Posts Tagged ‘audio’

All Good Things Must Come To An End

June 5th, 2013

Dear Reader,

For over 21 years I’ve been a homeschool mom, mentor, writer, speaker, coach, author, and entrepreneur. I’ve taken great delight in homeschooling my own sons, and in helping to liberate other families from conventional schooling to live extraordinary lives.

This work has been a labor of love. Since 1992, I’ve been an advocate for home learning regardless of methodology, philosophy, or personal beliefs or affiliations. That inclusivity has resulted in a great deal of support and encouragement from the homeschool community for which I am grateful.

When I was in the thick of homeschooling, I found friendships and support through the work. Once my own sons were launched, I continued to find great satisfaction in mentoring other homeschool families. However, the commitment it takes leaves little room for anything else.

Over the past few years. I have felt a strong sense to reinvent myself and direct my energy in other ways. That tug to do something different started out as a whisper, but its volume has increased to the point where I simply can’t ignore it anymore. There’s something else I’m supposed to be doing and it will not be quieted. So, I’ve made the decision to retire from my usual endeavors and give myself the gift of time to start anew.

It will take a little time to wind things down, but I fully expect to complete the transition by December 31, 2013.

For now, I’m going to stop speaking at conferences, cease private coaching and consultations, and I’m going to discontinue publishing two of my free e-newsletters,Universal Preschool and Carschooling. The last issues of those e-newsletters will be published around July 1st.

The free ClickSchooling e-newsletter will most likely continue through the rest of this year, with the last issue published in December of 2013.

At this time, I don’t have plans to produce or sell any more homeschool products or programs. In fact, I’m having a “Liquidation Sale” from June 21st-25th – and all of the products will be available for 50% off. You’ll receive a separate notice of this sale, so watch for it in your inbox. (Just FYI, my books, Carschooling and Papa’s Pearls, will not be part of the sale, and will continue to be offered on Amazon.com in both print and Kindle versions.)

My websites, Homefires.com, UniversalPreschool.com, ClickSchooling.com, and Carschooling.com, will continue to exist for now, providing free resources and information to visitors worldwide.

I am proud of supporting homeschool families over the years through my websites, teleconferences, speaking engagements, e-newsletters, yahoo groups, coaching services, and products. I am thankful for the remarkable team of partners, collaborators, assistants, and webmasters who have supported my efforts and made it all possible. I have been forever spoiled by their professionalism and generosity.

I am also appreciative for our loyal advertisers, who have sponsored Homefires’ endeavors by trusting us to bring their message of resources and services to the homeschool community.

And to you – my readers, subscribers, customers, and clients – please accept my heartfelt thanks for your support, encouragement, and irrepressible enthusiasm for building better families through homeschooling. It has been my profound pleasure to have served you in your choice to help your children learn without schooling.

If you would like to share your thoughts, comments, or questions on any aspect of this news, you are welcome to do so on my Facebook page athttp://www.Facebook.com/DianeFlynnKeith.

I will keep you posted of the transitions and changes as they occur throughout the rest of this year.

I wish each and every one of you much love and lifelong learning success,

 

Diane Flynn Keith

Editor of Homefires.com

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.

Diane is the author of the rave-reviewed book, “CarschoolingOver 350 Entertaining Games & Activities To Turn Travel Time Into Learning Time” withgames like Windshield Entomology, Road-Cut Geology, 18-Wheeler Chemistry, and Drive-By History that are guaranteed to turn your kids into “Road Scholars”.

Stop by the Carschooling website for tons of resources and activities for you and your family to enjoy atwww.Carschooling.com.

Ms. Keith is also a popular speaker at education conferences throughout the U.S. To learn more about booking Diane for a lively presentation at your next event email: editor@homefires.com

 

Primary Source U.S. History Lessons

May 23rd, 2013

Hi!  It’s Thursday, May 23, 2013 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Teach U.S. History

Age Range: 11-18 (about middle school through high school, with parental supervision)

This website provides primary source materials, lesson plans, audio and video presentations, and supplementary resources such as worksheets and links to other informative websites to help classroom teachers teach U.S. History. Most of the material can be adjusted for use in the homeschool environment.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a welcome message accompanied by a menu on the left side of the screen. Click on “How To Use This Site” to read an outline of what the site provides. Then, simply click on the topics of interest from the menu that includes:

  • American Revolution
  • Indian Removal
  • Isaiah Thomas – Patriot Printer
  • Life in Antebellum America
  • Temperance Reform in the Early 19th Century
  • The Dred Scott Decision
  • The Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas
  • The Second Great Awakening and the Age of Reform
  • War of 1812 and the Hartford Convention
  • Westward Expansion

As you click on each topic a new page opens. There is some inconsistency in the format that can be a little confusing. Some pages open to a splash page, others open to a menu of choices, and others open to a page with a brief overview.  On the latter, it may look as though there isn’t any information – but look on the menu on the left side of the screen and you’ll see that under that topic is a highlighted drop-down menu from which you can select lesson plans and resources.

