Creekside Education

Lessons in Granddad's Memorbilia

2009-10-09T13:05:00.001-06:00

It's always good when you can gain two or more positive things from action. A member of my family recently lost her mother and in going through her mother's papers and boxes of momentos, she came across a collection of memorabilia from the childhood, school and college career of her brother. There were football letters that had never been sewn on the atheletic jacket, National Honor Society Certificates, newspaper clippings, party invitations, even his birth announcement; as well as newspaper articles on world events.

Not one to throw anything out, but always ready to pass the caretaking responsibility of items she can't throw away on to someone else, she came up with a "good use" for the items. In other words, she recycled them while unloading them. More important, however, she turned them into a free educational resource.

Her tactic was very simple. She first invited her brother's grandchildren to her home, spread the memorbilia out on the a along with craft tools and art supplies. In one afternoon they had turned the stuff she couldn't throw away into a scrapbook for their grandfather, just in time for his birthday.

While this was an efficient solution to relocating the stuff and a good art project for the kids, it was even more valuable as a lesson in U. S. and world history, geography and the progress of technology in our society. For example, the newspaper article's, one for November 23, 1963 declaring the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, gave rise to discussions about the location of Texas, Washington D. C. and Russia, the history of the our relationship with Russia and the Cold War, and how the world communicated before computers, Internet, and cell phones.

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."

Recess Anxieties Addressed by Peaceful Playgrounds

2009-10-05T08:37:00.007-06:00

You would think that recess would be the least of a parent's worries when it comes to their children's school career. There's a great deal of free information on the blog Peaceful Playground that would indicate that parents, children and educators need to be concerned about recess and their playground. In a more personal way, I was reminded by my niece recently about parental concern over recess.

At a recent family gathering, she told the story of how, on her daughter's first day of kindergarten, she called her husband from her office and ask him to drive by the school at recess to make sure their only child was okay. When he questioned the neccessity and wisdom of spying on the local elementary playground, she voiced her fear, "What if she is all alone and has no friends?"

A brawny Wyoming oil field worker, he called back from the cab of his large red diesel knocking pick-up and whispered, "She is swinging with two little girls. She's laughing."

"Well, do they look nice?"

"Okay, I'm going back to work," was the only response she got. We all laughed, but recess fear, dangers and discomforts are very real for children and their parents.

Andrea and Melinda Bossenmeyer are the authors of the blog Peaceful Playgrounds and twitter at RecessDoctor. This is not a blog spawned from the anxiety of a parent of an only child, as my niece was experiencing. Andrea, an educator and marketer, blogs on nutrition, health, and childhood obesity. Dr. Melinda Bossenmeyer blogs on education, physical education, recess, physical activity, and playgrounds. She is the President and developer of the Peaceful Playgrounds Program and past elementary school principal. She spent 27 years as an educator and is the author of six published books on playgrounds and numerous articles on recess, playgrounds and play. She has presented over 100 conference sessions.

Andrea and Melinda have been blogging for over two years and their site is wonderful free resource loaded with information for parents and educators in their areas of expertise, IE., health and nutrition, and physical education, recess and playgrounds. In addition, to the free, well-written and supportive content on the site they publish a monthly on-line newsletter.

Check out their blog. It's great free information. You can follow them on Twitter. Just for fun they tweeted today a link to a group of photos of playground equipment from the 70s. Take a look. It could lighten up your day with some memories of the playgrounds of your childhood; http://su.pr/2DeR78

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."

Personalized Books & CDs as Reading Incentives for Children

2009-10-01T08:49:00.013-06:00

It is not free, but it sure is fun. More4Kids a Tennessee based manufacturer and distributor of books and music for children, specializes in personalized books and CDs.

These kind of products are not new and have been around as a recognized incentive for children learning to read for several decades. Dr. Brenda Rollins, Ed.D, writes in the article Why Personalized Books? An Educator's Perspective about the building of self-esteem and the fostering of feelings of well being that are accomplished with the repetition of the child's name and "I" statements in personalized books. You can read Dr. Rollins article on this website, as well as other free informative articles for parents. Just click the tab Parenting in the navigation bar at the top of any page on the site.

This time of year we are starting to think about unique yet valuable gift ideas for the children in our lives. More4Kids places your child or grandchild's name in the text of the story or in the lyric of songs and stories on CDs. And this company sponsors weekly specials, often discounting their products 30-40%. This weeks special is a personalized Elmo music CD.The price is cut by $10 or 40%. Click here to see the product and discount.

More4Kids is a friendly company, run by Kevin and Julie. She designs personalized handmade baby gifts, also available on their site. They are one of our sponsors, so if you happen to buy one of their products through clicking on the links in this email or on their banner in the side bar, you also help the educational programs we sponsor.

As always if you have feed back on this company, we would love to hear it. Just email us at the address highlighted below.

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."

TeacherWrite Grammar & Writing Resource by Nancy Ramsey

2009-09-30T07:56:00.005-06:00

Back before the 4th of July, I blogged on a new site that would be available this Fall, one I thought would be a good free resource for students, teachers and homeschooling parents. TeacherWrite, the creation of Nancy Ramsey, an award winning middle school English teacher, promised to eventually offer an entire school year of writing assignments on the site. Last summer Ms. Ramsey started her site with the idea of sharing lesson plans and enrichment activities she designed for her real world classroom with on-line teachers and learners.

