Thinkwell Courses Sale

Periodically the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op provides access to Thinkwell courses on sale. I'm a fan of Thinkwell for high school and college prep homeschooling.

Maybe it's Professor Edward Burger that makes me like Thinkwell - he's a kinda cute, geeky, math guy and he makes me laugh. Or the fact that their course is so thorough - he obviously just loves his subject and knows it inside out. Either way, if you're looking for high school online software it's worth checking out Thinkwell.

Courses on offer this time around:

• middle school, high school, and some college level math (except for Geometry, which I really wish they had), including college algebra, trigonometry and calculus
  
• high school biology, chemistry and physical science
• American government
• macroecomomics and microeconomics
• public speaking

Prices range from $49.95 to $84.95 with bigger discounts when there are more subscribers.

For some reason it's hard to access the deals if you just go to the Homeschool Buyers Co-op home page - go straight to Thinkwell courses on sale if you want to take a look. The current offer expires February 10th at noon (eastern).

The Homeschooler's Guide to the Galaxy has no connection to Homeschool Buyers Co-op or Thinkwell. I also recommend The Teaching Company Save 70%! Great Courses by America's Top Professors and Elementary Algebra (these are affiliate links).

Porridge Tales from Grandma's Kitchen

Many was the happy hour of my childhood which I spent in my grandmother's kitchen. I was fascinated by the tales of her own childhood which she would share with me as I stirred a pot for her, or watched her making scones. The most fascinating tale of all for me was the one of The Porridge Drawer.

Apparently when my Gran was a little girl her kitchen had a special wooden drawer into which was poured homemade porridge. This idea really caught my imagination. I would visualize gloopy oatmeal being poured into a drawer, which was presumably then closed up, hiding the contents from view. In my experience drawers were for keeping underwear in, which made the tale all the more fascinating! I would ask about this over and over. Each time I was told that the porridge was left to cool. Later it was cut into blocks which were given to family members to pack with them for lunch. Frugality was the order of the day; I've no idea whether there was anything other than porridge available at those meals, but I suspect not.

Nowadays I'm not a true Scot. I eat my porridge with dried fruit or with honey, and not just with salt. I'm totally spoiled and always have milk available to make it creamy. I even, more often than not, resort to the microwave to make my oatmeal. I've not forgotten my Scottish roots though and I own a real wooden porridge spurtle, which was passed down to me from an older generation. When the mood is right, I enjoy stirring my oats while they bubble and gloop. With a touch of patience my porridge turns creamy and smooth ready to "stick to my ribs" and keep my appetite satisfied until lunchtime.

Here are some porridge and oat related learning links for you to explore:

• Scottish porridge tradition and trivia and The World Porridge Making Championships where the winner gets the Golden Spurtle!
• Porridge has it's place in history. Read about porridge then learn about Scots history with an Edinburgh experimental archaeology group.
• Here's a little insight on peas porridge and cooking in medieval times.
• A musical lesson on Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow.
• Recipes at Quaker Oats - they have a whole section of kid pleasing recipes.
• A very comprehensive lesson plan that explains all about the different kinds of oats and the benefits of having them in your diet (suitable for elementary ages).

Grain mills and oats at Amazon.com. Usborne books which contain oat recipes: Starting Cooking contains muesli and oatmeal bar recipes; Children's Book of Baking contains apple squares and cherry crumble cake; Healthy Cookbook contains granola and peachy crumble.

Mini Lesson Plans

Models and miniatures are a fantastic hobby and have lots of homeschooling possibilities. Have your kids ever built a diorama, visited a model railroad exhibit, or decorated a doll's house? Many little people, and big people, are fascinated by tiny stuff. I know I certainly am. When I received a visit from Randall, who loves to write about model trains, for yesterday's Wordless Wednesday, I began to think of some of the possibilities. I've wandered the web so you don't have to, unless you insist of course!

Over on the left is The Usborne Book of Making Models. If you are interested in shopping for items related to models and model making, books, materials, etc, I've gathered these links together at the end. Read on for mini lesson plan ideas and for more details on this and other Usborne model books...

Model trains are such a favorite thing to have under the Christmas tree. Little boys who love Thomas the Tank Engine might just develop a love for model trains and railroads. There are some good articles on toy trains for children, including articles on Electric Train Scales for Children (about choosing the size of trains) and Electric Train Do's and Don'ts for Parents at About.com. For teens and adults try the National Model Railroad Association Introduction to Model Railroading. If you need to be inspired by visuals, take a look at the small layout scrapbook for lots and lots of layout plans and photos. I was particularly intrigued by the shoebox layouts.

Working with scale trains is a great exercise in math, design, art and electricity. You'll be planning track layouts, costing a variety of designs, learning electrical safety, and building scenery. For your scenery The Usborne Book of Making Models, pictured above, contains ideas and step by step instructions for making a tunnel, as well as bushes, shrubs, trees and paths.

I've always enjoyed visiting model railroads. It took a good bit of searching to find a website that lists places to visit - check out GreatestHobby.com, their list looks to be comprehensive and current... unless of course you know different! I'm lucky enough to live close to a very absorbing little model railroad store. At the Show Me Railroad Company they make their own limited edition HO scale rolling stock right in the store. It's a kind of mini rail wonderland with large layouts in several scales, and lots of tiny items to explore. If you don't have a miniature railroad museum, like the Twin City Model Railroad Museum, or the San Diego Model Railroad Museum nearby, visiting a store or a model railroad club could be the next best thing.

If you want the tradition of a train under the tree, it's worth spending some time reading to make sure you choose something suitable. Alternatively, if you're not sure you have an enthusiast, do what I did. Choose the least expensive little battery-operated train set you can find and assume it will get broken. Guess what - we've had our little plastic Santa train set for probably 9 years now and it's still as good as new! It was the right choice for us; neither of my kids has developed an enthusiasm for model railroads, at least not yet anyway.

Writing about mini lesson plans is almost as fascinating as doing them. I have a lot more to say but I'm out of both time and brain juice, so for now I'll say, "to be continued"... I will update later with links for those interested in shopping and continue in a separate article for mini lesson plans with other kinds of models beyond trains.

Places to shop for model trains and related items:

• Atlas Model Railroad Company - Atlas produce items in HO, N, and O scales.
• The Show Me Model Railroad Company makes and sells limited edition rolling stock in HO scale. See the Show Me Holiday Collectibles - these are affordable and could make a great gift for your model train enthusiast.
• Manufacturer Lionel has their own Online Train Shop. You''ll need a few bucks to invest in one of their sets. Set themes include Harry Potter, Thomas the Tank Engine, Polar Express and North Pole.
• Find a hobby shop close to you from the Greatest Hobby model shop directory.
• More links for model train enthusiasts and yet more from Model Railroad News.
  
• At Choo Choo Track they sell Brio compatible and Thomas items.

What do you say? Do you have a train under your tree, a favorite train-related resource, or a train story to tell?
Brought to you in association with Amazon.com with Christmas train choices and plenty of Brio items.

Learning Links

Formerly called Bits and Bobs, Learning Links is my new title for the chaos brought to my computer by manic web surfing. It's happened again, those Firefox tabs have multiplied and I now have 23 windows open, each with at least 5 tabs - that is an estimated 200 or so websites up. It's time to pass along some great learning links, in no particular order, below:

• Fish school - lesson plans for goldfish. Watch Comet the goldfish make goals, swim the slalom, and do the limbo. What a cute, little, well trained guy!
• Do a college search at CollegeBoard.com - I've looked for college information before and this is the nicest site I've seen for finding information. It's very comprehensive, readable and nicely organized, with information that includes majors available, fees, and scholarships.
• British citizens may want to know about the petition to stop Sharia law (Islamic/Koranic law that dictates women cover their faces and that a hand is removed for certain crimes) from being legal under arbitration. I know, it sounds very highly surprising that there could be a loophole to allow this to happen in England (I'm not clear on whether this is just England, but Scotland has it's own law system so I'm guessing that it does not apply to Scotland), but I have checked it out and it's no joke. Read more about it at The Times Online.
• A topic worth a whole post, which I don't have time to write about today, but luckily another homeschooling mom did (she did a muuuuch better job than I would)! Resistance: a communication tool. Every parent and homeschooler has encountered resistance in their kid/spouse etc. This is an extremely thorough and thoughtful article that I think every parent needs to read. Really, make sure you check it out, your stress level will thank you!
  
• How your categories and tags help or hurt your blog. I searched around and this is the best of the articles I found on effectively using tags/labels. "A great blogger will take the time up front to plan out the blog's categories..." Ummm... I'm not a great blogger yet I guess. I'll work on it!
• Blogcarnival.com - the place to find and submit to carnivals. Think outside the box - you might find a whole new set of readers.
• EyewitnesstoHistory.com Wow, this site is beautifully laid out and jam-packed with links to help bring history alive! Check out George Washington's Rules of Good Behaviour, Writing the Declaration of Independence, and, for my British friends, The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots. I must add this site to my right-hand homeschooling links menu!
  
• Take a look at the wonderful, homemade, books, and more from a homeschooling family working with autism, visual-spatial learners, unschooling and foster/adoption. I love how they made books where the child is the star and somehow pasted amongst bison, bears and wolves.

There are many more learning links for me to post. Later... Do let me know your favorite!

