Arts Alive While this site is designed to give resources that align with Canadian curriculum requirements, it is a wealth of information for homeschoolers about composers and more!

k-12 Resources has links…links…and more links to resources

Suzuki Association has resources for parents

One of my favorite resources to use is our local universities that have music departments.  They have free concerts on a regular basis which are a great way to introduce your children to a variety of music.  Many professors and students offer lessons to children.   My daughter takes harp lessons from a professor at one of our local universities.  If you call the music department office, they will be able to tell you when student and staff recitals are.

What are some of your favorite sites to find music related info?  I will be sharing more of mine over the coming weeks.

1.  NASA has all sorts of great science resources.  They have a lot of videos and live feeds that are great for homeschoolers.

2.  Home Science Tools is a wonderful source for lab equipment for homeschool families.  They also  have lots of great gift ideas.

3.  Steve Spangler Science is the place to go if you are looking for some quick and engaging science experiments to wow your students.

4.  NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Another favorite in our house for science fun!

5.   Local science centers such as the Discovery Center in Springfield, Missouri or the St. Louis Science Center.  Be sure to check our your local science centers.  Many have special events just for homeschoolers!

I’m in the process of writing a post about this video.  I plan to post it later this week.

I try to include community service activities in our schedule on a regular basis.  I feel it is important for our children to learn to “give back” on a regular basis.  I hope they are learning to be generous with their time and money.  I think the message is sinking in based upon comments that my son has made recently. 

He asked if it was possible for us to cook again for the Ronald McDonald House.  He said this out of the blue and it totally made me smile.  He started talking about the last time we fixed dinner for the guests at the house and how special the evening was.  Why did it make me smile?  He was talking about something that occurred a couple of years ago. I told him I would email the homeschool mom who coordinated the event last time to see if they have anything scheduled soon.   I love seeing proof of a lasting impression on him from the service he gives. 

The last project we did was helping in a school supply drive for public school students.  The kiddos had fun picking out new school supplies for others.  They agree that there is just something magical about a new box of crayons and they wanted to make sure others got to experience that. 

Do you have any great ideas for community service projects?  I would love to hear them!  Just leave a comment below. 

Little things make a big difference.  I hope my children are learning that while we can’t change the world alone, we can make small differences.  If everyone would make small differences in their communities we could change the world. 

What does that tell you about me?

Well obviously it means that I hate blue.

Wait….

What????????

I’m sure you are thinking that there are a few flaws with the reasoning of the above statement.  I’m just applying similar reasoning strategies that people use when they make assumptions after learning that we homeschool for academic reasons from a secular point-of-view.

My Facebook status earlier was:

“Why is it some people automatically assume that
if you believe x you must be against y?”

Why was that my status?  To explain that we have to rewind to a couple of weeks ago…

*****I am sorry that you cannot read this post as I wrote it.  Details about local homeschool groups have been removed from my blog.  Long story really…….*****

The content of some of the emails is why my status on Facebook currently reads:

“Why is it some people automatically assume that
if you believe x you must be against y?”

Yes, we homeschool from a secular point-of-view.  That does not mean we are anti-religion.  People who homeschool for academic reasons and/or from a secular point-of-view are a pretty diverse bunch.

On the “Define Heathen” page of this blog, I write….

“A lack of religion is not a requirement to be considered a Heathen Homeschooler. Many people who classify themselves as a Heathen Homeschooler consider themselves to be highly religious individuals, but choose to separate religious studies from the general education of their children. Heathen Homeschoolers come from wide variety of religious affiliations.”

My friend Rachel commented on my Facebook status shortly after I posted.  She wrote:

“Interesting…I always get that feeling! Just because I believe I’m right, doesn’t mean that I believe somebody else is wrong…everybody has their own beliefs, priorities, lifestyles…Our differences should be celebrated, thank goodness we’re not mindless robots that agree with everything all the time!”

She’s right….

My favorite color is purple.

Don’t assume I hate blue.