I remember Nancy's disclaimer on the site warning that building this resource would be a slow process, because she would be using real lessons created and taught in real time. So I thought I would check back in with Nancy at www.teacherwrite.com this week and see how her site is developing. Only a few weeks into the school year, I was impressed to find a significant amount of useful material available at TeacherWrite. The site is easy to navigate and the menu bar takes parents or teachers to the areas of Bell Work, Reading Activities, Writing Activities, Writing Process, Enrichment Activities and several other choices.

Nancy has posted six goals under Mission Statement, the first of which is "help parents teach their children grammar and writing skills." The grade levels of the lessons are middle school; 5th through 7th grades. I can see however the possibility of the materials being used with some younger children and also having a value to adult learners who need to learn basic writing skills.

This is a valuable free resource that will continue to develop. Congratulations Nancy.

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."

Home School Websites for Ideas & Inspiration

2009-09-28T13:57:00.004-06:00

We have a twitter account on which we follow and are followed by several hundred homeschooling families. As a result I get alot of tweets that lead me to the personal homeschool website of some of these families. I don't have to tell any educator that there is every species of homeschooling family out there that one can imagine, with almost as many philosophies of education. And, of course, you parents know that, too.

What I find wonderful about the websites that I visit as a result of the tweets I receive, is the variety of point of view and ways of handling the children's education. And it is all free. The diversity in families and motivation and thought leads to an abundance of differing activities and directions. I love to read about their lesson plans or lack of and the activities they pursue, the imagination they show and the sincere desire that all of the parents have to do the best they can for their children. They are sharing their experiences, successes and failures, free on their websites.

On two sites I saw just today, which I particularly liked for different reasons, the primary teaching parent was the mother. The first family indicate that they are Christian, the second is non theist and they intend to educate and raise their children without religion. The first mother has been using public information films from the mid-fifties to teach her children valuable lessons and tweeted today about a film from the 50s on how radar works. She and her husband have made these old films into pod casts, which they make available on their home school website for less than a dollar. This family says they are an eclectic homeschooling family with an eclectic homeschooling website, http://hmhomeschoolers.com/. The site name is "Homemade Homeschoolers." Check out their podcast on how radar works and others on their site.

I had to go on the website of the second family just because of the title, "Raising Three Thinkers." Yes, they have three children. I love that play on words. Go to http://www.raising3thinkers.com/ and at the top of the September 24, 2009 post you will see this quote from Albert Einstein, "I never attempt to teach my students; I only attempt to provide the condition in which they can learn." That is an educational philosophy, I can embrace. There is plenty to appreciate on this site as well, with some very interesting links.

On both as on many homeschooling family sites you find inspiration and creativity and a desire to share the educational experience. In my experience this is the time of year homeschooling families really get serious and parents begin to look around for support and resource. I recommend checking out homeschooling family websites whenever you run in to them, for the free ideas and inspiration, whether you are a homeschooling parent or a professional educator.

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."

Learning from Family & Death

2009-09-27T06:10:00.005-06:00

My last post was July 29th and I apologize to those who have been waiting for the 8 weeks for another. In a way, I have been on sabbatical doing research on our subject; free educational resources. I think there are lessons in my experience over the last 8 weeks that parents and educators can. I know there is the lesson of faith, hope and love and the resilience of the human spirit.

Over the last two months I have experienced one of the most effective free learning experiences of my life, that of giving time, energy and support to a family member. On July 27th a member of my family had a long feared seizure that marked the beginning of her body's systems succumbing to a malignant brain tumor. She had bravely fought this tumor for an unbelievable 3-1/2 years, but finally ran out of treatment options in April.

From that point, for some of us life became a waiting game. For her, there were several months free of doctor's appointments and the nausea from chemo therapy, several months of having the opportunity to evaluate her life, say good-byes and to feel almost normal again. After the seizure, each day brought the loss of function, until on her 62nd birthday, she was bed bound, partially paralyzed, unable to swallow or speak, but able to communicate love with her eyes and the squeeze of a hand, just hours before she passed.

I moved into her home and for eight weeks with her husband and the help of their local hospice organization, became her caregiver. It is not the first time I have helped someone through the final months or weeks of life to their death. I have been a hospice volunteer for 20 years helping people I did not really know and their families through this experience. I was also the primary caregiver for my mother for several years.

Through each of these experiences, my admiration for the human spirit has been renewed. I've always found the individual who is facing death to be generous in spirit, more concerned for those around them than for themselves, courageous. With this death, my loved one passing so young, there was an opportunity for questioning and bitterness, impatience with those around her, lack of care for others; but none of that was ever presented. In the last days, when she could no longer communicate at all verbally, when she could only communicate through her eyes and a squeeze of weakened fingers, she still showed love and concern and incredible courage.

There were many moments of enlightenment for me at her bedside. Throughout the eight weeks, I saw many examples of her courage, faith and generosity. It will take me awhile to process them all. What I do know is that though I was afraid, I felt compelled to be her caregiver. My heart told me, I should volunteer. As a result I learned many things from her in the journey to her death. I know these are lessons I will understand as time passes and that I will use the rest of my life. However, the one lesson that I recognize now, an old lesson, free to all of us, is "follow your heart."

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."

