp.doc

May 7, 1840 - Peter Tchaikovsky - birthday

May (2nd week) - Conserve Water Week

Check all of the activities you can do to conserve water at:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/water.doc

If you are interested in taking part in actual scientific research go to:

http://www.kancrn.org/waterconserv/

Some interesting activities and more on water conservation can
be found at:

http://wwwga.usgs.gov/edu/

May 8, 1884 - Harry S. Truman - birthday

Take a look at this wonderful interactive president time line. Wow!

http://www.sprocketworks.com/shockwave/load.asp?
SprMovie=presidentgame

May 10, 1869 - Golden Spike Driven

May 10 - Trust Your Intuition Day

Intuition is an inner sense that tells us what feels right and true for us at any given moment.

May 10, 1872 - First Woman Nominated for U.S. Presidency

The National Woman Suffrage Association nominated Victoria Claflin Woodhull for the U.S. Presidency.

May 11, 1858 - Minnesota admitted to US

May 11, 1910 - Glacier National Park established

Information on this wonderful national park can be found at:

http://www.nps.gov/glac/

Some excellent lesson plans and activities that were created for and electronic field trip to the park can be found at:

http://www.sd5.k12.mt.us/glaciereft/lessons.htm

May 12, 1820 - Florence Nightingale - birthday

May 12 - Limerick Day

Learn some information about writing limericks at:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/limerick.doc

May 14, 1686 - Gabriel Fahrenheit - birthday

May 14, 1804 - Lewis and Clark expedition

Find a writing activity about the journey of Lewis and Clark at:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/journal.doc

A large collection of some of the best Lewis and Clark web sites can be found at:
http://www.educationworld.com/search/search.jhtml?pageNum=
1&queryText=Lewis%20and%20Clark&queryMode=0

May 14, 1948 - Israel established

May (3rd week) - National Pickle Week

Get information and an a science experiment using pickles at:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/pickles.doc

May 16, 1763 - Biographer's Day

Get information and activities about biographies and autobiographies at:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/biography.doc

Additional activities on creating a biography or autobiography time line can be found at:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/biography2.doc

May 17, 1607 - Jamestown founded

May 18, 1980 - Mt. St. Helens erupts

May 20, 1902 - Cuba established

May 20, 1927 - First solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean

May 22, 1844 - Mary Casssatt - birthday

To find information, activities, and fun about artists go to:

http://www.cln.org/themes/art_history.html

May 23, 1788 - South Carolina admitted to US

May 25, 1803 - Ralph Waldo Emerson - birthday

Emerson was a famous American author. More information can
be found at:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/5658/home_en.html

http://www.transcendentalists.com/

May 27, 1937 - Cellophane tape patented

May 27, 1937 - Golden Gate Bridge opened

May 28, 1892 - Sierra Club founded

If you are looking for information, lesson plans, activities, or more regarding endangered species go to:

http://www.cln.org/themes_index.html

May 28, 1923 - Trousers made legal for women

To find out more about what women have accomplished use the links at:

http://www.cln.org/themes_index.html

May 29, 1790 - Rhode Island admitted to US

May 29, 1848 - Wisconsin admitted to US

May 29, 1917 - John F. Kennedy - birthday

Take a look at this wonderful interactive president time line. Wow!

http://www.sprocketworks.com/shockwave/load.asp?
SprMovie=presidentgame

May 31, 1819 - Walt Whitman - birthday

Take some time to visit the Walt Whitman collection at the Library of Congress at:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wwhtml/wwhome.html

Walt Whitman, one America's most influential and innovative poets, was born into a working class family in West Hills, New York, a village near Hempstead, Long Island, on May 31, 1819, just thirty years after George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the newly formed United States. Whitman's biography and works can be found at:

http://www.iath.virginia.edu/whitman/biography/

If you are looking for a variety of poetry activities (30 days worth) got to:

http://www.msrogers.com/English2/poetry/30_days_of_poetry.htm

May 31, 1790 - US Copyright Law passed

The United States Copyright Law offers an important protection of every person who creates. To learn more go to:

http://www.classroomtech.com/news/copyright.doc

http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

http://www.transcendentalists.com/plagiarism_and_copyright.htm

To get a lesson on plagiarism go to:

http://ousd.k12.ca.us/~codypren/antidote.html

May 31, 1910 - South Africa established

 

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Our New Products

After much consultation with homeschoolers and with owners of homeschool
stores, our workbooks will now have twice as many pages for the same price.

