I recently spent an interesting afternoon with a 9 year old and a seven year old boy, members of our family. We were having a scorcher of a day and it just made sense to spend the hottest hours indoors out of the sun and heat. It turned out to be the perfect opportunity for those young guys to teach me what free educational resources are and where to find them.
The problem at the beginning was that the inside of my house is not even tolerably interesting to a couple of rough and tumble boys on a summer day. Their main ambition at my house is to spend as much time in the creek as they can, even in the winter, and get so filthy that their parents would like to force them to walk home rather than let them in the car.
I apologized for not having video games and refused the suggestion that they use my computer to game on line (I work on my computer! "Oh yeah," the seven year old said in a tone that suggested I had an affliction that the family has to tolerate, "She writes stuff.") The older boy said no problem we'll look at pictures and he grabbed several dusty photo albums from the bottom shelf of a bookcase and sat down on the sofa.
When the younger child joined him, I ran for my computer to finish some work in progress, absolutely sure that the photo albums would provide about ten minutes of distraction. And it was about ten minutes later when they showed up beside my desk with a small album of photos their great grandmother had taken in England years before and a dozen questions.
Before I knew it hours had passed. My work was left undone, but something much more important had occurred. The three of us had wandered together from Stonehenge and medieval Europe, to the Tower of London and the American Revolution with that one album. Then we got into the "really old pictures" and talked about the settling of Texas, the South in the Civil War and the North in the Civil War via photos we saw of soldiers in both uniforms. We went along on the westward migration and discoveries of gold and silver, and ended up with brief stops at WWI and WWII and the Great Depression. By that time we had my big dining room table covered with albums and, yes, shoe boxes of photos, along with maps, encyclopedias and dictionaries, and a couple of magnifying glasses.
The boys had just pulled out another "old album" when their grandfather showed up to pick them up. "What the heck is going on here?" he asked. Just then his eyes landed on the first page of the album the boys had just opened.
"We're looking at old stuff and dead people," the seven year old said.
"Like that guy," the older boy laid a dirty finger on the image of his grandfather at 19 years old, leaning proudly on the front fender of a yellow 1965 GTO. "Will you look at that weird car?"
"What do you mean weird?" Granddad is not too old to get down on the level of a nine year old.
"Well, it is ridiculous. It's like a triceratops."
"Geez, we got a picture of an antique car. Maybe I could take that to school the first day for sharing time."
World History, American History, Family History; we'd covered them all with the free resources lying dusty on a book shelf. And an added bonus for me was seeing their Granddad at a loss for words.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Create an E-Book with Your Child Free
I hear on the news this morning that 75% of the U.S. will be under storm watches today. If that weather drives you and your children indoors this might be the day you should check out BigUniverse.com. A great free enrichment activity you and your child could do together on this educational site is creating your own e-book.
Big Universe is a membership based site, encouraging reading, writing and creativity in children. Their memberships are for both families and professional educators and begin at $4.95 a month. However, they offer free sign up with a free 5 day trial membership. Part of that free trial gives your child an opportunity to create on-line his own e-book. Sounds to me like a great activity for a too warm or too rainy summer day.
This award winning site claims 1000 online books and almost 14,000 members. With the basic membership of $4.95 a month. Your child can read on-line free featured books each week, publish the e-books he creates to BigUniverse.com, read other members' books and more. A family membership of just $6.95 a month allows for ten individual accounts on BigUniverse. The site offers a very clear breakdown of its various membership options, including the free trial memberships at https://www.BigUniverse.com/account.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
Big Universe is a membership based site, encouraging reading, writing and creativity in children. Their memberships are for both families and professional educators and begin at $4.95 a month. However, they offer free sign up with a free 5 day trial membership. Part of that free trial gives your child an opportunity to create on-line his own e-book. Sounds to me like a great activity for a too warm or too rainy summer day.