Teachable Moments and Free Resources in Family Photos

2009-07-29T13:53:00.004-06:00

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."

Create an E-Book with Your Child Free

2009-07-27T08:11:00.006-06:00

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
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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."

Free Teaching Guide for Homeschooled ADHD Kids

2009-07-26T06:36:00.007-06:00

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."

Family Travel Tips, Savings, Ideas

2009-07-24T07:59:00.004-06:00

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."

Road Trip Entertainment for Kids

2009-07-21T09:31:00.004-06:00

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."

Free Craft Projects for Kids

2009-07-15T11:27:00.004-06:00

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."

Worldschooling with Eli Gerzon

2009-06-30T09:08:00.008-06:00

Worldschooling is a term coined by a young man named Eli Gerzon as an alternative term to "unschooling" and as an alternative education form to homeschooling.

Eli is a writer, speaker and traveler. He has spoken on his philosophy and experiences at Unschooling Conferences and in front of educational groups. He writes a very readable and informative online newsletter titled "Stranger in a Strange Land," as well as articles and poetry. On his site he hosts several photo albums of his travels, with each photo captioned, making them a very good teaching tool.

Everything on his site is free and mostly educational. I found the site easy to navigate, refreshingly without advertisements, informative and inspiring. This site is bound to grow and become an even better free educational resource.

Recently, Eli Gerzon began leading travel tours with a focus on Worldschooling. He has several exciting destinations coming up. You can read more about Eli's philosophy and educational background and his tours on his site at http://www.eligerzon.com/.

On the site you will find his definitions of the three terms I just mentioned, with this explanation on Worldschooling: Worldschooling is a new term coined by Eli Gerzon that is essentially a more descriptive and positive version of unschooling that can apply to anyone even those beyond school age. Gerzon defines it by saying, "It's when the whole world is your school, instead school being your whole world." Eli Gerzon has "unschooled through college" mainly by learning from his international travels but the term does not require you to travel the world, just as unschooling doesn't forbid making use of school resources. Instead, it's when one actively experiences and learns from the world around one: the home, family, friends, strangers of all backgrounds, libraries, parks, sports, forests, schools, towns, and of course the world and the world wide web. It also emphasizes that there is always more to learn from this wonderful, complex world regardless of whether one has a high school degree, is a doctor, or is solely self-educated.

You will find Mr. Gerzon on Twitter and a Worldschooling Group on Facebook.

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."

Support & Community for Homeschool Moms

2009-06-27T12:40:00.004-06:00

The free website The Homeschool Lounge offers the opportunity for a supportive community to homeschooling parents. As a homeschooling mother in the early 1980s, I remember being extremely grateful that my local school district supported me, by allowing me to homeschool my children without intervention or supervision. Friends in other school districts and/or other states did not have the same experience.

I was an experienced classroom teacher, properly credentialed in our state and a regular substitute teacher in our district, familiar to school district officials. But, all that was irrelevant in many school districts and I knew it. I could have just as easily been required to jump through dozens of hoops to get permission to teach my children at home. Indeed, I went into my school district office to ask permission expecting to come out with at least a list of requirements. Instead, I came out with the loan of materials and the information that my children would have to be tested for grade level placement, if they were re-enrolled in that school district in the future.

Not all school districts or state education departments were as lenient or should I say forward thinking as mine. Alternative education, at least in the upper mid-west of the U. S. was not as commonly encountered or accepted as it is today. Cooperation, by non-involvement was the best you could hope for from your local or state education officials.

Though there were a handful of other homeschooling parents in the district, we had no organization for support, and the idea felt a little subversive anyway. We Moms were too busy organizing natural food coops to put energy into our own right and need for support. The only means of communication we had were land lines and snail mail. So you might imagine how lonely I felt at times as a homeschooling mother.

That was then and this is now, where most homes have access to several forms of instant communication. I know that today many of you do not feel so privileged as I am making your situation sound. I know that even with the advancements in communication technology, it can still be a lonely, hard fought, exhausting campaign to educate your children according to your own principals and ideals at home.

That is why I am so impressed with the website Homeschool Lounge, http://www.thehomeschoollounge.com/. It has over members, so I know that some of you have already explored it and or joined this dynamic community.

Though the site is by its own words directed to mothers, ("the homeschool lounge is a free online community exclusively for homeschool Moms,") I am sure a homeschool Dad or other family members could also find support, nurturing, inspiration, and good ideas on the site. After all they say, "Get advice, give advice, share, learn and laugh with those who truly understand you."

In addition to the gift of support, there are articles, discussions, reviews, resources, music, photos, videos and great free give aways on the site. Check it out at www.thehomeschoollounge.com.

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 and Susie Williams."

TeacherWrite Online English Usage & Writing Lessons

2009-06-26T10:22:00.005-06:00

I know it is not yet the 4Th of July, but I am excited to tell you about a free educational resource that will be available to students and parents starting this fall.

Nancy Ramsay, a veteran classroom teacher is developing a series of online English usage lessons for her web site http://www.teacherwrite.com/. She will be developing and posting original lessons during the school year that she will be using simultaneously in her sixth grade classroom.

Her TeacherWrite materials are meant to be a supplement to the programs children are using at school and at home. The materials will focus on sentence structure and revision along with suggested writing activities.They will build grammar concepts of how sentences work. Lessons will be consecutive and build on each other, so that students will need to use the materials in the order they are presented on the site and remember the concepts for the next lessons. The best age groups for this site are 5th, 6th, and 7th graders.

