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Diane Flynn Keith began publishing “ClickSchooling” in the year 2000 while she and her husband, Cliff, homeschooled their sons. Now, Diane’s sons are grown, and she is an internationally recognized voice in education outside the traditional classroom walls.
games like Windshield Entomology, Road-Cut Geology, 18-Wheeler Chemistry, and Drive-By History that are guaranteed to turn your kids into “Road Scholars”.
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180 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA
94030
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ClickSchooling Is On Summer Vacation & More!
July 26th, 2010 by admin No comments »ClickSchooling Is On Summer Vacation!
July 19th, 2010 by admin No comments »
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Homefires
180 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA
94030
US
If you no longer wish to receive communication from us:
Cancel
To update your contact information:
Update
Science with Butterflies
July 13th, 2010 by admin No comments »Hi! It’s Tuesday, July 13, 2010 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
The Children’s Butterfly Site
Age Range: 4-10 (approximately)
For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you’ve seen the pictures of my family’s garden this year which has attracted a variety of butterflies. We’ve been using field guides to identify our guests that have included a Western Tiger Swallowtail, a Monarch butterfly, and what we think is a Cabbage White butterfly. They flutter by so quickly that we don’t always have a chance to identify them.
Because my family is intrigued with butterflies, I stumbled upon this website that I thought many of you would enjoy. Sponsored by the Big Sky Institute at Montana State University, you’ll find free information on the life cycle of butterflies, a stunning photo gallery of moths and butterflies, links to teaching and learning tools, and even printable science coloring pages!
When you get to the site you’ll see the features that include:
*Coloring Pages – Get coloring pages of a butterfly egg, larva, chrysalis (pupa), and an adult butterfly. You’ll also find a link to a lesson plan based on Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
*Frequently Asked Questions – This is a great resource for learning about moths and butterflies, their anatomy (find out if they have brains and hearts), life cycle, habitats, and behavior. Are butterflies poisonous? How did they get their name? How do you say “butterfly” in other languages? The answers are all here.
*Life Cycle – Enjoy a simple explanation of a butterfly’s life cycle illustrated with terrific photos. This is perfect for kids!
*Links - For those kids (and adults) that want to know more, this is a wonderful archive of links to butterfly and entomology websites in the U.S. and worldwide. Not only will you find more info, but links to sites like Insect Lore where you can buy butterfly-themed games, puppets, and toys. There are even links to conservation programs that you can participate in as a citizen-scientist.
*Galleries – Marvel at these amazing photographs of moths and butterflies from all over the world.
*Teaching and Learning Tools – Watch videos about butterflies, get a bibliography of field guides and reference books that include activities you can do at home – like growing a butterfly garden to attract these fascinating creatures to your backyard.
And for those of you studying foreign languages, you’ll find translations of the life cycle overview in French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch.
Mix In Math
July 12th, 2010 by admin No comments »Hi! It’s Monday, July 12, 2010 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
Mixing In Math
Age Range: 4-12 (grades PreK-6)
Just in time for summer learning! Mixing In Math (MiM), funded by the National Science Foundation, provides educators and parents with free activities, games and resources that provide ways to mix math into daily activities (e.g., hanging around the house, playing games, doing crafts, cooking, shopping, etc.) to help kids see the value of math in every day life and to reinforce their math skills.
It is difficult to describe the wealth of material here in both English and Spanish that includes ingenious suggestions for math activities designed for 1-4 participants that can be done in:
- Under 10 minutes
- 10-20 minutes
- 20-60 minutes
The activities cover math strands that include:
- Numbers and Arithmetic
- Measurement
- Money
- Time
- Data
- Patterns and Algebra
- Geometry
When you get to the site you’ll see some icons that lead to explanations of what is available on the site. You can click around and quickly find activities and resources. I recommend that you use the horizontal menu bar at the top of the page and place your cursor over “Materials” to see a drop-down list that includes:
*Activity List – See a list of over 60 activities that help kids practice math skills. Click on any one and a new page opens with colorful instructions, examples, and variations. Some are simple such as: “It’s about 4:25. We’ll have snack in 20 minutes. What time will that be?” and some require more time and preparation such as graphing how tall house plants grow.
*Download Activities – This list is the same as the one above, except each activity opens a pdf file. Print out one activity or print out all of them and place them in a binder to use at will.
*Games – This section provides printable “game boards” for activities that provide practice in math and critical thinking skills.
