October
1, 2005
Dear
OKHS Subscribers,
Hello
everyone. I hope your school year is going great! This has
been a busy month for me. My husband and I spent a lot of
time training to ride our bikes in the MS150.
We rode 78 of the 150 miles. Not bad for 55 & 58 years
old! You can see photos and read more about that on my blog:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/EmptyNestMom/26376/.
I
also go to go to Grandparent's Day at my
granddaughter's school. That was fun. Check out photos at:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/EmptyNestMom/28153/
Part
1 of my interview with Homeschool Talk Radio
aired on September 26. You can listen to the taped version
by going to: http://www.homeschooltalkradio.com/.
I am so honored to be featured on the same program as Jessica
Hulcy! My interview starts about 2/3 way into the program.
And
of course, I spent a good part of the month working on the
OCHEC Update, this newsletter, my website, and the Pilgrim
unit below.
Finally, I am coming to Shawnee, Oklahoma, on November
5, 2005, to teach a workshop entitled,
"Homeschooling Simplified"
or "How to Simplify Your Homeschool
for Success"
Many
homeschooling parents are committed to homeschooling, have
the "best" curriculum money can buy, and are great
disciplinarians, yet they're stressed out and ready to quit.
Why? Usually, it is one of two reasons:
1. They're not using their homeschool time wisely
2. They're using curriculum and/or teaching methods not
suited to their own family's needs and their child’s
learning style, goals, interests, and abilities
In this workshop, I am going to show you how to
simplify your schedule, your curriculum, and your teaching
methods so that your children will learn what they need
to know without you, the parents, burning out! You'll learn
how to set priorities and goals, how to set a reasonable
weekly and daily schedule, how to keep records, how to choose
a simplified teaching style, and how to adapt curriculum
to your child's learning style, goals, interests, and abilities.
The workshop is being held on November 5th at the
Gordon Cooper Technology Center, One John C. Bruton
Boulevard, in Shawnee, OK. from 9:00
am to noon, in the Seminar Center room. (Directions:
http://www.gctech.org/about/drivingdir.htm)
Seating is limited to 300 (doors open at 8:30 am) and is
on a first-come, first-serve. Get a babysitter and both
parents come or leave one spouse home to watch the kids.
No children will be permitted (except infants
of nursing mothers).
There is no charge for this workshop because
of the generous support of Gordon Cooper Technology Center,
El Shaddai Church in Seminole, Vicki Mason, and Jerry Johnston.
I will be selling my book, The
Checklist, at the workshop so you can save on shipping
costs if you pick one up there.
I
hope you enjoy this issue of the Oklahoma Homeschool newsletter.
Have a great October!
Cindy
Oklahoma
Homeschool Newsletter, October 2005 (Oklahoma Edition)
Index:
What's
New on the Oklahoma Homeschool Website?
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Oklahoma
History Resources:
1. Ideas for Oklahoma History study from The Learning Calendar
(http://www.thelearningcalendar.com/):
September
16th
The largest land run in U.S. history occurred on this day
in 1893 in Oklahoma. Design your own homestead!
If you were awarded 100 acres for a homestead, what would
you do with it? What crops would you plant? Would you have
animals? Would you build a log cabin or another type of
house? Draw a picture and write a story about homesteading
in Oklahoma in the 19th century. Use your imagination!
September
30th
Will Rogers' first movie opened in New York on this day
in 1918. The movie starring the popular cowboy was called
Laughing Bill Hyde. Besides acting, Will Rogers'
was famous for his witty sayings. Visit this site to read
some Will
Rogers' quotes. For young buckaroos, print out our cowboy
coloring page!
2.
The Six "Countries" of Oklahoma worksheet. Have
your child research the "countries" of Oklahoma
and complete this worksheet for Oklahoma History. This is
an excerpt from my Oklahoma Online curriculum (http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/okhist.html)
and only available for a short time to subscribers of the
OKHS Newsletter at: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/afreeform.html
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Book
Reviews:
1.
Review of World Landmark Books by Karen J. Thiessen
Unfortunately
for me, I discovered Landmark Books after my children graduated.
This is a wonderful series of books written in 1950-1970,
that can be used as family read-alouds or assigned reading
for children in 4th grade and up. According to Karen, there
are 63 books in the World Landmark series (world history)
and 122 books in the Landmark series (American history). They
include biographies of famous people as well as historical
events.
World
Landmark Books is a guide to the 63 books in the World Landmark
series. Karen not only gives a brief overview of each book,
but she provides information about the author, how to use
the books in your homeschool, and ideas for how to locate
them (many of these are hard to find). She includes a list
of the books organized by title, author, publication date,
chronological date, and by subject category. There is also
information on the rarity of each book is so you can know
what to expect in price.
Her evaluations are based on her Christian worldview which
his a big help to me. There were several books on her list
that I had not heard of which I quickly added to my "To-Buy"
list. Others, although the titles sounded like books I would
want to own (ie. Jesus of Nazareth, Martin Luther) were not
added to my list because of her explanation of the author's
worldview.