Nancy is not charging a fee for the use of the materials on her site. She says, "I'm interested in helping parents and children. I am sharing information I wish that I had been taught as a child." I think this will be a great free resource for homeschooling parents of middle school students.

The site will develop slowly throughout the first school year (2009-2010). Ms. Ramsay welcomes parent and student feedback during the development year of this site to help refine the lessons. I will inform you on this blog or on Twitter when Nancy post her first lesson in the Fall. In the meantime, go to her site and get acquainted with Nancy at http://teacherwrite.com/. You can also find her 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."

Free Tool for Internet Protection for Children

2009-06-22T10:39:00.005-06:00

Little Eye offers a free tool to help protect your young ones on line. I have checked out this link but have not actually registered for the tool they offer yet. I don't usually recommend products I have not yet used myself, however, the last few days I have been away from my own computer and not able to add their tool to my system. However, I do feel strongly that this is a legitimate site and free offer. Please check it out at http://www.littleye.com/homeschool. I will more thoroughly review this offer in the near future. In the meantime, please know that, as always I welcome your comments or info on your experience with this site.

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 and Susie Williams."

Summer Reading for Parents & Teachers

2009-06-19T07:27:00.003-06:00

I saw the link to a book list on Twitter, submitted by Ron Glodoski an author and speaker on educational alternatives for at-risk youth.

Let's face it, not all homeschool and alternative programs are put together to provide a quality and creative foundation for children who are loved and cared for. As a former teacher and administrator in Alternative Schools, I know that many at-risk kids end up in some kind of alternative program, be it a homeschool environment, a tutorial program, etc., that is organized as a last ditch effort by parents, caregivers, or the court to keep a child off the streets and out of more sinister alternative educational programs like drugs and prostitution.

If you are an educator who works in alternative education or the desperate parent of a teen you will surely find something beneficial on this list. But if you don't fall into those categories, this is still a good list to download and add to your educational files. Though the title of the list, compiled by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Education, uses the term Disruptive Youth, you will find good reading about alternative education and educational philosophies on the list. I found lots of great books that I recognized and would recommend to any parent or teacher. One of my favorites is John Taylor Gatto's, Dumbing us Down; The Hidden Agenda of Compulsory Schooling.

Here are two links to the PA DOE list.
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/alt_disruptive/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=103435&pp=3

http://bit.ly/kcp8c

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."

Global Campaign Against Poverty & Disease Provides Free Educational Resource

2009-06-18T08:30:00.005-06:00

Talk about a free educational resource on geography, climate, history, politics, economics, poverty and compassion! Check out One a grassroots campaign committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases. I first noticed One via their Twitter postings regarding clean water. Their site has an entire section titled Water for the World with pulitzer prize winning reports and compelling videos.

The site covers other vital global problems equally well and with the same quality of information: HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria; Agriculture; Education, Climate and Development, Maternal & Child Health, Trade and Investment and more. An educational site for adults, loaded with valuable teaching tools for educators and families. http://www.one.org/us/

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."

Free Global Summer Art-Social Studies Project

2009-06-17T05:23:00.008-06:00

A great art/social studies project to occupy the next few weeks of summer for children of all ages is offered online at http://www.togetherinpeace.com/. The Ontario, Canada based site is sponsoring a global community project that looks to the children of the world to join together in an expression of world peace. Talk about a free enrichment project.

On their site they say, "We invite children the world over to participate in the creation of an enormous global peace puzzle.
Like a puzzle, we too are all interconnected, and like a puzzle we are not complete if even one piece is missing.
Let your painting add your country to the display. "

They display on the site some of wonderful early submissions from children in South America, North America, Europe and the Middle East. Worth a stop by the site just to spend some time with your child looking at those submissions and locating the country of their origin on the globe.

The concept is a natural starting point for a variety of discussions on history, geography, theology, economics, anthropology, etc., for any age of child. So get your child out from in front of the T.V. this afternoon and take a look at http://www.inpeacetogether.com/.

Participating in the project is easy: produce a piece of art (they do ask for certain dimensions on the site), take a digital picture and email it to them at inpeace@inpeacetogether.com. There is also a snail mail option. Submission deadlines are July 10, 2009.

Construction (July 20) of all the pieces of this enormous puzzle will be video taped and run on u-tube.

They are still asking for submissions. Obviously, the more countries represented the better and if you know kids in countries other than your own, who might be interested get the info to them asap.

The following piece by Robert Fulghum is included on their site as a wonderful whimsical plan to bring world peace. "Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination."
~Robert Fulghum

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."

$5 Credit at Used Homeschool Books

2009-06-16T06:35:00.003-06:00

Used Homeschool Books, an auction site to sell and buy used homeschool books, offers a $5 credit for joining. Listings are FREE. Buying is FREE. Upgrades are very inexpensive. You can advertise there too. www.used-homeschool-books.com.

Selling formats on the site are:
Auction-style listing - Sell to the highest bidder or offer Buy It Now.

Fixed-Price listing - List items at a set price, so buyers can purchase right away (with no bidding).

Store Inventory listing - Store owners list their items either as an auction or at a fixed price.