*Calendars – Download and print out a year’s worth of calendars with simple math activity suggestions such as count the seeds in an apple or find the number 24 on something in your kitchen.
*Posters – Print out posters with provocative math questions. Post one on the wall and see if it inspires your kids to find the answer to these puzzles: “Up to how many miles away can a lion’s roar be heard?” “What’s about the same size as a Blue Whale’s heart: a mailbox, a VW beetle, or a UPS truck?”
*Newsletters – Access the archived MiM newsletters with all kinds of additional lesson ideas and activities for learning math.
*Mixing in Math Moments – Print out individual sheets with a “Math Moment” to inspire kids to do a quick math activity or as a way to give kids something to do.
*Activity Search – Search the activities based on parameters such as grade level from Pre-K through 6, length of activity, materials, math strand, and type of activity. Note: Too many limitations can lead to a “not found” message. It’s better to select just one or two options to limit your search if you want good results.
While MiM was designed with classroom teachers in mind, I think it’s a no-brainer for homeschool parents who want to encourage their kids to see that there are opportunities to learn math everywhere.
Fun Foreign Language Activities
July 10th, 2010 by admin No comments »Hi! It’s Saturday, July 10, 2010 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
Apples4TheTeacher: Foreign Languages
Apples4TheTeacher.com is a massive ad-supported and subscription website with all kinds of learning resources and tools for teachers and kids. They offer free resources as well.
In fact, I found a selection of free, interactive foreign language games that help kids practice learning American Sign Language, Spanish, and more.
When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu at the top of the screen that includes the following selection:
*American Sign Language – Type in letters of the alphabet and the hand signs for each letter will appear. Print out sign language flash cards.
*Gaelic (Ireland) Games – The activity here won’t help you learn Gaelic – but it will help you learn about Ireland! You can listen and read along with an ebook about Ireland presented by Irish children. You will hear a sample of a child reading Gaelic too.
*Polish Games – Count backwards from 20 in Polish to reveal a dot-to-dot picture.
*Spanish ESL Games – Designed for Spanish speakers who are learning English words and phrases, this extensive archive of games will work in reverse as well. The more you play, the more you’ll learn! It includes games that teach vocabulary and phrases for:
- Parts of the Body
- Clothes
- Drinks
- Family
- Fruits and Vegetables
- Routines
- In the Shops
- Sports and Pastimes
- Travel
- Weather
- ~ and Many More!
*Spanish Games – Learn the Spanish alphabet, do a dot-to-dot puzzle to practice counting in Spanish, learn the parts of the face, and count backwards in Spanish.
Some of the games allow you to select the difficulty and speed level to customize them for your use.
Virtual Field Trip Earth
July 9th, 2010 by admin No comments »Hi! It’s Friday, July 9, 2010 and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
Field Trip Earth
Age Range: 10 and up (Younger children and non-readers may enjoy aspects of this site with adult guidance.)
ClickScholar Cie recommended this website that offers free virtual field trips to wildlife conservation projects taking place worldwide.
Some of the field trips are live, allowing students to interact with researchers in the field. Others are archived past projects. All of them include interviews with field researchers and wildlife experts, stunning slideshows, and suggestions for classroom activities on how to further learning (some of which can be tweaked for the homeschool environment).
When you get to the site you’ll see a map of the Earth. Use the airplane cursor to virtually fly to destinations that include:
*Field Trips – These are the current projects that researchers are doing. In the U.S., head to the American Southwest to see Mexican Wolves or “fly” to the East Coast to learn about Atlantic Sea Turtles. Visit the carnivores of Sri Lanka in India, or learn about the recovery program that saved the Przewalski Horse in China. Visit the African elephants or join a Whale Shark expedition.
*Field Reports – These are the archived projects that are no longer active. Learn about Brown Bears in Alaska, search for wild chinchillas in Chile, survey wildlife in Nigerian forests, and swim with fur seals in New Zealand.
Visitors to this site will learn all about the science of conservation, the geography of the world, and a lot about zoology as they investigate endangered species and their habitats.
When you’re through taking the field trips be sure to use the menu to explore all of the fascinating research and information on this site. Bookmark it, one visit won’t be enough.
Unschool Your Teen Seminar!
July 8th, 2010 by admin No comments »|
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Virtual Volcano!
July 8th, 2010 by admin No comments »Hi! It’s Thursday, July 8, 2010 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
Discovery Channel: Virtual Volcano
Age Range: 9 and up (Younger children may enjoy some aspects, with parental guidance.)
