Not Another Homeschool Blog

I know you'd rather me not talk about the Zimmerman Trial

Things are strangely quiet around here. There has been nothing on my mind but the Zimmerman trial, and I know that a great deal of my subscribers don't agree with me politically or socially... (but I love you nonetheless). So that told me that they would certainly not agree with me on this trail.

Another reason I have been so quiet is that I am still processing how I feel. Stunned, blown away, confused... this does not even begin to touch on the depth of my feelings.

I went head to head with an old friend who was defending why Zimmerman may have been so gun-shy (realizing the pun) that night, and I really could just not see past my own pain. Nor could I really communicate my pain. I just know that I keep looking at my wonderful son who I put so much effort into raising and homeschooling and I am still wondering how safe he really is.

We made sure he was polite.
We made sure he was smart.
We made sure he was classy and classic.
We made sure he was a man of integrity and honor....

But these are things you cannot tell when you see a young man that it 6'3, 240lbs, and walks with a slow deliberate gait. If it's raining, he may even want to pull on a hood. How does he not look like a profilers definition of a thug? All my work. All my effort. All of his success, and the content of his character is still not the first thing people see?

So excuse me that I can't see past my point of view when looking at this issue, which by the way has NOTHING to do with Zimmerman's actions or motives.

Like I told my old friend, who tried to suggest that we both need to repent for jumping to conclusions...

I can only repent for myself. I can't repent for how some .... person will react to my son. I literally saw a waiter once literally jump 2 feet because my son walked up to him. He was shaking. Took him a minute to calm down, so excuse my reaction, but I am living in a real world of real actions that happen day-in and day-out. I don't want to hear another word about Zimmerman, because at the end of the day, someone's boy got killed over the same assumption that I have SEEN people make about MY kid.

But, who am I to second guess a trial. Who am I to second guess God at work. Maybe being free in a world that is now hostile toward you is punishment enough??? But I have lived long enough to know that such a verdict gives others cart blanche to also say... "that person scared me, or worried me, so I confronted him. He hit me, so I shot him."

Funny, I didn't really mean to write all this, but this is how emotionally twisted up I am. I open my mouth and all this stuff just floods out... and if you know ANYTHING about me, you know that race is always the furthest thing from my mind, but I think I am realizing that at the end of the day, we are STILL considered undesirable by many, and that is not cool.

I thought I was just going to introduce a video here, but still have so much to say... so, let me go ahead and introduce the video. This young lady is a YouTube star, a comedian, and a social activist, and she really does have some great healing things to say about this situation. If you have any attention span left after my diatribe, please watch her video.

Free Biology Resources

Free Video Lectures

http://www.learnerstv.com

This site eliminates the need to search the entire internet for videos.

It sit has compiled video lessons from all over the internet.

You will find: every subject imaginable

LearnersTV offers free learning resources for students on various subject categories. Following is the current list of subjects available as on Monday, August 22, 2011. We will be adding more subjects in future.
Subject Categories

Biology | Physics | Chemistry | Maths-Statistics | Computer-Science | Medical-Science | Dentistry |Engineering | Accounting | Management

McGraw Hill Biology

Mc Graw Hill Biology has an website that can be used in conjunction with the textbook (7 edition). You will find an outline of each chapter, tests, labs, and other activities. This can be used as an outline for teaching biology, or it can be used with the textbook that you can purchase new or used.

A Guide to Online Homeschool Biology Programs

Thanks to generous public and private school teachers and free online curriculum providers, there are a handful of homeschool biology programs online that can be used with or without a textbook.

Human Body Unit Study and Lapbook project

This lesson page will help you teach all about the human body in great detail. It is probably most appropriate for elementary and middle school age and is a great precursor to high school biology.

From the site:

We all have one! We use it every moment of every day-- your incredible human body! What a personal and relevant topic of study for any child!

For the younger students, your study may focus primarily on anatomy, so you will explore the body's organs and body's systems. For older students you may extend the study into physiology and add in thefunctioning of the human body, including its systems, tissues, and cells.

Browse the ideas and links here to plan your human body lapbook, notebook, or unit study.

Anatomy of the Human Body

Anatomy is a sub set of Biology, but a perfectly acceptable course for ahomeschooler.

More specifically, Anatomy is "branch of biology concerned with the study of body structure of various organisms, including humans"

This is an online book provided by Bartelby.com. You could create tests yourself to go along with this text, or have the student write essays to explain what they have learned or to discuss theories. This online book has excellent illustrations.

^ Here's an anatomy coloring book you can use alongside the free online book.

BioInteractive Virtual Science Labs

"The Virtual Labs Series produced by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has won top honors in the Pirelli INTERNETional Award competition. More than 1,200 multimedia entries competed for the Top Pirelli Prize, which recognizes the best multimedia products designed to use the Internet to educate about science and technology"

The Transgenic Fly Virtual Lab
The Bacterial Identification Lab
The Cardiology Lab
The Neurophysiology Lab
The Immunology Lab

List of Virtual Biology Dissections:

I listed a virtual dissection of a cow's eye the other day... Thought you might enjoy this full list:

Net Frog :http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/

Sheep Brain Dissection: The Anatomy of Memory:http://www.exploratorium.edu./memory/braindissection/index.html

Virtual eye Dissection: The Anatomy of an Eye:http://www.eschoolonline.com/company/examples/eye/eyedissect.html

Virtual Pig Dissection: http://www.whitman.edu/biology/vpd/main.html

Salmon Dissection Game: http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00548/DissectionGame.html

Virtual Earthworm Dissection

If you remember dissecting earthworms in science class, then you'll remember that it did nothing to help you learn the anatomy of the earthworm. It was more of an exercise in YUCK!