Classified Ad - Advertise just as you'd use a traditional classified ad. You state a price, the buyer contacts you, and you handle the transaction personally.

Copyright 2009 Creekside Education & Susie Williams
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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."

Road Map for Understanding Geography

2009-06-15T07:34:00.004-06:00

Last week I pulled out an old geography tool I had used with my children 30 years ago to use with my grandson this summer. While homeschooling my two elementary children back in the day, we traveled with them in 40 of the 50 U.S. states. Almost as soon as they had crossed the state line from their home state to a neighboring state to visit friends or family, I would purchase a U. S. road map for each child at a local gas station and push pin it to their bedroom wall. Today with GPS and Internet map sites, you may find these maps unused in your own map collection or that of family or friends - outdated as far as road guides, but never outdated as a tool to teach geography - therefore free.

Before attaching the map to my children's wall, I unfolded it and helped them (they were usually about 2 years old) make colorful dots over our hometown and those of friends and relatives the child was familiar with. I outlined our home state in another color and helped the child color that state. I wrote the name of our friend or relative living near their dot.

Each time we planned to travel to visit these people or to see sites in a different state, we stood in front of the map and traced our route, discussing the names of states we would cross through. When we returned the maps were taken down off the wall and each state that had been visited was colored in its own color to distinguish its shape from adjacent states. As they got older they included other place names, more people and dates on their maps.

Several trips are planned this summer for my seven year old grandson, and he already has a number of states he could color in on his own map. This activity will help him become more aware of the size of the country, distance and time, and the unique aspects of each state he visits or has visited. Most important, he will understand why, "Are we there yet?" is a question that has limited relevance....won't he?

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."

Room to Read Changing the World One Child At a Time

2009-06-14T07:08:00.005-06:00

Free inspiration!! Check out the Room to Read website, where they believe that "world change starts with educated children." In less than nine years this non-profit has impacted the lives of over 3.1 million children in the developing world by:
Constructing 765 schools
Establishing over 7,040 libraries
Publishing 327 new local language children's titles representing over 2.8 million books
Donating over 2.8 million English language children's books
Funding 6,817 long-term girls' scholarships
These figures are as of December 31, 2008. Room to Read posts its result numbers quarterly.

According to the history on their site, "John Wood, Founder and Executive Chairman, launched Room to Read after a trek through Nepal. He visited several local schools and was amazed by the warmth and enthusiasm of the students and teachers, but also saddened by the shocking lack of resources. Driven to help, John quit his senior executive position with Microsoft and built a global team to work with rural villages to build sustainable solutions to their educational challenges.

...John wove proven corporate business practices with his inspiring vision to provide educational access to 10 million children in the developing world.

Room to Read began working with rural communities in Nepal in 2000 to build schools and establish libraries. The organization's geographic reach expanded rapidly as significant needs and opportunities were identified in Vietnam (2001), Cambodia (2002) and India (2003). The Asian Tsunami in December 2004 provided a catalyst for entry into Sri Lanka followed shortly by Laos. In 2006, we expanded to our second continent by launching Room to Read in South Africa, and we began work in Zambia in 2007. In 2008, we began operations in Bangladesh and will commence program activities in 2009."

This is a well organized, informative website, easy to navigate and worth a visit, if only for the inspiration. Opportunities to help are clearly listed and defined and anyone can lend a hand to this valuable mission, "changing the world one child at a time."

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."

Preschool Freebies at Scuba Jack

2009-06-13T06:46:00.006-06:00

On the website http://www.adventuresofscubajack.com/ you will find free educational games, printable worksheets and craft ideas for preschool children. In addition, there is a useful down loadable assessment tool to help parents guide their preschoolers readiness for kindergarten. These tools were developed by veteran preschool teacher and curriculum designer, Beth Costanza.

The main thrust of the site is to promote Beth's DVD series for preschoolers, called The Adventures of Scuba Jack. "The Adventures of Scuba Jack is set in a quaint New England fishing village that is inhabited by exciting and colorful characters. Every episode teaches children a new letter of the alphabet and includes worksheets for practice and reinforcement. Children will also begin to learn basic words in Spanish with the introduction of a new word in each episode. A daily adventure to new locations is the highlight of each episode, with children learning valuable scholastic and moral lessons."

As spin-off of her successful 15 year old preschool in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Beth envisioned an educational DVD series, which allowed children to watch a show that made them feel as if they were a part of the classroom at Majestic Harbor Preschool. She wanted this to be a tool for parents to help their young children excel academically, while feeling confident that the time spent in front of the television was time well spent.

My seven year old assistant reviewer enjoyed the characters and the freebies available on the site. He thought that "little kids" would really like the games and worksheets and learn from them. He also thought they would love the characters at Mystic Harbor Preschool.

The freebies on the site will add quality materials to your educational or home school collection. Find them at www.adventuresofscubajack.com/learning-activities/. While your there read about Beth's own adventure in education and her DVD series and check out the extensive collection of educational materials the Scuba Jack on-line store provides.

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."

Encouraging Reading with E-Books

2009-06-12T07:32:00.005-06:00

A UK on-line company is "bringing the magic of books to life" via one of modern kids favorite things, their home computer.. A visit to their site http://www.wizz-e.com/ starts with a gentle benign Wizard and the opening of a magical door to a beautiful castle. Through the door you are given the opportunity to sample some of the company's e-books through free downloads, as well as work some of their puzzles on-line free of charge.

