TED videos have always been great for kids. We’ve been viewing talks as a family for years, enjoying insights into different ways of thinking. With TED-Ed videos, you can use, tweak, or completely redo any lesson featured on TED-Ed, or create lessons from scratch based on any video from YouTube. The featured lessons are mostly [...]
Archive for the ‘Eclectic Homeschooling’ Category
TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing for Homeschoolers and Unschoolers
Posted by ginac on April 28th, 2012
Posted in Eclectic Homeschooling, Homeschool, Learning Methods, Online Tools, Teaching methods, TED 
Tags: homeschool, Learning, online education, TED, TED-Ed, unschool, video 
Comments OffApple’s Publishing Apps Appeal to Homeschool Authors
Posted by ginac on March 30th, 2012
It’s as if Steve Jobs had homeschoolers in mind when the folks at Apple created the newest version of iBooks. It certainly keeps in step with their mission of magic. iBooks 2 includes the iBooks Author app which may be the coolest thing I’ve seen this year. Granted, it’s barely Spring, but you get the [...]
Posted in Apple, Back to School, Eclectic Homeschooling, Homeschool, iPad, Reading, technology, Writing Tags: Apple, Author, homeschool, iBooks Comments OffKey to Getting into College-Play
Posted by ginac on March 18th, 2012
The fact that your 5 year-old can name all the state capitals, can add and subtract double-digit numbers, and identify nouns and verbs in a sentence might be hindering her ability to get into college when she’s ready. In fact, a 5 year-old who, instead, spends time pretending, playing with toys and peers, and [...]
Posted in Eclectic Homeschooling, Learning Methods Tags: Learning, play, play-based curriculum, Unschooling Comments OffTED Releases Educational Talks For Kids
Posted by ginac on March 12th, 2012
TED, famous for hosting video of inspiring talks by some of the world’s brightest and most creative people, announced TED-style educational videos specifically for children. In fact, TED-Ed will soon be a whole new website centered around learning. Although many standard TED Talks are great for children, the new education section of TED.com promises to [...]
Posted in Eclectic Homeschooling, Homeschool, Learning Methods, Online Tools, TED Tags: Education, Lessons Worth Spreading, TED, TED-Ed, video Comments OffChipotle Commercial Leads to a Lifetime of Teachable Moments
Posted by ginac on February 15th, 2012
The real star at the Grammys this week wasn’t one of the performers. In true Super Bowl style, at least one of the commercials was just as significant as the main event. The restaurant chain Chipotle aired a 2 minute ad during the Grammys that, at least in my mind, blew away anything else from [...]
Posted in Back to School, Eclectic Homeschooling, Environmental Conservation, Food, Homeschool Tags: Chipoltle, Food, organic, sustainable agriculture, sustainable farming Comments Off5 Tips for Preparing for Your Child for the Future
Posted by ginac on February 7th, 2012
Reading and math are important skills. Everyone might agree that they should be included in a learning plan. However, there are numerous ways to engage children in learning–not all of them geared with a look to the future. For example, learning to read is a milestone no matter how it is accomplished. But once it [...]
Posted in Books, Computer Programming, Eclectic Homeschooling, Environmental Conservation, Experiments, Global Homeschooling, iPad, iPod, Languages, Learning Methods, Literacy, Math, Unschooling Tags: curiosity, Diversity, eLearning, Future, hacking, homeschool, technology, unschool Comments OffEx-Stanford Professor Starts His Own Low-Cost Online University
Posted by ginac on January 24th, 2012
Dr. Thrun recognized the power of technology to deliver his course content to over 160,000 students who signed up for his online artificial intelligence course at Stanford University. Dissatisfied with traditional lecture techniques at most higher education institutions, Dr. Thrun started Udacity. Learn more about Udacity or enroll in an upcoming course. Homeschoolers, the Introduction [...]
Posted in Computer Programming, Eclectic Homeschooling, Global Homeschooling, Learning Methods, Online Tools Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, google, Machine Learning, Online Learning, Stanford, Udacity Comments OffTurn Your Child’s Art into a Stuffed Toy
Posted by ginac on December 9th, 2011
Child’s Own Studio hand crafts stuffed toys based on your child’s drawings. The examples on the Child’s Own Studio website show that no matter how crazy-looking the drawing seems, a cute, creative, and beautiful toy emerges. This is such a great idea that I wonder how Child’s Own Studio will keep up with demand as the [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Eclectic Homeschooling, Just for Fun Tags: Childs Own Studio, craft, drawings, stuffed toys, Toy Comments OffGuest Post- Alternate Education Options
Posted by ginac on November 28th, 2011
Alternative Education Some children take to school like a duck to water. From kindergarten upwards, they just seem to fit in: they work hard, please their teachers and play well with their peers. Other children may start off enjoying school, but as the years progress, find they clash with aspects of formal education, perhaps beginning [...]
Posted in Eclectic Homeschooling, Global Homeschooling, Learning Methods, Teaching methods Tags: Alternate education, homeschool, Learning Comments OffHomeschoolers Win National LEGO Contest
Posted by ginac on November 18th, 2011
A North Carolina Homeschooling Family won the 2011 LEGO Smart Creativity Contest in the homeschooling category by showcasing how they use LEGO to make stop-motion animation videos. The family plans to give some of the $2,500 LEGO gift certificates to their local 4-H Lego and Robotics Club. Read more Check out all of the winning [...]
