Not Another Homeschool Blog

I have read numerous comments that say kids need to be bullied in order to know how to stand up for themselves.  I disagree.  I think kids get enough ribbing from friends and families to cause them to stand up for themselves and shut down the more aggressive in the group.  I was bullied as a child.  I was in Catholic school.  I remember being frozen out of clicks as early as 2nd grade, and by 4th grade, I was the target of a mean group of girls, and at least 1/2 of the class turned against me, with the other 1/2 afraid be my

I realize some people will think I am over reacting, but I ventured onto the youtube education page yesterday, and started clicking around to see what was available.  I came upon a lipdub  done by a high school class.  A lipdub is supposed to be a video done in one take that keeps moving from person to person as they lip sync a song.  I am pretty sure this video was part of an editing project as it was not a true lipdub but clips edited together.  Anyway, it is all good and well except for the song that was chosen... for a class project...  in which a teacher participated. If you have to use bleeping, it probably shouldn't be used for a classroom project. Parents, see this for yourself and let me know what you think. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor

There was a horrible bus accident here in the Atlanta area yesterday.  An incompetent bus driver trainee who already had the parents and kids concerned, flipped a school bus yesterday.  A teenager was crushed under it and died.  Two other kids were badly injured.  As a homeschoolers, I want to think, "I am glad my kids don't ride school buses, so I don't have to worry about that".  But I do.  Anyone with a heart beating in their chest should be concerned about the clear callousness that allowed this tragedy to happen.  The driver had hit a dog just that morning, a student reported.  The dog wasn't even in the street.  This guy could not drive, yet he was handed the lives of our children, and a life was lost. After wanting to know exactly why this guy was driving, I would love to ask why we still don't have sea tbelts on school buses. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor

  Mrs. C has left a new comment on my post " Teach it Till They Learn It ":  in which I talked about my kids struggling with the Cells chapter in biology.  She thought the lesson created for younger kids might be too simplistic but she was wrong.   See here. http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/ sitebuildercontent/ sitebuilderfiles/ botanyfirstchapter.pdf While the chapter was on plant cells, and they are studying animal cells, so I will save it for later. So let me explain why the worksheet sent from Mrs. C was soooo right.  Things are best explained on an elementary level. I have found over the years, when the kids don't get something at a sophisticated and advanced level, to head to the bookstore and pick up a children's picture book.  Once the kids get the simplistic basics, you can them build on it.  So I will be using this unit if necessary when we get to animal cells... so, Thanks Mrs. C. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSIN...

When my kids and their cousins were babies, my father-n-law used to sit all the babies in a circle (aged newborn to about 10) and say the following.  "My Grandpa is the best Grandpa in the Whole Wide World".  He would say this over and over for about 10 minutes.  The older kids, the ones who could talk, would begin to repeat with him. "My Grandpa is the best Grandpa in the Whole Wide World".  When he was happy with the chant (which is what it became), he would bow out of the room leaving the instructions:  "Say it till you know it." The kids are all teenagers and young adults today.  If someone where to stand near them and say, "My Grandpa..."  They would continue by saying "is the best Grandpa in the Whole Wide World".  The programming is complete. This week is the third attempt at testing my kids on The Cell, a biology unit.  They have been completely frustrated from trying to learn all of the little parts and what they do. We d...