Earth Day, The Universe, and Beyond!
By Heather Idoni
Added Monday, April 19, 2010
==========================================================Vol. 11 No. 22, April 19, 2010, ISSN: 1536-2035
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© 2010, Heather Idoni - www.FamilyClassroom.net
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Welcome to The Homeschooler's Notebook!
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Notes from Heather
-- Facebook Fan Page
Helpful Tip
-- Geo-Eco-Nomics-Ography
Winning Website
-- EcoKids for Earth Day
Reader Question
-- Son Loves Astronomy
Additional Notes
-- Newsletter Archives
-- Sponsorship Information
-- Reprint Information
-- Subscriber Information
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Notes from Heather
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Dear Readers --
I just created a Facebook "Fan" Page for our newsletter. If you
are on Facebook, I'd be very blessed if you join! :-)
http://facebook.com/pages/The-Homeschoolers-Notebook/114751308546768
Thanks!
-- Heather
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Do you have comments to share? Please do!
Send your emails to: mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net
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"Marie Rippel, the creator of All About Spelling, has written
step-by-step
lesson plans that are easy to understand. I love
this! There have been a
number of things I wish to teach my
daughter, but preparation and research
has gotten in the way.
Sometimes there is just not enough time between all
the dishes
and laundry for that kind of thing! So I really appreciate
this
program being simple for me to implement." -- Stacie
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Helpful Tip
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Geo-Eco-Nomics-Ography
"Shopping-Cart-Ography is a project to raise awareness of where our
consumer goods come from. The idea is that when you get home from
the store, you put away your purchases one by one, and put a sticker
on the map showing where they were produced. You can use different
colors for Food, Clothing, Hand-made/Recycled, and Other goods. What
a great teachable moment for you kids! World economics, transportation,
supply-and-demand, social justice, agriculture and nutrition... take
it any direction you’d like."
-- Maggie Hogan, www.BrightIdeasPress.com
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Do you have an idea, experience, or tip to share? Please write!
Send to: mailto:HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net
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Winning Website
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EcoKids -- http://www.ecokids.ca
I'm sure it has not gone unnoticed that Earth Day is this Thursday, April 22nd.
Many organizations are celebrating all week. Today's winning website features
lots of information for kids and teachers/parents. There are lesson plans,
games, and activities for kids of all ages. The site is based in Canada, but
ecology is universal. Although I do not subscribe to the idea of man-made
climate change, there are still many worthwhile lessons and activities on this
site. As a Christian, I teach my kids that we are to be stewards of God's
creation; Earth Day is a great time to evaluate what we are doing as a family
to save energy, and contribute to protecting our natural resources.
Cindy Prechtel, www.HomeschoolingFromTheHeart.com
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Last Issue's Reader Question
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"My son is in the 7th grade and he likes astronomy. Do you know of any good
astronomy programs? We did Dr. Jay Wile's Astronomy last year. Thanks!"
-- Bonita
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Our Readers' Responses
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Dear Bonita,
Try this website:
http://www.classicalastronomy.com/
They have a newsletter and also a book/curriculum that Jeannie Fulbright,
Author of Apologia's Elementary Astronomy Curriculum recommends.
" 'Signs & Seasons' presents clear explanations in a captivating writing style
that is peppered with interesting and little-known facts. I highly recommend
this book as a follow-up to my Astronomy course, and one that will take
the student further with their studies, giving them a near perfect understanding
of the expanse of the heavens and God's purpose for astronomy."
EasyFunSchool.com has some interesting activity suggestion to incorporate
in further studies: http://www.easyfunschool.com/article2077.html
TheHomeschoolMom.com has a page of links for astronomy interests:
http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/schoolroom/astronomy.php
Christian Liberty Press has a high school level curriculum called
'Lift Up Your Eyes on High'.
I also highly recommend reading the book 'The Witness of the Stars'.
Hope this gives you some ideas!
-- Heather
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Answer our NEW Question
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[A few issues ago Jennifer asked about recommendations for literature at the
high school level. No one really answered with specific ideas for her, so I'm
posing the question again since it is relevant to our next special high school
edition of the newsletter.]
"I am looking ahead to the upcoming school year and trying to figure out what
curriculum my freshman will need. Right now, I am stuck on deciding which
literature program to go with. They all seem to be really good. If anyone
can give me their reviews on a program that they liked or even disliked, it
will help me greatly in my decision making. Thank you so much!" -- Jennifer
---
Share with Jennifer what you have chosen to do for literature studies at the
high school level!
Please send your email to: mailto:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
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Ask YOUR Question
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Do you have a question you would like our readers to answer?
Send it to mailto:HN-questions@familyclassroom.net and we'll see
if we can help you out in a future issue!
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