Afterschoolers

Book: Lighting Their Fires by Rafe Esquith

feeds@yuku.com (captuhura) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:18:53 GMT

I've been meaning to write up my thoughts on Rafe Esquith's new book, Lighting Their Fires. He is the author of Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire and a documentary on his Hobart Shakepseareans. We have a thread on Teach Like Your Hair is On Fire. Rafe's new book is written to the parents. In it, he discusses the need for afterschooling....

Why Higher Math for Many?

feeds@yuku.com (denpratt) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:46:02 GMT

This topic discusses why should most children learn math beyond arithmatic.

This is similar to the discussion of Why should all children learn foreign language? Why should all children learn history? etc. and is closely associated with How do we decide what is taught? and What does "educated" mean to you?

Hands on Equations

feeds@yuku.com (Purplecow7) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:24:03 GMT

http://www.borenson.com/

I know we "talked" about this one before. I had introduced it to my son a few years ago and he thought it was just ok. He was not into it at the time he was more into world problems and strategy based math. However right now he is studying pre-algebra in school with the Everyday Math 6th grade book. He is onced again excited about algebra so I pulled it out last night.

The cool...

Rounding out a math curriculum

feeds@yuku.com (browniegirl1) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:07:35 GMT

I'm finding ds7 is moving too quickly through math that I need to find other fun mathy activities for him to do as well. He's not highly motivated or loving homeschooling as it is but adores games. So I am looking for some other ideas. Here are things we've done so far:

Rush Hour games
Chess (Fritz and Chester on computer)
Mastermind (online version)
Logic links or similar puzzles
Sudoku
Mazes
Blink
Set

Any other great...

What Books Should Kids Read Before Leaving the Home (for Collage or Career not Grandma's lol)

feeds@yuku.com (SgtAmi) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:36:01 GMT

What are your suggestions? What do you wish you had read? Any books make a profound mark on your life?

Literature? History? Economics? Politics? Homemaking? World View?

Video: How Schools Stifle Creativity

feeds@yuku.com (captuhura) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:15:09 GMT

How Schools Stifle Creativity

Virtual Gifted Conference November 8th

feeds@yuku.com (Purplecow7) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:18:35 GMT

http://www.nagc.org/nagcvirtualconvention.aspx

Why oh Why can I get rid of education things....

feeds@yuku.com (Purplecow7) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:14:46 GMT

I am organizing and cleaning. I have moved all my educational things to my bedroom. I have finished with the math and science things. I found this was not bad as most of my math were consumable. Now I am on to the other subjects....and I have work books and things I did not use with my oldest two, I don't really like them...but they might work for my younger two as my youngest learns the most different from all my other children.

Even the material that I don't really...

Parent Teacher Conference 2009

feeds@yuku.com (Purplecow7) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:06:30 GMT

25 minutes for dd 8 third grade - Teacher touched on every subject and how she was doing and what she needed to work on. Basically what we all ready knew. Test taking skills and she needs to slow down. The surprise was that she said dd needed to work on her spelling when she is writing. We had thought she was an advanced speller for her age. What it comes down to is that in her writing spelling is her weakest link. The other things she needs to work on more description in her...

PEPS: Pratt Entrepreneurial Projects School: TOC

feeds@yuku.com (denpratt) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:02:01 GMT

So, I've been exploring all these independent schools, examining what and how and where and why they were teaching, remembering the various educational theorists whom we have studied, and iterating what I individually would like to see in a school.

I plan a series of topics that will suggest an alternative type of school organized around variables that I saw, that seemed...

business, economics field trip...

feeds@yuku.com (curlyQ) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:59:47 GMT

http://www.yacenter.org/index.cfm?fuseAction=youngAmeriTowne.youngAmeriTowne

Every 5th grade class in our district does this program.

Economics: Books that teach Free Market versus Socialism

feeds@yuku.com (denpratt) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:58:38 GMT

This topic stores books that a parent could use to teach principles of a free market system.

The number of books that laud free markets is relatively small; most children's books are Marxist in basic assumptions, and certainly the schools reinforce that implicitly and often explicitly. ASing would be one of the few methods that a child will be exposed to the efficiency, the morality, and the production of free markets. ASing early is necessary as otherwise the...

Examples of strong writing...

feeds@yuku.com (curlyQ) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:44:21 GMT

Captu asked me to start a thread. I don't know of samples of good writing online necessarily but I have some samples that I can retype sections of here I guess. As a 4th grade teacher we focus on moving kids from simplistic topic sentences that sound like, "There are three reasons why skunks are interesting animals." to more complex topics sentences like occasion/position statements or topic sentences that use a subordinate clause. For example, "Even though the...

Article: Value-added Teacher Evalulations

feeds@yuku.com (captuhura) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:42:10 GMT

Value-added Teacher Evaluations

Why Constructivist Teaching Does Not Work

feeds@yuku.com (SgtAmi) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:19:46 GMT

http://d-edreckoning.blogspot.com/2006/10/this-is-your-brain.html

I thought this interesting.

H1N1 vaccines--anyone else's school offering them?

feeds@yuku.com (innmom) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:44:31 GMT

Our state is offering the schools the vaccines. Our elementary school accepted, although at least one neighboring school declined. I haven't heard anything from the middle school.

I had to submit the paperwork today for the elementary school. They are hoping to give the shots next week, with the second round for kids under 9 in early December.

Speaking of which, does anyone know what they recommend for kids who turn 10 after receiving one shot but before getting the...

Alternative: Boston Area Independent Secondary Schools

feeds@yuku.com (denpratt) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:12:24 GMT

(* Vivian and I are visiting all the atheistic independent middle schools we can find to get a sense of what is out there. I will write up notes and perceptions, all colored by my biases, of these schools. *)

We visited Beaver Country Day last week. Beaver Country Day strives to be a "progressive education" philosophy school. (See our topic on alternative education...