Friday, April 3, 2020

More Learning Links!

LINKS!

The amazing online school we are enrolled with, Heritage Christian Online, compiled a nice list of links, many with free offers to help us all out during this crazy time. Thanks HCOS!

There are all kinds of things in here from conferences to competitions to curriculum (hey! An alliteration!). We have used or are familiar with many of these, if you have any questions leave a comment below.

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 Training for Parents

Canadian Homeschool Symposium

  • Online April 14 - 18
  • Live workshops on a wide variety of subjects and for early years, high school and in between
  • Enjoy up to 25 live speakers and have lifetime access to all of the workshop videos on demand once you register! Only $20

Homebound 2020 Online Conference 

  • hosted by Julie Bogart and Susan Wise Bauer, presented by Brave Writer and The Well-Trained Mind
  • Replays are available to EVERYONE (registration not necessary for replay) 
  • offering audio "how-to-educate-your-kids-at-home" workshops and lectures, by homeschool authorities Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, totally FREE for download.

Events and Activities

Common Sense Media

  • ‘The Daily DE’ features a grade-band appropriate learning activity for every day of the week, great for keeping the learning going on at home! Download the Daily DE for your child’s grade band.
    • free online Christian Homeschool Curriculum
  •  family-led learning experiences for ages 3 - 12
  • making educational activities available for download free of charge; new activities weekly — some online, some offline, of varying levels of difficulty

  • Offering daily (weekdays) 12 pm PT live streams on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for students, parents, and teachers navigating school closures.

    NASA Kids' Club
  • videos, games and related articles covering the exploration of space and the NASA projects currently operational and those in the future.

National Geographic Kids

  • Articles and videos that explore subjects in science and culture around the world

Noggin Hoggin Challenge

  • Free competition - mind-bending puzzles.  Starts April 20 with 6 puzzles in 6 days. How to play. Preliminary Headstart Clue is now available.
  • launching Code to Learn@Home coding and computational thinking learning experiences for students of all ages
  • Offering 24/7 Math & STEAM projects and live classes

  •  a new daily interactive, science-based game show and daily challenges from the creators of the #1 kids & family podcast, Wow in the World.

  • April 6-17: “Best of Coding and Robotics”, a FREE virtual learning event to give teachers and parents knowledge and skills to teach coding and robotics right now.

  • Three times each day (10 am, 3 pm, and 7 pm), a member of their Certified Instructing team teaches a *LIVE* interactive class from their Facebook page.

Science Centres Offering Free Activities to Do At Home

Learning Sites/Subscriptions

2Simple

  • offering free access to both Purple Mash and Serial Mash,

Brave Writer

  • offering some of their paid resources for free until April 30, 2020.

Buncee

  • a creation and presentation tool for students and educators to create interactive classroom content, allowing learners of all ages to visualize concepts and communicate creatively.

Curio.ca

  • streaming access to the best in educational content from CBC and Radio-Canada, Curio.ca is currently available free (Note: BBC, National Geographic, News in Review and Curio info channels not included).
  • adaptive learning platform offering a 90-day free trial until April 30th

  • Offering FREE One Month Gold Membership Dyslexia Support

Emotional ABC’s

  • teach children, ages 4-11, how to figure out WHAT they are feeling, WHY they are having that emotion, and HOW to make better choices.

EVERFI

  • Direct access to EVERFI’s interactive, game-based lessons to equip your child with skills for life.

Gizmos

  • Unlimited access to all 400+ Gizmos for 60 days, free, including full access to teacher guides, assessments and more.  Or use the ‘Free Gizmos Library’, a rotating collection of Gizmos chosen from their library of math and science simulations.  

Google for Education 

  • Quality learning content ranging in subjects from physics to filmmaking, and YouTube Learning Originals 

Mystery Science

Pearson

  • Offering Open Access to Pearson Canada K-12 Resources at Home

PBS LearningMedia and WGBH Distance Learning

  • free, trusted digital resources that span disciplines for grades PreK-12, and include videos, comprehensive lessons, and other activities

Scholastic Learn at Home

  • This free resource (being updated weekly) provides 20 days of exciting articles and stories, videos, and fun learning challenges. Children can complete them anytime, in any order. They can work on their own or together with others
  • Has launched “Caring for Each Other” site which provides content and resources you can use with your family to offer comfort and spark playful learning activities.

Stylewriter Canada


Wide Open School

  • is a free collection of online learning experiences for kids curated by the editors at Common Sense.