This site is deceiving. It contains a vast amount of content assembled by teachers and museum curators as you will discover once you start clicking through the resource links. Plan to spend some time here to pinpoint the materials you’ll want to use to supplement your study of U.S. history.

 

Listen to “Paul Revere’s Ride!”

April 17th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, April 17, 2013 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

NPR: Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Age Range: 10 and up (approximately, with parental supervision)

April 18th is the anniversary of Paul Revere’s Ride. In 1775, Revere rode by horseback to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them. A quintessential moment in the American Revolution, it was depicted in the poem, Paul Revere’s Ride, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

At this website, National Public Radio offers a free audio recording of the poem that includes a discussion of the background of Revere’s ride, including the historical inaccuracies in the poem. 

It may be helpful to read the poem as you listen to it recited. Read the poem online or print it out to read offline here: 

http://poetry.eserver.org/paul-revere.html

Then, take a “Virtual Midnight Ride” with this interactive map:

http://www.paulreverehouse.org/ride/virtual.html

 

Learn Latin, Greek, Hebrew & More!

April 13th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Saturday, April 13, 2013 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended website:

Evan Der Millner’s Latinum 

Age Range: 11 and up (approximately, with parental supervision)

This site offers a complete audio course for classical Latin that follows a textbook by George Adler. The website owner recorded himself reading the course material aloud, and you can listen to the audios on his YouTube channel.

Most of the texts he used for the recordings can be downloaded (pdf) for free at the website as well.

In addition to Latin, you’ll find similar resources for learning Hebrew, Greek, French, and English.

Again, all of the materials are presented for free, although a donation is politely requested.

This website is not  particularly user-friendly. It takes some time to click your way around to find the links to the freebies. They are interspersed with links to materials that are for sale. 

The website owner offers all of the course materials for the various language courses on DVD for a fee. Perhaps he hopes you’ll get frustrated trying to find the freebies and simply purchase the DVD.  (LOL.) 

Anyway, a little patience pays off, and you’ll be able to access the free language lessons, as well as lessons in handwriting and math!

Because of the way this site is organized, parents (as always) should preview the materials and supervise all Internet activity.

Free Reading Lessons & Activities for K-3!

April 10th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, April 10, 2013 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

FreeReading.net

Age Range: 5-8 (Grades K-3)

ClickScholar Nancy discovered this website that offers a free, multi-media, open-source instructional reading program that includes a 40-week series of reading lessons covering phonological awareness and phonics activities.

As mentioned at the website, FreeReading provides scope and sequence activities in the following categories:

*Phonological Awareness: Students learn to blend and segment the sounds in spoken words.

*Letter Sounds: Students learn to say the most common sounds for printed letters.

*Letter Writing: Students learn the correct way to write letters.

*Sounding Out: Students learn to produce and blend the letter-sound patterns in written words.

*Word-Form Recognition: Students learn to read written words without sounding them out. (Some educators refer to these words as “sight words.”)

*Irregular Words: Students learn to read high-frequency irregular words by sight.

*Reading Connected Text: Students learn to read their first stories.

*Letter Combinations: Students learn to say the most common sounds for letter combinations such as sh and oa.

*Advanced Phonics: Students learn to read words with features such as inflected endings, silent letters, and multiple syllables.

All of this is accomplished with free, downloadable and printable lessons and materials such as picture cards, word cards, flashcards, word list generators, and much more. You’ll find audio and video aids, too.

When you get to the site, use the menu on the left side of the screen and click on “FAQ” – as it provides a good overview of the site and how to use it to your student’s best advantage.

Free Spelling Games & Activities for K-12!

April 3rd, 2013

Hi!  It’s Wednesday, April 3, 2013 and time for Language Arts at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Vocabulary Spelling City

Age Range: 5-17 (Designed for grades K-12, but most of the activities are geared for elementary grade students.)

This ad-supported website offers free activities and games to help students improve their spelling and vocabulary skills. The activities include audio recordings so you can hear every spelling word pronounced, and also hear it used in a sentence. You can use the word lists provided at the site, or enter words from your own spelling list to generate teaching games and quizzes.

In addition to the freebies, the site offers a “Premium Membership” for a fee – but you don’t need to purchase a thing to access the following:

*Spelling Test Me – Take quizzes to test your spelling skill  on words covering myriad topics such as science, math, history, etc. Try spelling contractions, Dolch Sight Words, SAT Vocabulary and more.

*Spelling Teach Me - Students can choose from predetermined word lists or enter their own spelling words, and then engage in a classic spelling learning method that includes visual and auditory modalities in each lesson.

*Spelling Games and Activities – Play word search, word unscrambles, word matching games and more – that are generated from word lists available at the site or customized from your own word lists.

You’ll also find free, printable handwriting worksheets, and games that teach concepts such as alphabetizing and sentence structure.

Students will naturally intuit how this site works. Parents may find the FAQs helpful in understanding how the site works, and the many features it offers.

Again, you can access the basic games and activities absolutely free without registration.  If you want to save your word lists, then you must register for an account (at no cost). You can also purchase a “Premium Membership” that includes a variety of “extras” that you can learn more about at the website.