Wizz-e.com is owned by Ebooks4Kidz Ltd an electronic publisher of books and puzzles. They do not publish or distribute hard copy materials. In their own words; "We are not trying to be a substitute for tangible books or bed time reading. Our mission is simple: We just want kids to read more, and have fun at it! Some children prefer to read online and to have the help, support and interactivity of an eBook. It makes reading fun. When parents or carers are busy then kids can still have a story they love read to them or read it themselves and click on any unknown words to hear them spoken without waiting for an adult to help. So if kids are reading and having fun - everyone wins."

My seven year old assistant reviewer spent an hour on the site working the free educational puzzles available. Though on first observation, I would have guessed that he would find the games lacking in sophistication and therefore impose that word all youngster begin to try out in middle elementary, "boring," he did not. Instead he played each game (puzzle) at the various levels available at least twice and later in the day ask to go back on the site. I was a little surprised. Remember their wizard is kindly and benign not menacing and there were no metal clad dark warriors anywhere on the site. And the site freebies are designed for pre-school through early elementary. My assistant seemed to appreciate the fact that he could get to the puzzles, activate them and play completely with out assistance.

The site is another opportunity to add to your home educational or school materials, though the freebies, naturally are limited on the site. So check them out and if you like the quality of http://www.wizz-e.com/ , remember that 10% of their profits are donated to supporting Room to Read – a charity building schools, libraries and sponsoring education in developing countries, http://www.roomtoread.org/.
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."

Summer Learning to Maintain Grade Level Readiness

2009-06-08T07:59:00.006-06:00

The National Center for Summer Education at www.summerlearning.org is concerned with loss of grade level readiness in reading, math and science and in identifying quality summer activities that help students maintain grade level readiness over the summer. To read articles on this subject, to view products, activities and take advantage of some free downloads if materials go to their site.

According to their history, the Center "started as an undergraduate student’s project and grew into a national movement. In 1992, Johns Hopkins University student Matthew Boulay recruited his fellow undergraduates to provide tutoring and academic support for Baltimore City public school students during the summer months. The program, called Teach Baltimore, definitely made a difference. Over the years, the Teach Baltimore program grew from a local program to a nationally recognized model.

In 1999, the organization began the nation’s first randomized study of a multi-year summer learning program. The evidence showed that the students who regularly attended the program for two years outscored the control group in standardized reading tests. In fact, those with a better-than-average attendance rate outperformed the control group by approximately 50 percent of one grade level."

Certainly, the information provided on their site supports summer learning programs, such as the reading based day camp sponsored by Fremont County Tutoring and mentioned previously on this site as a summer curriculum model. You will also find curriculum models on the centers site at http://www.summerlearning.org/, which can be adapted to your own summer home school program.

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/Susie Williams."

Africa Wildlife Site

2009-06-06T08:04:00.005-06:00

Africa Freak is a website created by Michael Theys who apparently has spent the majority of his life living in Africa. His site offers outstanding wildlife photographs with interesting text. He shares his knowledge of nature, conservation, animals and birds of Africa in a non-technical writing style appropriate for students and teachers. I believe any child who has learned to read could gain some knowledge from the text on the site.

In addition, Theys includes video experiences through BBC Wildlife and U-tube, such as this video of a safari group approaching a mother and baby Rhinoceros http://www.africafreak.com/how-to-approach-a-mother-rhino-calf-on-foot-in-a-single-lesson/

Though I prefer recommending free educational material that are interactive or engage the parent with the child, I find the photos and video on this site thrilling and worth the time you, your student or child might spend there. It's http://www.africafreak.com/. Be sure and check out his About Me page.

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/Susie Williams."

Global Education Collaborative

2009-06-05T10:11:00.007-06:00

Global Education Collaborative is an on-line community for teachers and students interested in global education. Their website hosts discussions with those interested in educational issues around the world, as well as, listing blogs and events. A free resource for the exchange of information and the seeds of ideas for your students.

I love the concept. Who can deny the importance of a global consciousness in these times and particularly when it comes to educating our next generation. Take a look at their site at http://www.globaleducation.ning.com/.

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."

Critical Thinking for Limitless Knowledge

2009-06-03T07:41:00.001-06:00

I received an email message from the Critical Thinking Company titled Some Freebies. Of course, I instantly clicked on the link they provided. That led me to a page on their website that instructs the reader how to access software demos and hundreds of printable activity pages from this educational company's book and workbook lines.

It's free and easy to do! A great way to add enrichment materials to your home school collection or to find quality activities for children this summer. They provide the instructions for finding and printing pages right on the page under the word Printables at http://www.criticalthinking.com/all-abilities/try_before_buy.html

But don't stop there! Check out their website! To inspire your day, read the history of this innovative company. The Critical Thinking Company, a half-century old family owned business produces and distributes educational materials that support their philosophy, as stated by company president, Michael Baker, "If we teach children everything we know, their knowledge is limited to ours. If we teach children to think, their knowledge is limitless."

Their products are designed to empower the mind and teach problem solving skills to meet life's challenges. Also, free are dozens of articles on developing critical thinking in children at all age levels at http://www.criticalthinking.com/company/articles.jsp?code=c.