Karen
has written a subsequent book entitled: Landmark Books,
A Homeschooler's Guide which covers the 122 books in
the American History series.
For
those of you who use "real" books in your homeschool
and want a Christian world view, this is a must-have addition
to your library. I highly recommend it. You can purchase her
book at: http://www.purejoypublications.com/
2.
Review of The
American History Teacher's Book of Lists
by Fay R. Hansen
This
500+ page book is a must for anyone teaching American history.
You'll find copies of many primary sources such as the Mayflower
Compact, Bill of Rights, and Articles of Confederation; profiles
of major people in history and government; timelines of events;
and facts related to economics, politics, health, crime, and
public education. Also included are listings of American authors,
musicians, historians, craftspeople, and much, much more.
Keep
it on your desk and you'll have a handy reference guide that
can be used for lesson planning or to make quizzes, handouts,
unit studies, and vocabulary lists. For example, if you are
doing a study on World War II, there is a list of major battles,
major weapons used, military casualties, military leaders,
which countries participated in the war, major events, and
America's relative economic position. There is also a copy
of the Atlantic Charter of 1941, FDR's Address to the Nation,
and a chronology of the development of the atomic bomb. More
than enough to help you teach this topic and provide handouts
to your students. ISBN 0130819271.
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Teaching
Without Textbooks:
1.
Free coloring pages from Junkertoons. Simply join
the club (free) and you will get access to lots of free coloring
pages good for your PreK-2nd graders to use for animal units.
There are also a couple of pages on Egypt, Space, and archaeology
that would be of interest. http://www.junkertoons.com/join.htm
2.
Print out this paper for your child's report on a fall theme
or field trip: http://www.starfall.com/n/N-info/onlineprintouts/seasonal/pickPumpkin.htm
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Free
Forms:
Pilgrim/Thanksgiving
worksheets. Print out this free free booklet to go
along with the Pilgrims/Thanksgiving Unit below. Scroll down
the forms page to Pilgrim/Thanksgiving worksheets: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/forms.html
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The
Checklist & Multi-Level Teaching:
This
is a great time of year to do a Pilgrims and Thanksgiving
Unit so I've put together this resource to show you
how to create a unit on Pilgrims/Thanksgiving using
The Checklist. You
can use this along with the Pilgrim Booklet above for a complete
unit on this topic. http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/pilgrimCL.html.
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Internet
Resources -Money, Banking, & Economics:
1.
Consumer Reports for Kids: The range of learning
opportunities include: (1) Reading, writing, thinking skills:
Money Q&A's and reviews invite kids to form opinions and
read other kids' contributions. (2) Charts and graphs: Toy
test and other ratings charts motivate kids to read charts
and bar graphs, compare and contrast, and organize information.
(3) Life skills: Features analyzing ads and evaluating products
help teach critical thinking, consumer skills, and media literacy.
http://www.zillions.org/
2.
It All Adds Up. A website is for teens who want to
prepare for their financial futures. The web site contains
online games and simulations to help students learn about
credit management, buying a car, paying for college, budgeting,
saving, and investing. http://www.italladdsup.org/
3.
KidsBank. A fun way for children to learn about how
savings, interest, checking and other banking things work.
http://www.kidsbank.com/index_2.asp
4.
My Own Biz. How to get started in business for kids.
http://myownbiz.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/
5.
Peanuts and Crackerjacks. Federal Reserve Bank of
Boston's educational unit on the economics of pro sports.
http://www.bos.frb.org/peanuts/leadpgs/intro.htm
6.
The Mint for Teachers. Ideas for teaching finances
to children. http://www.themint.org/teachers/index.php
Just
for a laugh - I found this Redneck Album on the TOS
Blog and just had to share it with you all. What a riot! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ClassicalEducation4Me/21593/
Please
feel free to forward this on to anyone who may be interested
in subscribing.
If
you'd like to be added to the Oklahoma Homeschool Newsletter
mailing list, please email back with "Subscribe"
in the subject line, along with your city and state or country
and how long you have homechooled.
COPYRIGHT
NOTICE : This newsletter is ©Copyright 2005
by Cindy Downes. All rights reserved.
PRIVACY
POLICY: Your name and email address will always remain
completely confidential. I do not sell, loan, or share any
subscriber or customer information for any reason. Your information
will never be used for any purpose other than delivery of
my e-newsletter and to occasionally inform you of updates
to Oklahoma Homeschool.com.
If
you want to be removed from this mailing list, please send
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subject line.
Have
a great day!
Cindy
--------------------------------------------------------
Cindy
Downes
OKLAHOMA
HOMESCHOOL
Website:
http:www.oklahomahomeschool.com
Email:
cindy@oklahomahomeschool.com
Cindy's
Blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/EmptyNestMom
Oklahoma
Blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Oklahoma/
Have
you seen The Checklist? It's an assessment
tool, lesson planner and K-12 Recordkeeper created for Christian
Home Educators: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/checklist.html
Oklahoma
History Online is now available! Check it out at:
http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/okhist.html
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