You can still do the hand's on dissection to learn how to cut and look inside a once living worm, but this virtual earthworm dissection will also give you a more clear view of the parts of the worm and what is inside.

Dissect a cow eye virtually

Courtesy of exploratorium.edu learning studios, you student can watch the dissection of a cow's eye... if they can stomach it. If they want to give it a try themselves (you supply the eye and tools) they can follow along with downloaded step by step instructions.

Enjoy these links to dissection tools and simulated frog dissection kit.

Biology Lab Activities

Here are some more biology lab activities for Biology students.

There should probably be a couple of hands-on labs done, but having virtual options will save you alot of time, money, and heartache.

The following labs are available.

Lab 1: Diffusion & Osmosis

Lab 2: Enzyme Catalysis

Lab 3: Mitosis & Meiosis

Lab 4: Plant Pigments & Photosynthesis

Lab 5: Cell Respiration

Lab 6: Molecular Biology

Lab 7: Genetics of Organisms

Lab 8: Population Genetics

Lab 9: Transpiration

Lab 10: Circulatory Physiology

Lab 11: Animal Behavior

Lab 12: Dissolved Oxygen

Human Anatomy

http://www.visiblebody.com/

The Visible Body is produced by Argosy Publishing. Its diverse groups make Argosy Publishing an award-winning provider of content and technology to the medical, pharmaceutical, scientific, consumer products, television, and educational communities. Visit www.argosypublishing.com and www.argosymedical.com for more information.

Digital Frogs for Humane Biology

Each year, thousands of students sit in biology class with a chemical-soaked frog pinned before them, wondering if there is a better way to learn about anatomy. With today’s advanced technology, there are now many humane alternatives that have been proven to teach just as well or better than dissection. PCRM is pleased to offer a free copy of one of these alternatives, Digital Frog 2, to students, parents, and teachers.
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Top-Notch Science Projects. Detailed Instructions For 47 Top-Notch Elementary School Science Projects.

It takes about 4 hours a day to homeschool

If you've ever wondered why the law only required 4 1/2 hours a day to homeschool, it is because that is pretty much how long it takes. After homeschooling all the way through, my kids spent some days homeschooling for 8 hours, and other days not homeschooling at all, or going to outside classes. They may have done more than an average of 4 hours a day, but they also accomplished a lot more than what is required of a typical student.

This video is specifically about black homeschoolers in Louisiana turning to homeschooling, but one of the teachers/parents makes it clear how much can be accomplished in a short amount of time.

Free American History resources

American History for Middle School and High School

The Simple Homeschool Presents Raising Refounders "shovel ready history for the masses".

This online program teachers all about the founding fathers of our country and has a full years American History Curriculum.

Government Curriculum, free with shipping

This is Choosing Our President and history curriculum is sponsored by Mike Huckabee. It claims to teach history without bias.

Learn Our History’s latest DVD, Election Day: Choosing Our President, is a great way to get your kids excited about the upcoming presidential election. Your kids will join a group of time traveling history students who go back in time to meet past presidents and understand how the United States election process came to be.

History and more for Kids

Kidipede, is a site that middle school homeschoolers will enjoy. It allows you to research to your hearts content form many subjects from science, to geography, to history and even math. They currently have free subscriptions for and links for teachers.

Kidipede - History and Science for Kids is a children's encyclopedia covering mainly history and science topics. Kidipede is entirely online; there is no print version (yet).

Free elementary American History

This free history curriculum was originally written for the target age of eight to nine (3rd grade) but
can easily be used and adapted for other grades and ages. The easiest grades to adapt for and use our curriculum in are 2nd-6th grades. It is also an excellent supplement to any other history curriculum(for a variety of ages) with plenty of "gravy" like worksheets, printables, links, extra reading, crafts, activities and more.

Teach all about westward expansion with this free History Ebook

Americans Move West: The Santa Fe Trail, is an ebook you can download, courtesy of Denver public schools. It is recommended for middle school students with a 3 week dedication reccomendation.

Other units are available through the ALMA PROJECT

The Project has reaped numerous benefits from partnerships with various colleges and universities. We hope to continue to secure agreements with curriculum experts from various institutions and teachers to work directly with the Project. As the Project continues, these partnerships will allow us to broaden the range of topics to be developed.

Black History Month Lessons Plans

Teach your kids more about black history month with these great lesson plans, activities, coloring pages, and more.

Remember that black history does not just include the Civil Rights Movement, but includes many different time periods, including the present. African Americans have contributed a great deal to the history of America. Included below are lesson plans, activities, stories, pictures, coloring pages, and more. These materials can be used in a classroom, for homeschool, for supplemental lessons given by a parent, or just for fun.

Digital History: Online History Textbook

This is an online textbook focusing specifically on American History

This Web site was designed and developed to support the teaching of American History in K-12 schools and colleges and is supported by the Department of History and the College of Education at the University of Houston.
The materials on this Web site include a U.S. history textbook; over 400 annotated documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, courtesy of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, supplemented by primary sources on slavery, Mexican American, Asian American, and Native American history, and U.S. political, social, and legal history; succinct essays on thehistory of film, ethnicity, private life, and technology;multimedia exhibitions; and reference resources that include a database of annotated links, classroom handouts, chronologies, glossaries, an audio archive including speeches and book talks by historians, and a visual archive with hundreds of historical maps and images. The site's Ask the HyperHistorian feature allows users to pose questions to professional historians.