This award winning site claims 1000 online books and almost 14,000 members. With the basic membership of $4.95 a month. Your child can read on-line free featured books each week, publish the e-books he creates to BigUniverse.com, read other members' books and more. A family membership of just $6.95 a month allows for ten individual accounts on BigUniverse. The site offers a very clear breakdown of its various membership options, including the free trial memberships at https://www.BigUniverse.com/account.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Free Teaching Guide for Homeschooled ADHD Kids
Parentsology is an online blog-magazine offering free parenting tips and resources on a variety of subjects. Their free educational articles have some emphasis on subjects of interest to homeschooling parents. You can find them at http://www.parentsology.com/.
The publisher and editor of the site is a Mom working from home producing the information on her site for free and apparently funding her project through advertising on the site. Parentsology is currently offering a free parenting report titled How to Teach a Homeschooled Child with ADHD, to all who subscribe to the publication's updates. A link to this free download appears in your email box as an attachment, after you have subscribed to the site. The report is 12 pages long.
Parentsology already hosts some interesting and useful titles and looks like it will continue to grow with content and relevance to parents. It is an easy site to negotiate and the writing is straightforward and a fast read. Check it out at http://www.parentsology.com/ and support another Mom sharing and working from home.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
The publisher and editor of the site is a Mom working from home producing the information on her site for free and apparently funding her project through advertising on the site. Parentsology is currently offering a free parenting report titled How to Teach a Homeschooled Child with ADHD, to all who subscribe to the publication's updates. A link to this free download appears in your email box as an attachment, after you have subscribed to the site. The report is 12 pages long.
Parentsology already hosts some interesting and useful titles and looks like it will continue to grow with content and relevance to parents. It is an easy site to negotiate and the writing is straightforward and a fast read. Check it out at http://www.parentsology.com/ and support another Mom sharing and working from home.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
Friday, July 24, 2009
Family Travel Tips, Savings, Ideas
Okay, the school supplies are out on store shelves and the weeks of summer vacation are winding down to a precious few (is that a song lyric?). If you have not yet gotten your younguns on the road for an educational or memory making family vacation your planning time is limited. I recommend you go directly to http://www.familytravelnetwork.com/ for help launching a late summer holiday with your kids.
The Family Travel Network has a wealth of free information for traveling with children of all ages. There are no subscription fees to use this site. All information is free. They have been researching and writing about family travel since 1995 and, as a result, their archives are deep and much of the information is timeless. In addition, they are constantly updating their site with more information and tips.
This site does not sell travel or arrange vacation and can, therefore, remain completely unbias in the information they provide. They exist to supply information to family travelers and they claim to be the oldest free site of their kind on the web. Over their almost 15 years of existence they have received "strong recommendations, awards and high praise from travel experts, organizations and members of the media" for consistently publishing quality content and timely information.
The site is relative easy to navigate, with a index on the left hand side. At the top of the home page you will find a search window. I found that entering random destinations brought up a wealth of articles, almost every time, which you might expect with a site this old. If you are short on planning time with no destination in mind you might try their "Hot Deals" category. If you have a destination or an activity in mind, such as, water parks, I would enter the info in the search window and see what kind of suggestions come up. If you are a Twitter user you can keep up with Family Travel Network tweets at http://twitter.com/kidtravel.
Remember, travel cannot help but be educational for children. They are learning all the time and every trip does not have to be a week long and to a national historic site to give their brains fodder. Relaxing and laughing together is a great goal for a family vacation, too.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
The Family Travel Network has a wealth of free information for traveling with children of all ages. There are no subscription fees to use this site. All information is free. They have been researching and writing about family travel since 1995 and, as a result, their archives are deep and much of the information is timeless. In addition, they are constantly updating their site with more information and tips.
This site does not sell travel or arrange vacation and can, therefore, remain completely unbias in the information they provide. They exist to supply information to family travelers and they claim to be the oldest free site of their kind on the web. Over their almost 15 years of existence they have received "strong recommendations, awards and high praise from travel experts, organizations and members of the media" for consistently publishing quality content and timely information.
