Monday, June 15, 2009

Father's Day Craft

Check out my most recent post to handmadenews.org


It's is a quick and easy Father's Day gift to make!

Mom's are so easy to please when it comes to crafts made by their children. But Dads, well, they like something a little bit more practical. So why not make him something he can use all year. Get it? Coffee can??

Oh, I am so bad! I can never resist a pun!

Anyway. Have a peek at this article and see how it's made!
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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Do you Google?

Do you use google? Sure you use google as a seach engine... but do you REALLY use google?

Google is much more than a search engine. Their account service i-google wants to be our online solution to a harddrive and computer software!
Google Docs is a feature that lets you create documents for sharing or editing online.


For example, I began this document in my gmail account as an emailand then sent it to my google docs address. From there, I could continue to work on it from any computer that has internet access and finally I could blog it instantly with blogger or send it to a friend for collaboration or sharing! No need for a word processing software on my computer and able to be shared with any other computer (PC or mac.)

How easy is that?

Get your own Google account simply by signing up!

And if you'd like an easy-to-use photo interface that also makes blogging instanateous, then check out Picasa, by Google! Just choose a picture and click blog this! Thanks google.

If you are using google in a way that makes your life easier please tell me, as I have discovered all the things I know about google by accident!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Handmade News

Homeschoolers are always on a quest for creative ways to offer up curriculum.

Arts, crafts, science, math. You name it! We want hands on ways to teach it.

A great place to find for a full range of craft instructions and ideas can be found at handmadenews.org. They have a Crafty Kids department with ideas that kids can do themselves, and there are many other departments which highlight green crafts, craft techniques, business tips and more!

I believe in teaching my kids to be self-sufficient and to work at entrepreneurial enterprises. Handmade news is a trove of resources to help with this. Have a peek if you'd like some inspiration, or just for the plain fun of it!

Oh, and did I forget to mention…I’m one of their newest columnists! Yay for me!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Charles Darwin

Many of us who have studied Biology and Genetics have heard of the famous biologist, Charles Darwin. Well, this past week the 2 boys got a chance to live the history of this famous historical figure.

National Geographic and PBS television have teamed up to begin producing a movie about the life of Charles Darwin. And guess who was cast to play 2 of his sons? That's right - my boys! So, our Biology/History studies this week took on the form of reinactment! One scene at a time.

Keep your eyes out for this as it will be televised on Nova, likely in December of 2009. I'll try to remember to post again when we know a specific air date!

Don't you just love those hats and jackets??
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Thursday, June 4, 2009

Inuksuk





We've been learning about Inuksuk!  What fun.

In case you don't know what an inuksuk is....It's a Canadian indiginous place marker.
They have been used for thousands of years by the Inuit, Canadian Arctic people, to mark an important location.  

An inuksuk (pronounced Ee nook sook) is used to mark a spot where surplus food has been stored, or to tell about a prime location for hunting or fishing.   They also were used for marking a good resting place, or to indicate a residence.  

Inuksuit (the plural form of inuksuk) were originally built in unique shapes to give specific meaning.  But, more recently, they have come to resemble the shape of stone people. 

We built an inuksuk in our backyard.  

First we collected up the required stones 


Next, we decided on a good way to arrange them.



Next was the tricky part, stacking them!

We wanted ours to look like a person!

And here it sits, to welcome us and our friends!

To learn more about inuksuk visit this site: