This looks pretty cool. I'd love to have one. My son would also like to have one. I wonder if Janine would get us one for Christmas?
For more information check out: This Robotic Dragonfly Will Soon Flit Into Your Nightmares For $99.
This week's Carnival of Homeschooling i s up - the Vote! Edition
This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is up at Sprittibee.
Heather starts the carnival with:
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Welcome to the VOTE! Edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling! If you are new to ‘blog carnivals’, please read the link at the bottom of this post to find out more. This post has many links that take you off-site to other homeschool blogs where you can read their ‘showcased’ article submission. If you would like to submit an article for a future carnival or host the carnival on your site, please see the bottom section to find out how. Each carnival writer has the option to put their compilation to a ‘theme’ if they so choose. Being voting day, I figured it would be good to reflect on the process and the politics of making our voices heard.
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Heather starts the carnival with:
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Welcome to the VOTE! Edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling! If you are new to ‘blog carnivals’, please read the link at the bottom of this post to find out more. This post has many links that take you off-site to other homeschool blogs where you can read their ‘showcased’ article submission. If you would like to submit an article for a future carnival or host the carnival on your site, please see the bottom section to find out how. Each carnival writer has the option to put their compilation to a ‘theme’ if they so choose. Being voting day, I figured it would be good to reflect on the process and the politics of making our voices heard.
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Free online resources for learning American Sign Language
My second daughter is studying American Sign Language. She has found these web sites helpful:
Learning Sign Language (ASL)
ASL Sign Language Video Dictionary
Learning Sign Language (ASL)
ASL Sign Language Video Dictionary
Good thoughts about education
Waiting for "Superman" had two good thoughts on Facebook this weekend:
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlear, and relearn.
- Alvin Toffler
Education isn't what you learn, it's what you do with what you learn.
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlear, and relearn.
- Alvin Toffler
Education isn't what you learn, it's what you do with what you learn.
How Toastmasters has helped me with our homeschool co-op
When Henry and I first met, he was involved with Toastmasters. For those of you who are not familiar, Toastmasters International is a public speaking club. After we got married, Henry got busy with other things and dropped out of Toastmasters. A few years ago, Henry joined a toastmasters lunch club at his work. Occasionally, I would visit the meetings and bring the kids. Mostly I visited as an excuse to eat lunch with Henry.
Last year when Henry changed jobs, he helped reactivate a Toastmasters club at his new job. Because it was a new club and they needed more members, I joined.
I discovered that Toastmasters has a very structured program of speeches and "roles" involved with public speaking and meeting management. One of those roles is to be the "Toastmaster." The Toastmaster prepares the agenda, sends out reminders, and recruits people to fill in open roles, such as timekeeper or grammarian.When I was a guest just visiting Toastmasters meetings, I never paid much attention to the mechanism of running a meeting. As a member of Toastmasters, I've had my opportunity to act as Toastmaster on a few occasions.
This is the tenth year that I have been part of a homeschool co-op. We meet once a week and provide a variety of classes and activities. In years past, we often found ourselves improvising activities or classes because we hadn't really planned it all out in advance. Since I've been a "Toastmaster" that has changed.
Early in the week, I send out an draft agenda for our Friday co-op meeting. I borrowed the style from our toastmasters agenda that marks out a time and a person responsible for each agenda item. I've even included a location so that we have planned out ahead of time which classes is in which room at the church. I look ahead of time at potential conflicts. For example, if we are having PE in the gym we can't use the gym for art class, or if we use the gym for art class, we need to plan for PE outside.
Here's last week's co-op agenda:
1:00 - 1:30 pm Small / Medium / Large: Singing Time in the sanctuary - [Jocelyn]
1:30 - 2:30 pm Smalls: Lesson in the Nursery [Sarah]
In addition to sending out the email agenda, I print out agendas for the actually meeting. In the past, we've often not had a hard copy of assignments and had to scramble to look it up on line with someone's iPhone. Things don't go exactly as planned, but using a more structured agenda has greatly improved our co-op experience.
Last year when Henry changed jobs, he helped reactivate a Toastmasters club at his new job. Because it was a new club and they needed more members, I joined.
I discovered that Toastmasters has a very structured program of speeches and "roles" involved with public speaking and meeting management. One of those roles is to be the "Toastmaster." The Toastmaster prepares the agenda, sends out reminders, and recruits people to fill in open roles, such as timekeeper or grammarian.When I was a guest just visiting Toastmasters meetings, I never paid much attention to the mechanism of running a meeting. As a member of Toastmasters, I've had my opportunity to act as Toastmaster on a few occasions.
This is the tenth year that I have been part of a homeschool co-op. We meet once a week and provide a variety of classes and activities. In years past, we often found ourselves improvising activities or classes because we hadn't really planned it all out in advance. Since I've been a "Toastmaster" that has changed.
Early in the week, I send out an draft agenda for our Friday co-op meeting. I borrowed the style from our toastmasters agenda that marks out a time and a person responsible for each agenda item. I've even included a location so that we have planned out ahead of time which classes is in which room at the church. I look ahead of time at potential conflicts. For example, if we are having PE in the gym we can't use the gym for art class, or if we use the gym for art class, we need to plan for PE outside.
Here's last week's co-op agenda:
12:30 - 12:45 pm Small / Medium / Large Opening Exercises in the sanctuary
(Opening Song, Pray, Flag, Rules Reminder )
Conducting: Jacob
Opening Song: Matiah
Opening Prayer: Sophia
Flag Cermony: Chase
12:45 - 1 pm Small / Medium / Large: Sharing Time Group #5
Conducting: Jacob
Opening Song: Matiah
Opening Prayer: Sophia
Flag Cermony: Chase
12:45 - 1 pm Small / Medium / Large: Sharing Time Group #5
Emily, Deborah, Henry, Madison, Peter
Announce next week’s sharing group: Sharing Time Group #6: Kayla, Hannah, Samantha, Ian, Lucy
Announce next week’s sharing group: Sharing Time Group #6: Kayla, Hannah, Samantha, Ian, Lucy
1:00 - 1:30 pm Small / Medium / Large: Singing Time in the sanctuary - [Jocelyn]
1:30 - 2:30 pm Smalls: Lesson in the Nursery [Sarah]
Medium/Large : Chess Lesson in Multipurpose Room [Henry]
Medium/Large: Picture Puzzle/Sudoko [Janine] in room with the big table
2:30 - 3:00 pm Smalls/Mediums: PE in the Gym [Cathy]
Large: Art Appreciation in the multipurpose room [Tonya]
3:00 - 3:30 pm Smalls: Free play in the nursery [Moms]
Medium: Art Appreciation in the multipurpose room [Tonya]
2:30 - 3:00 pm Smalls/Mediums: PE in the Gym [Cathy]
Large: Art Appreciation in the multipurpose room [Tonya]
3:00 - 3:30 pm Smalls: Free play in the nursery [Moms]
Medium: Art Appreciation in the multipurpose room [Tonya]
Large: PE in the gym [Cathy]
3:30 pm Clean up
3:30 pm Clean up
In addition to sending out the email agenda, I print out agendas for the actually meeting. In the past, we've often not had a hard copy of assignments and had to scramble to look it up on line with someone's iPhone. Things don't go exactly as planned, but using a more structured agenda has greatly improved our co-op experience.
Facebook says Birthday Cakes are like Facebook
Facebook put up a picture of a birthday cake yesterday with this caption:
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Birthday cakes are made for people to be together. They give friends a place to gather and celebrate. But too much cake probably isn’t healthy. So birthday cake is a lot like Facebook.
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It is easy to spend (waste?) a lot of time on Facebook. I try to limit myself to about thirty minutes a day. Mostly I want to stay in touch with family and close friends.
Hat tip: Tech Crunch
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Birthday cakes are made for people to be together. They give friends a place to gather and celebrate. But too much cake probably isn’t healthy. So birthday cake is a lot like Facebook.
----------
It is easy to spend (waste?) a lot of time on Facebook. I try to limit myself to about thirty minutes a day. Mostly I want to stay in touch with family and close friends.
Hat tip: Tech Crunch
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