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Archive for the ‘electives’ category

How To Create Sound Effects

November 12th, 2011

Hi! It’s Saturday, November 12, 2011, and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Art of Foley

Age Range: 9 and up (with parental supervision)

ClickScholar Fran from Florida recommended this website with a brief introduction to the craft of “Foley” sound effects that uses all kinds of props to create or augment sounds in films.

When you get to the site you’ll see an icon menu at the bottom of the page that includes:

*What is Foley? – A definition of Foley sound effects.

*How It’s Done – Discover how Foley sound tracks are made including the “Moves” (sounds characters make when they move), “Footsteps” (the sound of walking across different surfaces), and “Specifics” (the sounds of things the characters touch, etc.).

*The Story of Jack Foley – Read a short bio about the guy credited with creating this sound effect system.

*A Career In Foley – Find out how the person who created this website got a job creating Foley sound effects.

The site is designed “to educate and inspire those interested in the craft of film sound effects.”

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Posted in electives

Tags: art electives

Free Coloring Pages, Dot-To-Dots, Puzzes, And More!

September 17th, 2011

Hi! It’s Saturday, September 17, 2011 and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Coloring4All

Age Range: 4-10 (approximately, with parental supervision)

A ClickSchooling subscriber suggested this Google-ad supported website that offers a range of fun, free, creative activities for kids. When you get to the site you’ll see a brief introduction, an icon menu of online coloring pages, and a horizontal menu that includes:

*Coloring – Children can virtually color pictures of cartoon and storybook characters as well animals and everyday things.

*Printables – Print out black and white drawings of favorite storybook and animation characters as well items like flowers and a snowman – and color them offline.

*Puzzles – Put jigsaw puzzles together online. Choose from a selection of images, then click a button to cut it into jigsaw pieces. Drag-and-drop the pieces into place.

*Drawing – Virtually draw anything you like online. Simply select the colors and tools you want to use and create your very own masterpiece.

*Dot-to-Dot – You can play these games online or print them out to do offline. Simply draw a continuous line, following a sequence of numbered dots, to reveal a picture of a rabbit, mushroom, elephant, and more! A great way to practice number and counting skills!

Because there are randomly generated Google Ads on this site, parents should preview the site and supervision Internet use.

1 comment »

Posted in art, electives

Tags: activities coloring counting drawing electives flowers fun games kids play practice puzzles

Free Travel Games, Arts, & Crafts!

July 16th, 2011

Hi! It’s Saturday, July 16, 2011 and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

ClickScholar Chris in Virginia shared this website where you’ll find an assortment of free travel games and much more!

When you get to the site, scroll down the page to find suggestions for fun ways to spend time while traveling on long car rides or trips on a bus, train, or plane including:

Name That Song
Animal Counting Game
I’m Going On A Trip And I’m Bringing…
Funny Story Telling Game
Funny Poem Game
Spelling Bee Contest
Guess The Number
Alliteration Words Game
Colors Matching Game
Car Color Game
20 Questions
Rock, Paper, Scissors

Then, explore the rest of the site where you’ll find free arts and crafts indexed by theme, holiday, or alphabetically and other activities and resources such as paper folding, drawing lessons, and coloring pages.

By the way, if you enjoy fun educational travel games, you’ll love my book, Carschooling: Over 350 Entertaining Games & Activities To Turn Travel Time Into Learning Time!

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Posted in electives

Tags: activities arts counting crafts electives fun game games lessons matching other resources spelling

YouTube Zoo and Much More!

June 4th, 2011

Hi! It’s Saturday, June 4, 2011 and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Lil’ Fingers: You Tube Zoo

Age Range: 2-6 (Designed with young children in mind, but folks of all ages will enjoy the animal videos.)

Designed by a computer usability professional, Lil’ Fingers is a friendly website for the littlest computer users with free animated and narrated storybooks, interactive educational games, coloring pages – and a terrific archive of over 100 animal videos in their YouTube Zoo!

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of “Animal Zones” including:

*African Region – See eagles, hyenas, meerkats and more.

*Elephant Jungle – Watch camels, capybaras, elephants, guanacos, etc.

*Asia Adventure – View monkeys, hornbills, bears, and porcupines.

*Forest Fun – Observe birds, owls, okapis, otters, etc.

*Polar – Check out penguins, polar bears, reindeer, and a walrus.

*Outback – Watch koalas, kangaroos, a monitor lizard and more!

As explained at the website, “All videos have been reviewed to not include animals mating, killing or bodily functions.” Plus, because you watch the videos on this website, you don’t have to be concerned about shielding your kids’ eyes from inappropriate comments that are sometimes posted by random visitors on the YouTube site.

When you’re through watching videos, be sure to use the vertical menu on the left side of the screen to access the animated and narrated storybooks, play interactive computer games that teach as they entertain, and print out coloring pages that include the alphabet, numbers, shapes, animals, events, and much more!

This is an ad-supported website. Parents, as always, should preview the site to determine suitability of content and supervise all Internet use.

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Posted in electives

Tags: birds electives fun games interactive kids numbers play shapes

Free Dot-to-Dot, Maze, & Writing Worksheets

April 16th, 2011

Hi! It’s Saturday, April 16, 2011 and time for Electives at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
WorksheetLab.com

Age Range: 3-7 (older children may enjoy some of these activities too)

This website was recommended by Brett Walter of the HomeschoolBuyersCo-op.org. It’s a database of free printable worksheets with fun activities for small motor development, artistic expression, learning writing skills, and more.

When you get to the website, you’ll see an image menu of some featured worksheets. Click on any one and a new page opens where you can print out the worksheet to do offline.

Use the vertical menu on the left side of the pages to access all of the content at this site including:

*Pre-Writing – Print out worksheets of Mazes, Dot-to-Dot, Drawing, and Coloring activities.

*Writing – Practice uppercase, lowercase, and titlecase writing.

*Numbers – Practice writing numerals and do counting activities.

*Concepts – Look for objects that start with a specific letter, learn concepts such as inside and outside, play matching games.

*Papercraft – Get printable templates for cutting and folding paper animals and more!

This free site is sponsored by PlayOdyssey.com that sells reusable sticker kits, paper craft kits, software and more.

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Posted in electives

Tags: activities counting electives fun games matching numbers play practice worksheets writing

Music Theory Lessons & Activities

February 12th, 2011

Hi! It’s Saturday, February 12, 2011 and time for Music at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
MusicTheory.net

Age Range: 6 and up (with parental guidance; non-readers will need assistance)

At this deceptively simple site you can learn music theory and more for free! If you have a passion for music or just want to get the hang of it, you’ll enjoy the activities, many of which contain audio clips to enhance learning.

When you get to the site you will see tabs for “Lessons,” “Exercises,” and “Tools.” Choose the “Exercises” tab to jump right to the activities and quizzes where you can learn and/or test your knowledge about:

Notes
Key Signatures
Generic & Specific Intervals
Chords
The Keyboard
The Fretboard
Interval, Scale, & Chord Ear Training

Each exercise can be set to the most basic level or customized to your preferred level. Take the quizzes to test what you know. For example, try and identify the scales by ear. If you get too many wrong answers on the quizzes, you can go to the lessons and study to learn more. Then try the quizzes again.

Music students of all ages will enjoy the ”Tools” section that lets you create music pieces and then run an analysis to tell you what you have done. Fun stuff!

Enjoy!