We are pleased to announce the first titles in our new series of workbooks. These new workbooks were designed to encourage your student to explore their own world, past and present. Each workbook has over 90 pages, and each has been designed to fit into the third to eighth grade curriculum.

The first titles in this new series are in social studies and language arts.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We have recently completed a workbook of American Symbols. This workbook covers people, places, events, and things, which have come to represent America. Like all of our workbooks this book has more than 90 pages of resources and activities.

The new president's series includes two titles, which provide information and activities for all presidents form George Washington to Harding, and from Calvin Coolidge to our current president George W. Bush.

The new state series of workbooks includes two titles. This new series includes workbooks on the Western & Midwest States, Southern & Eastern States, and
each title provides information and activities for all the states covered.

In addition, the first title in our Interesting People series is Interesting People in the World. It provides resource information and activities about 40 or more people
who have made a difference. Look for additional titles soon about Interesting Women, Interesting People in Science, and Interesting People in the Arts.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Reading and Writing for Comprehension for Intermediate Students is the first workbook in a series of titles that stress the skills of reading and writing by looking at events, places, and activities that have impact on your student.

Our workbook for Beginning Sounds, includes both English and Spanish
Alphabets, and were designed for beginning reading students, or below grade
level students who need to learn beginning sounds and vocabulary.

If you are interested in our products, a demo disk about all of our products,
including these new workbooks, can be found at:

Even More New Products!

We are pleased to announce that we now have many more products available
to you for homeschooling. We have worksheet generators for math, vocabulary, phonics, resources, science, social studies and more. We have diorama creators in the curriculum areas of language arts, science, and social studies. We have Internet resource kits, a writing program, a research assistant program, and several comic book creation programs in the areas of fairy tales, super heroes, US history, and science.

People that we know and trust have created each of these products. We've selected these products because we think that they will prove to be valuable additions to your homeschooling effort. More on each of these new products
will be found in upcoming newsletters.

If you are interested in looking at these products now, they and all of our products can be found at:

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Homeschooling News

 

Home schoolers get out of the house

The Holiday Inn banquet hall was packed with teens clad in tuxedos and taffeta. They danced the Macarena, sipped lemonade, and cast interested sidelong glances at one another. The Orlando, Fla., event had all the trappings of a standard high school prom, with one exception: There were no high schoolers present.

 

All the teens at the Orlando prom were home schoolers.

There are approximately 2 million home schoolers in the United States, a figure that has increased 15 percent in the last 20 years, according to the National
Home Education Research Institute in Salem, Ore. As home schooling enters the mainstream, the adults who promote it have sought more ways of getting home schoolers out of the house, to broaden their social circles, and help them acquire the leadership credentials needed for college applications.

Learn more at:

 

Homeschooling Pioneers: Then and Now

When I first began homeschooling eleven years ago, I'd only known one other homeschooler my entire life. I didn't know anyone outside the limited school
district program who homeschooled and had no idea how I would find them if I wanted to.

Today, the Internet has created a giant support group for homeschooling mothers and fathers. Anyone who is considering homeschooling can put the word into a search engine and find thousands of places to meet other homeschoolers.

The new homeschool moms astound me with their knowledge and wisdom.
They avoid the huge mistakes I made as a beginner and they know so much
about education.

To read more of this article go to:

 

Homeschooling is the latest trend

The appointment last week of a parent who homeschooled her children to a post on the Vermont Board of Education highlights a growing trend in the state.

Last year, more than 1,200 families educated almost 2,000 children at home throughout the state, or about 2 percent of all students in Vermont, according to the Department of Education.

To learn more about Vermont homeschooling go to:

 

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Classroom Technology for HOMESCHOOLING


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