If you are shopping for challenging and entertaining materials their site is easy to navigate, with the option bars to shop by grade, product, series at the top of the product page at http://www.criticalthinking.com/all-abilities/index.html.

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 & Susie Williams."

Education World.com a World of Free Info

2009-06-02T07:45:00.001-06:00

Originally designed to assist educators in accessing educational and professional information on the Internet, the Education World website calls itself the educators best friend. Over almost 20 years, it has become a source of free educational information useful not only to professional educators, but to parents, students, home schools and alternative school programs.

The site is enormous but not cumbersome. The primary sections of the site are Lesson Planning, Professional Development, Administrators, Tech Integration, School Issues, Marketplace. It has its own site search and options to search by date or subject.

For parents looking for quality activities for their children or for homeschooling parents the Lesson Planning section of the site is a wonderful free resource for educational activities. You will find there a series of lessons and activities on hundreds of specific topics, broken down by subject areas (social studies, math, science, etc.) and grade level. Though designed for classroom use these lesson plans can be easily translated to individual use. At the very least they provide the parent or educator with inspiration to design their own activities. The site provides links to other sources of information as well. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/

The School Issues section of the site houses a large library of articles on behavior concerns that can be very helpful to parents who are homeschooling or those who want to keep informed on issues such as bullying in schools. http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/
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 and Susie Williams."

Book Project for Summer for Elementary Kids

2009-05-29T06:46:00.001-06:00

A great practically free activity for kids for the summer is the creation of their own book of their summer experiences and activities. When their teacher asks in September what they did on their summer vacation, it is all recorded for her and for a life time of memories for the child.

Pick up a hard cover composition book at your dollar store for a dollar or a spiral notebook along with glue stick, a small cheap rubber stamp set, some markers and the project is practically launched. All you need is the child's creativity mixed with your guidance.

Encourage the child to decorate and title the cover of the book. "Michael's Summer Adventures 2009." Have him create a title page and copyright page by observing these in another book. Work with him on a table of contents including a list of books read during the summer, pages for trips he takes, special and new experiences, new friends, favorite days, new things he learns. Discuss possibities for the contents. This will help him visualize the possibilites of this project and get excited about it. The ideas are endless.

Encourage the child to document each special day or experience with a story he writes himself and an illustration he creates. Yes, this is really just a journal, but for many children it will be their first journal and it also helps them understand the process of how books are organized and designed. If your child is not yet writing sentences then their primary documentation can be illustration.

You will share time with the child while he is working on his book; you'll get some quiet time while he is absorbed in the activity (especially nice when travelling); he will get practice writing, spelling, reading, observing and using his imagination in the design of each page.
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."

Bullying Webinar Free

2009-05-25T06:50:00.001-06:00

A free web seminar on Bullying is available at Education.com (a site previously reviewed on this blog) on their special edition page on bullying at http://www.education.com/topic/school-bullying-teasing/. This recorded session with Shelley Hymel, a world-renowned expert on bullying and an academic at the University of British Columbia, focuses on the who, why and how of bullying. The 60 minute long webinar also gives background on the phenomena in North America. It is a thoughtful source of practical information and tested advise for teachers and parents.

To check out the webinar from the Education.com's bullying special edition page and then click on the webinar box in the right side bar or click here to go directly to this webinar http://www.education.com/special-edition/bullying/web-seminar-archive/ . We recommend this free resource to teachers and parents.
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."

Let's Eliminate Bullying at Education.com

2009-05-21T07:49:00.001-06:00

Education.com a large free on-line educational resource has taken a bold step toward dealing with the age old problem of bullying. Bullying has gotten more and more attention in the last few years. Though it is hard to measure whether it is a growing problem, it is a changing problem with bullies using new technologies to reach their victim, ie. text messaging, social networking, email.

Education.com addresses both cyber bullying and school bullying on their site. At http://www.education.com/topic/school-bullying-teasing/ you will find an enormous variety of links to free resources to help parents, educators and children deal with bullying; such as "Five Actions Parents Can Take if Their Child has been Involved in Bullying," and "How do you Know When Your Student or Child is Being Victimized and How Can You Help."

Education.com's goal is not only to assist parents, teachers and students in recognizing and dealing with bullying. Like most of us they want to eliminate bullying and are dedicating a very well designed and easily navigable section of their website to that goal with information like "Ten Actions Parents can take to Eliminate Bullying," and "Helping School Staff Identify and Understand the Effects of Bullying," and their on site, "Quick Guide to Reducing Bullying." Their information is well researched and comes from respected educators and behavior specialist.

Check it out and share this information. Let's help eliminate bullying. http://www.education.com/topic/school-bullying-teasing/
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."

Free Quick tips for Fun Activities with Children

2009-05-20T09:24:00.001-06:00

Parents and educators of pre-schoolers and young elementary, do you Twitter? If so a worthwhile twitter account to follow is that of Joy Anderson, pre-school teacher. Her messages are short tips on activities that can be fun and educational for use by teachers or parents. Example: "Do you have a path around your house? If so name it Quiet Lane and listen as you walk." Though she is a pre-school teacher often her free little jewels could also be used for elementary, and occasionally for middle school students. Find her at http://twitter.com/preschoolfun.

Joy is also promoting a how to CD, etc on starting and running a pre-school. If you are interested in her enterprise you can find that information on http://www.startapreschool.com/. Though she does offer some gifts with enrollment to her program, it is not free.

