Red Garage Door

Free downloadable (pdf) poster of Earth/Mars Comparison. I tried to fill out the form to have a poster sent to us, but kept getting error messages. However – you can still download it yourself for free.
Check out the latest on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. Also see the sidebar for kids and educators pages.
Mars scientists are asking students from around the world to help them understand the red planet. Send in a rock you collected from your region of the world, and they’ll use a special tool like the one on the rover to tell you what it’s made of. Then you can compare their rocks to the ones found on Mars.
Exploring Mars, created by a group of scientists from Jet Propulsion Lab and University of California at Los Angeles, is a great place to start for reports (try Mars at a Glance) or browsing for the fun of it. The Mars Science section is outstanding, and the Mars History section is fascinating. “The Babylonians called Mars Nergal – the great hero, the king of conflicts.” Lots of photos and illustrations, and a good navigation system make this site work for all ages.
Do a search on Google for Mars Spirit Rover
Play an online Mars Scrambler puzzle
Do a Planet Word Search
Become a Martian Weather Reporter with activities from this site.
Listen to sounds on Mars
Enchanted Learning: Mars had info for littles as well as a Mars Book: A Printable Book for Fluent Readers. To print them out in full-size you must have a paid membership which I think is a great deal. It does show the thumbnails.
Build Your Own Mars Pathfinder Spacecraft Model.
http://www.challenger.org/teachers/lessons/voyagemars.cfm has lessons to help you to prepare your kids for their exciting mission to space.
Learning Page has a hundred worksheets for under grade 4. They require a free registration. View their Space Fact Files for Mars. The fact sheets cut outs and murals are clearly adaptable for any classroom.

See what the astronauts saw on July 20, 1969
Try Google Moon http://moon.google.com/
Google Copernicus Center is hiring http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html
But first check out Life in the Googlunaplex http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job6.html

This video parody on homeschoolers gave me a good chuckle.
http://www.doublesharpevideo.com/HomeSchool2/Homeschool2.html

B-75. Home Schooling
The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.
The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.
The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting. (1988, 2006)

Ok – I do not agree with the NEA’s resolution. I do not believe that Union has my child’s best interests at heart. I also believe my child should be allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools since I Pay Taxes to those public schools. I think that taking and passing assessments are overrated – look at how many people graduate public school yet still cannot read nor write. Guess what? All our homeschool expenses Are paid by me. Again, I also pay public school tax.

Other reading: NEA’s mission statement

A well written petition: Homeschoolers against NEA philosophy

Titled: Home Schools Run By Well-Meaning Amateurs
Subtitled: Schools With Good Teachers Are Best-Suited to Shape Young Minds
By Dave Arnold (Dave Arnold, a member of the Illinois Education Association, is head custodian at Brownstown Elementary School in Southern Illinois.)
Quote from Mr Arnold’s article: There’s nothing like having the right person with the right experience, skills and tools to accomplish a specific task. Certain jobs are best left to the pros, such as, formal education. … So, why would some parents assume they know enough about every academic subject to home-school their children? You would think that they might leave this — the shaping of their children’s minds, careers, and futures — to trained professionals…”

Everyone has their own opinion – he to his and me to mine. Here’s my thoughts after reading his article. Why would a janitor assume he knows enough about homeschooling by glancing at a few websites, with an obviously closed mind, write about trained professionals shaping my child’s mind, career & future? Parents shape their child’s mind, career & future – not teachers. Teachers instruct children. Some teachers might have an impact on children which might lead them to certain areas whether knowingly or unknowingly. (Obviously I’m not speaking of higher education.) Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictonary defines teacher as “one that teaches; especially : one whose occupation is to instruct.” It also defines custodian as “one that guards and protects or maintains; especially : one entrusted with guarding and keeping property or records or with custody or guardianship of prisoners or inmates.” So maybe there is a connection: Institutionalized schooling and inmates (also known as public school children).

I Googled head custodian and the first link says : “Head Custodian. Duties. 1. Dust, sweep, mop, and buff floors as necessary. 2. Using appropriate protection against contact with body fluids, clean vomit and …” (which comes from a website’s Job Description of Head Custodian cape.k12.mo.us

I AM the right person to choose my child’s form of education. I choose to homeschool my child. I am also not a head custodian but I can also dust, sweep, mop and clean vomit too.

Get Centered

Increase concentration, find balance & relaxation with Mandalas
Download the Mariposa Peace Mandala
107 Mandalas to download and color
Mandalas for little kids
Animal Mandalas
Mandala Lesson
Do you have a favorite Mandala?

Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age
(Queue the theme from 2001 A Space Odyssey)
History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world’s first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race. Read more from NASA…

I found this while doing some research a bit ago. You can choose your lesson plans by Arts subject (dance, music, etc), Subject or Grade Band (3 different grade ranges). Lots of neat ideas. Example, one of the newer lesson plans is Freedom Quilts. Included with this lesson plan is quilt shapes (in pdf), quiz, rubric, related lessons, standards and sources. This is something I’ll definitely be adding to the main website.

Here’s the description from their website:

ARTSEDGE is the Kennedy Center‘s interactive education program for K-12 teachers, parents and students. Founded in 1991, ARTSEDGE supports the creative use of technology to enhance teaching and learning in, through and about the arts. Through its Web site, as well as innovative print and integrated media materials, ARTSEDGE offers free, standards-based teaching materials for use in and out of the classroom, media-rich interactive experiences, professional development resources, and guidelines for arts-based instruction and assessment.

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/les.cfm

I understand people’s concerns about socialization. I, personally, do not believe it to be a concern in regards to homeschooling. My own daughter’s education is more of a concern to me. This is from my own experience in school…kids can be a bit cruel, even if that is not their intentions and I mainly don’t believe that it is. I remember whenever ‘the new kid’ came to class, other kids stayed away at first and it was uncomfortable for both sides. If the child did not wear the same style clothes, had a different hairdo, talked with an accent, etc, that seemed to make it that much harder for them. Kids socialize in school but not the kind of socialization I want for my child. I like the way my daughter will go right up to other children of varying ages and start talking and playing. Kids in school get socialization at lunch and recess (do they still have recess or has that been taken away due to lack of funds?). Chatting in class will get reprimands. Again, this is my generalization, not all kids are the same. (I’m not even going to get into the subject of bullying LOL) Enough of my opinions LOL. Children have so many social outlets: karate, dance class, church, the park, homeschool group gatherings, volunteering, and the list goes on. I do think socialization is an unwarranted concern that people not open to the homeschooling option voice more than anything.