Zearn Math


  • entire K-5 curriculum – including 400 hours of digital lessons with on-screen teachers and supportive remediation – is available for free during this time

Read-Alouds

Audible 


  • offering hundreds of titles for children ages 0-18 completely free of charge 


For Further Reading
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Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Unintended Homeschooler?

Have you been dropped into homeschooling out of the clear blue?

Amidst all the chaos that's going on and managing your own anxieties, are you secretly freaking out about middle school math? Are you angry that this is now on your plate? Are you concerned about your relationship with your child, and how in the world you are going to get them to do school on top of the other stuff you already can't get them to do?

Totally been there. Last week. Last month. Last year. And those years have turned into fifteen years of homeschooling four kids. We've schooled through, moves, deaths, cancer, attitudes, babies, teens, and now I can add a pandemic to the list! It doesn't always look pretty, but it can be done!

So, where do you start? Do you just crack open the computer on Monday and let them go to it? Welllll, I suggest maybe not quite.

I've put together the top three emergency tactics I would employ if I suddenly had a child at my table needing an education, but first:
It doesn't have to be perfect.

It doesn't have to look the same as anyone else.

It doesn't have to be forever!



3 Emergency Homeschool Tactics You Can Employ Today

1. GRAB A SLICE OF PERSPECTIVE
This is a short term adventure. COVID-19 will pass and schools will open and life will resume some sense of normal. Likely this is only for a few months until the end of the school year. But, your relationship with your child lasts forever. I strongly suggest you view this as more of . . . an adventure together, where you are both learning a new normal together, navigating uncharted waters together!

Grab a cuppa and take thirty minutes to think about how you would like this adventure to look in your house:
  • What are your goals? 
  • How do you imagine the days unfolding? 
  • What, exactly, are you expected to accomplish?
  • What would a perfect day look like? (you won't get perfect, but might was well shoot for the moon and hit the barn, right?) 
  • How do you imagine this playing out in your relationship with your child? 
  • How do you think they are going to respond to learning at home? 
  • What are their strengths and weaknesses? 
  • What are yours? 
  • What's the biggest challenge you can foresee?
  • What's your best idea for meeting it head-on? 
  • Who all is involved in this? Partner? Siblings? Extended family? Pets?

    • I encourage you to straddle the fence between realistic and dangerously hopeful. You can do this. Your unique, beautiful family can navigate this together. It might even be great!


2. CREATE A DAILY ROUTINE
After your introspection sesh, think about how your family typically rolls. The temptation is to think that because you are "home" all the rules can go out the window, but trust me, that means so does all the work.

A routine reduces the effort involved in almost anything by at least half.

Think of all the things you do with hardly any thought throughout your day––like check Instagram 😉––or rather, brush your teeth, make coffee, drive to work etc. Homeschool works that way too. The same basic design everyday decreases effort, argument, and confusion, and increases work output, and good will : )

Start with just a couple of action items in the morning such as a wake up time, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and being at the table at a certain time ready to think about school. If that is happening everyday without too much pain, consider it a win and then add in the next thing.

If I were starting from scratch, a realistic plan for my house/children/workload/etc. (remember I have grades 7, 9, 12) might be:

 Day 1
-Do all our morning stuff as usual and meet at the table at 9 a.m.
-Discuss the lay of the land: what needs to be done, materials we need, concerns, suggestions
-Break
-Get out the stuff we need, find places to work, start working with the technology and its inevitable crises
-Lunch
-Check in and see how things are going and what we should/could finish for today
-Continue for an hour or so and then,
-BE DONE. EARLY. CELEBRATE WITH A TREAT!

If I had littler children I would only do the morning and be done with a celebratory lunch. Day One done! YEY!! Is there a treat at the end of everyday? Maybe . . .


3.  BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF AND OTHERS 😊
Trust me, frustration, anger, quick words, they get no one anywhere. But they come oh-so-easily. I have a hot temper. There is still a mark on my wall from a math book. Sigh. The good news is, I next to never throw math books any more. Homeschool's been good for me!

My frustration typically comes from two places:
a) A child whom I perceive is not trying his/her best––or at all.
b) Me multi-tasking and not being available to help said child at the level they need.

Problem a) 
Requires cool, level-headed consequences, which I have hopefully considered ahead of time.
"If you are not going to work on math, then you are not going to play Minecraft with your friends later." 

Ideally spoken with zero emotion and with a track record of:
"I guess there is absolutely no way I'm going play Minecraft if I don't do my math!"
Depending on the kid, this is an everyday battle and requires stamina and deep-breathing on my part.