The site is relative easy to navigate, with a index on the left hand side. At the top of the home page you will find a search window. I found that entering random destinations brought up a wealth of articles, almost every time, which you might expect with a site this old. If you are short on planning time with no destination in mind you might try their "Hot Deals" category. If you have a destination or an activity in mind, such as, water parks, I would enter the info in the search window and see what kind of suggestions come up. If you are a Twitter user you can keep up with Family Travel Network tweets at http://twitter.com/kidtravel.
Remember, travel cannot help but be educational for children. They are learning all the time and every trip does not have to be a week long and to a national historic site to give their brains fodder. Relaxing and laughing together is a great goal for a family vacation, too.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Road Trip Entertainment for Kids
My nephew has started out on a ten day vacation with his two children and that started me thinking back to how I handled bored kids on a road trip before family vans came equipped with DVD players. In fact before there were mini-vans on the market, I traveled through thirty states and most of Canada with my two children.Their father was frequently at the wheel, but just as often the three of us were on our own.
My prerequisite experience for these journeys, were the family vacations of my childhood, spent in the back seat of a Ford sedan that did not have air-conditioning. My siblings and I traveled the highways of Texas, Colorado and New Mexico, trying to keep our sweaty arms and legs from sticking to the family member next to us on the back seat. To keep the count down on the number of times she heard, "Mom, he touched me," our mother played games with us and brought along a book or two. Actually, she brought along surprising little in the way of entertainment for us, but there was always one new diversion for us to share in the car.
Taking that as a cue, I came up with my brown bag solution, an almost free way to occupy children while traveling and which I still recommend to young parents traveling with children. A week or so before the trip began, I got free from our local grocery for each child a medium size brown paper bag, bigger than the lunch bag size, but small enough for each child to handle in the back of the vehicle. I decorated the bags with the name of each child, left them standing out of sight of the children in a closet or on a shelf in the laundry room, where I could drop in items as I prepared for the trip. The flat bottom on the grocery bag was essential for stability as I packed them and later for use on the floor or seat of the car.
I included healthy snacks and diversions, such as, favorite books, games and puzzles appropriate for the car (no detached small pieces that might get lost). Along with the favorites, I'd include a couple of new or not yet read library books, a small box of new crayons and a new color book, workbook or sketch book. In addition, I included one small new toy that could be used in the car, still in its packaging, and a couple of items from the child's room that they had not paid much attention to lately.
These bags, still unseen by the children, were packed in an easily accessible corner of the trunk of the car and not retrieved until we were at least one third of the way to our destination. On a six hour road trip, I got the bags out at our first two hour rest stop...on a three day trip, the bags were kept out of sight until the first signs of boredom on the second day of travel.
The snacks usually got the first notice and I made it clear that they were completely on their own when it came to how and when to use these snacks.There was a certain satisfying feeling of independence in being able to open and consume your own snack without asking for permission or help. The packaging, kept them occupied for miles. Because the snacks were healthy, I did not concern myself with how rapidly they were consumed. I had a store of replacement snacks in the trunk for additional days of travel. With the liberal consumption of healthy snacks we did not have to stop for a mid-day meal in a restaurant, but saved that for our destination or evening stop.
The packaging on the new toy item was also part of the diversion, and the surprise of finding in the bag a toy they had forgotten they had often spawned hours of renewed interest. The bag itself frequently became the canvas for elaborate and growing artwork throughout the trip. Once the bags were introduced they were not returned to the trunk, but used several times a day to gather up each child's things. The bag also provided a receptacle for the child's souvenirs. I did not over load the bag, so that there was room for new found treasures, such as, rocks, sea shells, etc.