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."

HealthTeacher Great Site with 10 Day Free Trial

2009-05-19T11:40:00.001-06:00

On the home page of HealthTeacher is this quotable quote; "Good health is contagious. You can pass it on." http://www.healthteacher.com/

According to their about us statement, "HealthTeacher was originally developed in 1999 by health educators and health professionals with the goal of providing a comprehensive online resource that would make it easy to teach good health habits to children."

On their site they offer K-12 lesson plans on a variety of health topics important to growing kids. Their curriculum not only enhances a student's understanding of the physical health, but helps develop their health consciousness. Their curriculum objective are stated as; 1) Build health literacy among those who teach health education. 2) Address the health and behavioral issues facing today's youth. 3) Help teachers overcome constraints that limit the provision of health education in the school setting.

HealthTeacher is not a free resource. They are an annual subscription information resource. Subscriptions run from $150 for individuals to $300 for schools. However, they do offer a ten day free trial with unlimited access to the site, its lesson plans and articles. Signing up for the free trial is easy and does not require credit card information.

The site is easy to navigate, very user friendly and the content valuable to classroom and alternative school teachers as well as homeschooling parents. Check out their 10 day free trial. You could get a lot of information and great ideas touring this site for 10 days.
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."

Reading Based Day Camp Register Now

2009-05-18T07:25:00.000-06:00

Summer Book Camp Reading Fun a program sponsored by Fremont County Tutoring is gearing up for its first weeks of this reading based day camp. They run three-one week long sessions for 6-8 year olds and three-one week long sessions for 9-11 year olds. Not free....but reasonable and they barter. There is still time to register. Check out there program and schedule at http://bookcampsummerfun.blogspot.com/.
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."

Public Library Programs Offer Free Enrichment Resource

2009-05-17T12:24:00.001-06:00

I am sometimes asked to participate in the teen program at one of our public libraries as a writing coach. Each year the teens in this weekly evening program write a play, make costumes, scenery, act and direct themselves and then perform the play for the local K-2 kids who come to the library in the summer for story hour. This year I've been asked to coach the writing portion of the project. Typically they start work on the play about three months prior to the performance

While I was working with them recently, some of the kids were also stitching and gluing on quilt squares. These are no ordinary quilt squares. They are large and very artistic and also very diverse, sometimes with three dementional objects attached. I learned that each square represents a book and will be placed on a panel of cloth, with about four squares per panel. Each square is anchored to the panel at the top and can be lifted up to reveal underneath the name and author of the story the square represents. This is another project that they have been working on for several months. The panels will hang on the wall of the new library recently built in this community.

I love the multi-faceted aspects of this project. I think it could be used as a model for projects for alternative schools, enrichment programs and homeschoolers. First the student gets to think of a book they enjoyed, think about what that book meant to them, sketch a design that represents that book, see that sketch turn in to a piece of art via their own hand, then serve the community by providing not only art for the wall of the library, but provoking thought for decades of children to come through the puzzle of guessing which book each square represents. In thinking about that, I realized that the play project these teens work on each year is also a multi-diciplined project with several payoffs for the teen and the community.

As a former homeschooling Mom, I used the public library a great deal as a resource for materials. I know that no teacher or homeschooling parent is a stranger to the local library. The only resource program many public libraries offer is a story hour, however. If your library is one of those, then go a little farther. Check out the libraries in the region, particularly those at universities that have a school of education. You might stumble on to a little gem of a program that would enrich your teen or home schoolers life...or you might approach the library administrator about starting one. Hurray for the innovative educators who work at public libraries!
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."

Summerbook Company

2009-05-15T08:26:00.000-06:00

I like the looks of Summerbook Company's workbooks for kids for summer. This resource seems to be a dedicated to education, small Mom and Pop biz. The workbooks are graded and broken down into weekly lessons for the summer. They review what the child learned in the last school year in preparation for the next. Creative and fun for kids and will help them be at grade level in September. On their site they allow you to look at sample pages from the workbooks.

While this is not a free resource, they are quite reasonable at under $12 US per workbook. As a bonus they allow affiliate participation from schools, groups and the like, with easy sign-up. You can find them by going to http://www.fremontcountytutoring.blogspot.com/ and clicking on the summer book icon at the bottom of their page. Fremont County Tutoring are friends of mine providing educational programs in Colorado, who support the Summerbook Company. Purchasing from Summerbook Company looks like a smart way to provide quality hours of entertainment for your kids this summer. Purchasing through Fremont County Tutoring will help fund the enrichment programs they sponsor for Colorado kids.

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."

Reading Based Summer Day Camps

2009-05-14T12:40:00.000-06:00

Many schools will be dismissing for summer vacation as early as May 22 and parents are faced with providing not only safe activities for their youngsters, but also educational, enriching and challenging day camps or programs. For elementary age children, I love the summer programs that help support the child's reading proficiency from the grade level they just finish, while preparing them for the next school year and still making it fun!

If you are a parent looking for the right summer day camp experience for your child, check out the model at www.bookcampsummerfun.blogspot.com. If you are sponsoring a day camp program or you are a teacher or curriculum designer you may find some ideas and inspiration here.

Can't handle a reading based day camp for your child this summer? Maybe you could use the graded summer work books for children on this site, www.bookcampsummerfun.blogspot.com.

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."