Considering rational, effective, enforceable consequences for your particular child before you need them will be time well spent! I promise.

Problem b) 
Requires me to be present as much as is possible.

Hard to do if you have little ones who need you, or you are working from home. But as much as you can, just be available during school time. It will reduce the frustration level a ton, especially at the beginning as you are all getting used to a new normal. Rather than the idea of your being "interrupted" by school, allow the interruption to be that other thing if possible––even if you think they should be able to do it on their own : )

COUNTLESS are the number of times I have berated a child for not trying, but when I come alongside to help––I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT EITHER! Gah.


**Are there any specific questions you would like to see a post about? Leave a comment below! **

BONUS 
4. SEEK OUT YOUR SUPPORT GROUP!
You are unique, your children are unique, your family is one-of-a-kind. Take some time to find some support that really works for you, individually. Homeschoolers are generally a helpful bunch and are happy to pass on both mental and physical resources.

Because learning at home has been on the rise for a few decades now, there are a gazillion resources for homeschoolers, plus there are bound to be dozens of new short term ones popping up to help through this crazy season. Dig in, grab on, hold on tight, even support someone else just by being part of a group!

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 Here is a quick list I've put together to give you some places to start clicking:

Local provincial/state homeschool groups  
Here's a link to the British Columbia Home Education Association BCHEA Newsletter . There are wonderful helps here addressing the current issues.

Your local community homeschool group (you probably have one!)

Free Early Learning at Starfall – We create free and low-cost experiences whereby children can successfully learn through exploration. On the Starfall website and in Starfall classrooms, children have fun while learning in an environment of collaboration, wonderment, and play. We teach through positive reinforcement to ensure children become confident, intrinsically motivated, and successful.
The following list comes from Crystal Paine at the Money Saving Mom  
She has tons of help for moms, budgeting, schooling etc. plus a great podcast on family life. 

Free Educational Activities for Kids  
** The starred links are ones that we have used and loved! 
Free ABCmouse 30-Day Trial — This online learning academy specializes in full curriculum for children ages 2-8. This is often one of the top purchased iOS kids education apps!
**Free Adventures in Odyssey 4-Week Trial — This is a RARE offer to get free access to over 900 episodes of these popular, kid-friendly audio dramas. My kids have loved these over the years, and we’ve listened to thousands of hours of them! And no credit card is required for this free trial.
Free ReadingIQ 30-Day Trial — This is an online digital library for kids that offers thousands of books for all reading levels. This app helped Silas fall in love with reading and I can’t sing the praises of this reading app enough!
**Free BrainPOP Access for Families — This amazing online program offers all sorts of fun content to facilitate learning across many subjects — including math, science, health, music, and more.
Free Scholastic Online Education Programs — This site features daily projects to keep kids learning, reading, and thinking. Just choose your grade level and get started!
Free Teach Your Monster to Read App — This award-winning iOS app is a phonics and reading game that’s helped millions of children learn to read. It’s regularly $5, so this is a great deal!
Free Adventure Academy 30-Day Trial — This educational MMO game features thousands of enjoyable learning activities that elementary and middle school aged kids can discover on quests through an interactive virtual world.
Free Monarch Homeschool 30-Day Trial — This is a full online curriculum for at-home learning featuring multiple subjects, automatic grading, and so much more. Use coupon code MON30MSM in the promo code box during the sign-up process to get this deal — no credit card required.
Free Ranger Rick Magazine Digital Subscription — This is a perfect freebie for kids who love the outdoors and animals! Each issue is packed with full-color photos of animals and stories of adventure.
Step2 Facebook Live Crafts — Step2 is leading craft activities for kids on Facebook Live video every weekday at 3 p.m. ET. Crafts are made from supplies you most likely already have on hand at home.
Free Audible Books for Kids and Teens — While schools are closed, Audible will be offering free stories to students. There are some great titles to choose from, including children’s books, classics, modern series, and popular teen titles.
Free Homeschool Curriculum & Resources — Be sure to check out our weekly round-up of the best free homeschool curriculum and educational resources! We update this list every Tuesday.
Free Thinkster Math One-Month Trial — This online math program offers a free skills assessment, diagnostic report, and personalized math worksheets for your child. And they’re offering one month for free to all students right now — no credit card required.
**Free Reading Eggs 30-Day Trial — This multi-award winning app helps children become more fluent and proficient readers with just 15 minutes of use each day! And they’re offering a free 30-day trial right now, no credit card required.
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