In my first book, Travel with Children, now long out of print, I wrote about the Brown Bag Solution and reviewed the toys and games on the market that traveled well and entertained small children. This was before hand held video games and the many wonderfully educational items that can be found in stores devoted to quality though sometimes expensive children's books, toys and games. You probably have some of these items in your home or car already. If so sort through them and pick the ones most compact and that you feel will provide your child with the most entertainment. Be sure, for obvious reasons, that you do not include things that make loud, distracting, repetitive noises. It is also best to include primarily toys and games that can be played alone, rather than requiring a second or third player.
If you are a grandparent or individual traveling with a child who does not live with you, you can still employ this concept without access to the child's own toys and without breaking your wallet. Consider a stop at your local dollar stores and pick up a couple of age appropriate work books. They give children a challenge. Don't spend a lot of money on large boxes of crayons or large sets of markers. They will be cumbersome. They will get lost and broken. And for heavens sake, do not even think of expecting children to share a set of crayons or markers. Your goal should be to cut down the need for engagement between the children riding in the car, not increase it. Buy a simple box or set of 8-12 crayons or markers for each child and be sure they are identical.
The Dollar Tree chain store in my neighborhood carries a large inventory of educational workbooks, games and teacher's accessories. I assume they buy out an educational publisher at the end of a school year. And they are truly a dollar store, with all their items just a dollar. In their party section they usually have small hand held games appropriate for one child. These are intended as party favors most come in packages of several for a dollar.
Brown paper grocery bags are not as popularly in use today, as they were when I came up with this concept for traveling with children, but they can still be found. If you do not want to use a paper bag, many chain department and grocery stores now sell for a dollar reusable, cloth or canvas shopping bags that could be used instead. You can also pick up for free these types of bags occasionally at other businesses. My local credit union was giving they away as a promotion recently.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
My prerequisite experience for these journeys, were the family vacations of my childhood, spent in the back seat of a Ford sedan that did not have air-conditioning. My siblings and I traveled the highways of Texas, Colorado and New Mexico, trying to keep our sweaty arms and legs from sticking to the family member next to us on the back seat. To keep the count down on the number of times she heard, "Mom, he touched me," our mother played games with us and brought along a book or two. Actually, she brought along surprising little in the way of entertainment for us, but there was always one new diversion for us to share in the car.
Taking that as a cue, I came up with my brown bag solution, an almost free way to occupy children while traveling and which I still recommend to young parents traveling with children. A week or so before the trip began, I got free from our local grocery for each child a medium size brown paper bag, bigger than the lunch bag size, but small enough for each child to handle in the back of the vehicle. I decorated the bags with the name of each child, left them standing out of sight of the children in a closet or on a shelf in the laundry room, where I could drop in items as I prepared for the trip. The flat bottom on the grocery bag was essential for stability as I packed them and later for use on the floor or seat of the car.
I included healthy snacks and diversions, such as, favorite books, games and puzzles appropriate for the car (no detached small pieces that might get lost). Along with the favorites, I'd include a couple of new or not yet read library books, a small box of new crayons and a new color book, workbook or sketch book. In addition, I included one small new toy that could be used in the car, still in its packaging, and a couple of items from the child's room that they had not paid much attention to lately.
These bags, still unseen by the children, were packed in an easily accessible corner of the trunk of the car and not retrieved until we were at least one third of the way to our destination. On a six hour road trip, I got the bags out at our first two hour rest stop...on a three day trip, the bags were kept out of sight until the first signs of boredom on the second day of travel.
The snacks usually got the first notice and I made it clear that they were completely on their own when it came to how and when to use these snacks.There was a certain satisfying feeling of independence in being able to open and consume your own snack without asking for permission or help. The packaging, kept them occupied for miles. Because the snacks were healthy, I did not concern myself with how rapidly they were consumed. I had a store of replacement snacks in the trunk for additional days of travel. With the liberal consumption of healthy snacks we did not have to stop for a mid-day meal in a restaurant, but saved that for our destination or evening stop.