Over the years I have seen school districts try to ban a variety of books including the classics and modern works that are highly recommended.  I always follow news stories about area schools trying to ban books.  I don’t understand why some adults are quick to judge a book to be so terrible that it must be banned. 

A small, rural school district less than two hours from us has upheld their April book banning decision.   The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indianby Sherman Alexie has been banned from the school libraries at all levels.  The school board won’t even allow it to be placed on reserve with restricted borrowing at the high school level.  According to an article in the News-Leader, the primary concern is the language that is used in the book.  Board member Rod Tucker told the newspaper that “it had too much profanity to be of value”.  Other complaints about the book include vivid descriptions of masturbation, sexual overtones, alcoholism, racism and violence.  

The book has received numerous awards since it was released in 2007.  I purchased the book over the weekend in order to be able to write my personal review in the near future. 

If you have already read the book, what are your thoughts? 

What are your thoughts about banning books? 

Disclosure:  The link to the Alexie book is an Amazon affiliate link. 

I mistakenly thought I would keep up with my writing the first week that fall activities started.  Mental note…write a few posts in advance when major schedule changes are going to occur.

So I left everyone hanging for a week now with the last Wordless Wednesday.  What does a bunch of music books and recorders have to do with me?

*****I am sorry that you cannot read this post as I wrote it.  Details about local homeschool groups have been removed from my blog.  Long story really…….*****

In other news…

~ My son quit martial arts.

~ My daughter is starting harp lessons on Friday – I will write about that next week.

~ My grad classes and hubby’s final semester as an undergrad began last week.  We are readjusting to having homework again.  That reminds me….I need to read for tomorrow….

Do any of you participate in local groups?  Have activities started for the fall yet?

I bet you are trying to figure out what happens when you combine Heathen Mom, recorders and music books….You can find out in a post later this week.

]]> http://heathenhomeschoolers.com/2010/wordless-wednesday-what-is-heathen-mom-up-to/feed/ 0 http://heathenhomeschoolers.com/2010/simple-nature-crafts/ http://heathenhomeschoolers.com/2010/simple-nature-crafts/#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:33:12 +0000 Heathen Mom http://heathenhomeschoolers.com/?p=931 My kiddos love being crafty.  It doesn’t matter what kind of craft it is, they enjoy the time we spend making crafts.  I view it is a fun way to spend time with the children and to see where their creativity takes us.  We especially love activities that combine crafts and nature.  Craft time with your children does not have to include a large complicated project.  Sometimes it is the smallest of projects that bring the most joy.  Today I am telling you about just a few ways you can combine craft time with nature time.

* It’s for the Birds:  Take your craft materials outside on a blanket to enjoy nature as you create some easy to make bird feeders.  We sometimes purchase wooden ones from a local hobby store to paint, but you could also just make a feeder from materials you find around your house.  Peanut butter, bird seed and a pine cone is a quick fix to feed the hungry birds in your backyard.  We have even strung soft apples on a piece of rope to hang from a branch.

* Pots, pots and more pots:  Terracotta pots usually go on sale in the fall.  I tend to buy several in various sizes to use throughout the year during our craft time.  Children can paint the pots or create colorful mosaic designs on them.  These are great to use for plants, herbs, robot building, gifts and more.

* Flowerbed art:  Let your children create colorful flower stakes to put into your flowerbeds.  These colorful stakes are a playful addition to any garden.

* Nature walks:  My kiddos love taking nature walks.  They also have nature journals to draw scenes from nature, attach photos taken during the walks, make rubbings of interesting leaves, etc.  We have hours upon hours of crafty fun for only the price of a blank sketch book.

This is just a small sample of the quick and easy nature crafts that we do throughout the year.  The important thing to remember is that craft time doesn’t have to be complicated or cost prohibitive.  Children are so creative when given just the most basic of craft supplies.  Set out a few supplies and see what adventures outside your children find.

What type of nature crafts do you enjoy doing with your children?