Social Studies Resource: What The World Eats

This article features pictures of what a family eats in a week in different locations around the world. It is a fascinating window into the home life of others! You can discuss with your students what kinds of foods the people eat. Are they mainly packaged or mainly items cooked from scratch? How do the people look? Do they seem healthy? How much money do you think the families have? Where do you think they shop for their foods? Pair this article with a map or globe and you have a great lesson on the people of the world!

Updated 3/25/2020.

Teach With Movies

Today I found Teach With Movies. "Beginning with just a handful of Learning Guides in 1998, TeachWithMovies.org has grown to encompass more than 450 Learning Guides and lesson plans, as well as articles on using movies to further education."

Updated 3/25/2020.

The Eclectic Education Series

Today I want to share with you The Eclectic Education Series:

"The Eclectic Education Series, or EES, is a set of textbooks which from roughly 1865 to 1915 WAS education in the United States, almost exclusively. These books provided Americans with a brand of textbook they could trust, the EES. The authors commissioned to do the various line of textbooks were at the top of their fields. No expenses were spared in preparing these incredible textbooks. Original art was commissioned for them, and they were refined and honed through multiple revisions over decades. As an added bonus, all of the books were written by Christian authors whose values were part of the backbone of early America. The result? A hundred million students in one-room schoolhouses got first-rate educations using the EES- and went on to build and shape America."

You can get the whole series on CD here: http://www.dollarhomeschool.com/index.html 

Updated on 3/25/2020.

Virtual Field Trips

Virtual field trips are something I want to explore for my own homeschool. Here are several lists of virtual field trips:

•  25 Amazing Virtual Field Trips for Kids
•  28 free virtual field trips and activities for families
•  Caitie's Classroom Filed Trips
• VirtualFieldTrips.org

Have you used virtual field trips? Which have you enjoyed?

Updated 3/27/2020.

HSLDA Member Discounts

Today, I wanted to tell you about HSLDA Perx:

"We understand the value of a dollar. Through our program, we offer discounts that are both substantial and practical. Unlike the stock market, with this program the value of your membership can only increase. Watch for new discounts in the coming months."

HSLDA Members enjoy discounts on top of some of the best legal help in the world. Check it out, if you haven't already.

Updated 3/27/2020.

Making Informed Media Choices

Updated 3/24/2020.

Today's post is about sites we have found to help parents make informed decisions about what media they allow their kids to consume.

1) The Dove Foundation. "The Dove Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to encourage and promote the creation, production, distribution and consumption of wholesome family entertainment. We are supported primarily by donations from families such as yours who want to move Hollywood in a more family-friendly direction."

They give great reviews that tell you specifics about objectionable material.


2.  Common Sense Media. "Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology.

We exist because our nation's children spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their families or in school, which profoundly impacts their social, emotional, and physical development . As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, we provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume."

They probably have the broadest selection of media to choose from, including games and books.

3. Movieguide."MOVIEGUIDE® was founded in 1985 by Dr. Ted Baehr, past president of the Episcopal Radio & Television Foundation and former director of the Television Center at the City University of New York. A graduate of high distinction in Comparative Literature from Dartmouth College, Dr. Baehr received his Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law, where he served as the editor of the NYU Law School Newspaper.

MOVIEGUIDE® is affiliated with the Christian Film & Television Commission® ministry (CFTVC), also founded by Dr. Baehr, which is a non-profit ministry of Good News Communications, Inc. Both MOVIEGUIDE® and CFTVC are dedicated to redeeming the values of the entertainment industry, according to biblical principles, by influencing industry executives and artists and by informing and educating the public about the influence of the entertainment media and about how to train their families to become media-wise, so they can choose the good and reject the bad."

4. The Internet Movie Database. Many of their movie pages have parents' guides on the menu just above the title of the film. (You usually have to click "MORE.") These guides are written by other users of the site. They can be helpful for older movies especially because most of the other sites are busy reviewing new movies.

Free 26 Letter Tracing Printables!

Click here for printable sheets you can download to give your students some letter practice. You can get them all and put them into a folder or just staple down the side into a little book. Students can personalize a front page, if you like. These are great for giving little ones something to do while you teach the older ones.

Updated 3/27/2020.