The packaging on the new toy item was also part of the diversion, and the surprise of finding in the bag a toy they had forgotten they had often spawned hours of renewed interest. The bag itself frequently became the canvas for elaborate and growing artwork throughout the trip. Once the bags were introduced they were not returned to the trunk, but used several times a day to gather up each child's things. The bag also provided a receptacle for the child's souvenirs. I did not over load the bag, so that there was room for new found treasures, such as, rocks, sea shells, etc.
In my first book, Travel with Children, now long out of print, I wrote about the Brown Bag Solution and reviewed the toys and games on the market that traveled well and entertained small children. This was before hand held video games and the many wonderfully educational items that can be found in stores devoted to quality though sometimes expensive children's books, toys and games. You probably have some of these items in your home or car already. If so sort through them and pick the ones most compact and that you feel will provide your child with the most entertainment. Be sure, for obvious reasons, that you do not include things that make loud, distracting, repetitive noises. It is also best to include primarily toys and games that can be played alone, rather than requiring a second or third player.
If you are a grandparent or individual traveling with a child who does not live with you, you can still employ this concept without access to the child's own toys and without breaking your wallet. Consider a stop at your local dollar stores and pick up a couple of age appropriate work books. They give children a challenge. Don't spend a lot of money on large boxes of crayons or large sets of markers. They will be cumbersome. They will get lost and broken. And for heavens sake, do not even think of expecting children to share a set of crayons or markers. Your goal should be to cut down the need for engagement between the children riding in the car, not increase it. Buy a simple box or set of 8-12 crayons or markers for each child and be sure they are identical.
The Dollar Tree chain store in my neighborhood carries a large inventory of educational workbooks, games and teacher's accessories. I assume they buy out an educational publisher at the end of a school year. And they are truly a dollar store, with all their items just a dollar. In their party section they usually have small hand held games appropriate for one child. These are intended as party favors most come in packages of several for a dollar.
Brown paper grocery bags are not as popularly in use today, as they were when I came up with this concept for traveling with children, but they can still be found. If you do not want to use a paper bag, many chain department and grocery stores now sell for a dollar reusable, cloth or canvas shopping bags that could be used instead. You can also pick up for free these types of bags occasionally at other businesses. My local credit union was giving they away as a promotion recently.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Free Craft Projects for Kids
Okay...back from vacation and I don't know about all of you but here along the creek we have hit the "it's so hot and I'm bored" period of the summer. To deal with both, don't sit those kids in front of the air conditioner and a video. Instead, check out http://www.handmadenews.org/ for some great educational and creative ideas for free that will erase that boredom, while you and the kids hide out from the heat indoors.
The Handmade News website is divided into fourteen departments with lots of ideas, instructions and inspiration for all ages. The two most relevant in my opinion for this blog is Crafts for Kids & Just for Fun. You will find the menu bar for their departments on the right hand side of the page. There may be other departments that would be relevant to you and your children.
In each department there are about five pages of suggested activity, which are clearly and quickly described along with a list of needed items. The style of the site makes it especially useful for busy parents. You can get to a list of activities fast, scan the directions quickly and be ready often times to engage your kids within minutes, using items you probably have on-hand in the house. Handmade News can also be followed on Twitter.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
The Handmade News website is divided into fourteen departments with lots of ideas, instructions and inspiration for all ages. The two most relevant in my opinion for this blog is Crafts for Kids & Just for Fun. You will find the menu bar for their departments on the right hand side of the page. There may be other departments that would be relevant to you and your children.
In each department there are about five pages of suggested activity, which are clearly and quickly described along with a list of needed items. The style of the site makes it especially useful for busy parents. You can get to a list of activities fast, scan the directions quickly and be ready often times to engage your kids within minutes, using items you probably have on-hand in the house. Handmade News can also be followed on Twitter.
Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
Contact me: creeksideeducation@gmail.com
Contents of this Blog are copyrighted by Creekside Education and Susie Williams and may only be used or reproduced for non commercial purposes and must include the following credit; "This information is copyrighted by and used with the permission of Creekside Education Blog by Susie Williams."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