The Discovery Channel offers this terrific, free Virtual Volcano animation where you can learn about the geography and geology of our world, discover the three types of volcanoes, and build your own volcano and watch it erupt!
When you get to the site just click on “enter” to explore global tectonic plates and see where volcanoes are located throughout the world. Use the menu to learn more including:
*Global Perspective – Find out where the “Ring of Fire” is located and see the layers that make up our planet including earth’s crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, and inner core.
*Volcano Types – Find out the differences between Stratovolcano, Cinder Cone, and Shield volcanoes.
*Inside a Volcano – See the Magma chamber and learn about the central vent, crater, fissures and more.
*Virtual Volcano – Build your own volcano! Adjust the gas and viscosity settings to build a volcano – and watch it erupt! (Be sure to turn your speakers on.)
This engaging and fascination presentation is an adjunct to a Discovery Channel episode on the ancient city of Pompeii that was buried and destroyed by ash from an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Don’t miss this website exhibit of Pompeii: The Last Day, a companion to the broadcast.
Language Arts Videos, Songs, Worksheets, Flashcards, & More!
July 7th, 2010 by admin No comments »Hi! It’s Wednesday, July 7, 2010 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
Have Fun Teaching
Age Range: 5-12 (Grades K-6)
This website offers all kinds of free, fun resources to teach and learn Language Arts (and Math, Science, and Social Sciences) through videos, songs, worksheets, flashcards, and games. Created by an elementary school teacher for classroom teachers, it provides an archive of free resources to engage and educate kids in grades K-6.
When you get to the website you’ll see a menu of resources that are offered on the site. For this review, I was specifically interested in seeing what they offered for Language Arts, and discovered the following resources:
*Worksheets – Under “English” you’ll find printable worksheets that offer practice in grammar and parts of speech such as adverbs, adjectives, nouns, etc. You’ll also find worksheets for Handwriting, Phonics, Reading and Writing. Click on the topics to find an extensive menu that provides practice sheets in everything from basic alphabet to reading comprehension, spelling, and more.
*Flash Cards – Print out flash cards to practice grammar, common and proper nouns, phonics, and vocabulary including synonyms and antonyms.
*Songs For Kids – You’ll find downloadable songs and lyrics that help kids learn grammar, phonics, and even a song for learning strategies for taking reading comprehension tests!
*Educational Videos – Watch video lessons that teach about nouns, similes, subjects and predicates, and more.
*Fun Activities – Get printable crossword puzzles, word searches, and even reader’s theater scripts (so you can act out some favorite books).
You’ll also find thousands of free, themed coloring pages.
Bookmark this site and use it as a year-round supplement to learning elementary subjects, or just have fun exploring the games, puzzles and activities with your kids.
Physics In Pictures!
July 6th, 2010 by admin No comments »Hi! It’s Tuesday, July 6, 2010 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!
Recommended Website:
Physics Central: Physics In Pictures
Age Range: 10 and up (about middle school and beyond, but younger children may enjoy aspects of the site as well)
Want to get your physics on? This is the place! The American Physical Society sponsors this exciting website that demonstrates through multi-media technology, how things work and the importance of physics to everyone. You’ll find free information on the physics of light, sound, matter and more in the form of articles, animations, and videos.
The site is massive, so I’m featuring one of the most engaging sections for this review called “Physics In Pictures.” It provides virtual “illustrations of nature’s infinite variety and humankind’s ingenuity.”
Each picture and title entices you to want to know more. You can explore the science content by reading a brief explanation and then further your learning with links to stories on related current physics research. Your brain can take a quick dip in the physics waters or dive in and soak it all up.
When you get to the site, you’ll see some featured “Physics Pictures” that include:
- Perfect Spheres to Test Einstein
- A Free Floating Plasma Orb or Squid Ghost
- Dust Devils on Mars!
Click on any one to learn more. Then, if you look at the menu on the right side of the screen, you’ll see a list of “Physics in Pictures by Topic” that includes:
- Atomic
- Biology and Medicine
- Chaos
- Computational
- Earth Science
- Light
- Matter
- Sound
- Space and the Universe
- Subatomic
Click on a topic to explore more. When you’re through, use the menu at the top of the screen and click on “Ask & Experiment.” You’ll be rewarded with experiments to try at home along with other activities sponsored by this website.