Old Cowtown Museum , Wichita, KS

Old Cowtown Museum

Wordless Wednesday

From Refugees to Heroes

I don't want to imagine what it would feel like to have to flee my home because my life was in danger. Still, I imagine I might survive many things provided my family was intact. As a subscriber to blogcatalog I was asked to take part in Bloggers Unite, today, November 10th and blog about the plight of refugees. Knowing how devastated I'd be if this happened to me I could hardly refuse. So here's my post. By the way, Refugees United provides a way for refugees to find missing family members while remaining anonymous.

Blogcatalog have set up a nice page with suggested links to organizations and information about the plight of refugees. I took a look and picked out the following as my favorites: Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children and stories of refugees at The British Red Cross site. I also want to mention stories of refugees who are making a new life in the USA and who wrote their own stories as they study English in a local USA college. Obviously though we can't rescue every refugee and bring them to the USA. Displaced people need water, food, shelter, a way to reconnect with seperated family members, and, additionally, their dignity.

The previously mentioned Women's Commission... are starting an initiative today called Beyond Firewood: Fuel Alternatives and Protection Strategies for Displaced Women and Girls. Apparently refugee women and girls who go out searching for firewood are in personal danger. Aid food that is provided needs cooking and fuel is a limited resource. Obviously it's in everyone's best interest if they are able to conserve fuel by using alternative, fuel-efficient cooking strategies. Being as I support the use of stick fueled rocket stoves, solar ovens, and other fuel-saving alternatives I thoroughly approve of this initiative.

Now onto the hero part. Last week I had the honor of meeting a real live hero. Yohannes Gebregeorgis is one of 10 nominees for the CNN heroes award. As a political refugee from Ethiopia, he arrived in Texas in 1981. After putting himself through college and obtaining a graduate degree in library science, Yohannes worked as a children's librarian in San Francisco. In 1988 Yohannes started the non-profit organization Ethiopia Reads. He began working with others who care about children in Ethiopia and opened the first ever free public Ethiopian children's library in 2003. Yohannes told me last week that a second Ethiopian children's library has now been opened. My favorite of all is the donkey mobile library, which takes books out of the city to children who know how to read but have never held a book. You can read more about Yohannes at CNN, vote for Yohannes and/or other heroes at http://heroes.cnn.com/, and see a picture of the donkey mobile library at Ethiopia Reads.

Albino in Tanzania

Apparently if you live in Tanzania and are albino your life is in danger because there is a witch doctor trade in the body parts of people with albinism. A friend of mine, who's daughter is an ocular albino, wrote to me yesterday to ask me to read about this and sign the petition. I checked it out. Most of the news reports I saw were by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). I was happy to sign the petition at www.underthesamesun.com. What a horrific thing for human beings to do to each other. Of course humans doing horrific things is not exactly news! You can read an article about the killings at the BBC News site and read more about albinism at UnderTheSameSun.

Bits and Bobs

Find out about your morals and ethics and help with research at YourMorals.org - an interesting adjunct to social studies at high school level.

Protect your computer from unwanted and invasive scripts when you're out web surfing by loading free software from NoScript - I use this and it works really well. You do have to specifically allow scripts so it can become a bit of a nuisance if you browse a lot of script-rich websites because you'll have to specifically allow everything you want the first time you come across it. It's rather an eye-opener though to see how many different scripts some sites are trying to load!

A good scientific point to raise for discussion with your kids. Why is only 3% of research funding for cancer aimed at finding the causes and preventing it rather than detecting and treating? Here's an article that prompts the question at The International Herald Tribune.

Is your family disaster ready? You can download a 204 page FEMA guide for citizen preparedness which acts as a unit study into natural disasters. Information covered includes: the type of disasters; which communities are likely to be affected; and information on preparing a family plan. Find more information at Ready.gov and learn how to store water and make it safe in an emergency.

The Homeschool Mom has provided 4 screens worth of links on the election. If you've not had enough yet you're bound to find something suitable there. Whew! That much is a bit overwhelming!

Children's Books on the Presidency and Election

Books on the Presidency and Election from Amazon.com
Try searching for children's books related to the election and presidency and you'll find that most books for elementary aged kids are textbook style and designed for school needs on the history of our government. For reading at home you probably want something more fun!
I was alerted to this by a friend of mine who wanted books to share with her 10 year old. It took a bit of searching, but she was delighted with what I found. She has now been recommending the books I found to her friends.

See the full list of books I found, find out more about this specific book and take a look inside at Amazon.com, or see Getting the Inside Scoop on Elections (a 2008 book with facts and activities).

For some fun and informative links related to the election head over to Sweet Serendipity. Haben at My5LittleMonkies is also studying the election and recommends the curriculum she is using.