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Kids These Days...

1/15/2015

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a special guest blog by Brian Raney, Co-Founder, Awesome Inc

SMART. I’ve heard numerous quotes from adults about how kids these days are so lazy, entitled, irresponsible. “The future seems bleak,” we’ll say to one another when we hear about a trouble maker kid that refuses to work hard at school or the student athlete that thinks they don’t have to earn the starting position on the sports team. I’ve murmured these quotes more times than I can remember.

But this summer, I found myself murmuring something else. I had the pleasure of working closely with over fifty middle and high school students through our Kids Code Camps at Awesome Inc. These kids restored my faith in this next generation. They were smart, hard working, and motivated. They couldn’t get enough of the computer programming knowledge that our staff was offering them.

“Now that we’re done with this game, can we go back to coding?” said one 9-year-old student after finishing a game of ping pong during one of the mid day breaks.

These kids were eager to learn how to program apps, video games, and web sites. It was a breath of fresh air.

And, fortunately for these kids, there’s never been a better match between an increasingly popular interest and the skills the workforce needs today! According to the nonprofit Code.org, there are currently more than 150,000 computing jobs available in America. That number is expected to be 1,000,000 by 2020. In Kentucky, there are over 3,500 reported open jobs in computing. Computing jobs have an average starting salary of $60-80K.

The opportunities get even more interesting if you’re considering using these skills to make & sell your own software instead of someone else’s. Facebook, a company started one decade ago, is worth over $200 billion, while Ford Motor, a leading automobile company that was started over a century ago, is worth about $50 billion. Not bad, Henry Ford, but that means Mark Zuckerberg has created value forty times faster than you (it’s also not a bad place to work - according to a former Awesome Inc team member that now works at Facebook).

I’ve been inspired watching these kids learn computer science principles and build applications of their own. In 10-20 years, these kids will be building the software that runs our cars, houses, and healthcare systems. So, if you know a kid who might enjoy a future in software development, how do you help him or her get started?

There are a variety of great learn-to-code opportunities that have shown up on the scene over the past few years. The best place to start is with the Hour of Code from Code.org. Over 10 million people got their introduction to coding during this event, which launched last December. Many students get exposed to the Hour of Code in their schools, but the free resources organized by Code.org can be accessed at home on any computer with a web browser. A great next step is the self-guided curriculum from Codecademy.com. This site offers a smooth introduction to a variety of popular programming languages like JavaScript and Ruby. From there, taking in-person courses is a solid option. While only 10% of K-12 schools offer computer courses, there are a variety of other offerings. There are some free options like CoderDojo, as well as paid summer programs like iD Tech Camps, One Day Crash Courses and semester-long programs like our Awesome Inc Academy.

Kids these days are so smart. Let’s treat them that way and give them the opportunities they deserve.

For more information, visit our friends at Awesome Inc.

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Special Education From Both Sides of the Table

10/21/2014

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Thank you to Rebecca Haake for providing this wonderful guest post about special education within the school system...

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School Representative: “Welcome to the ARC to discuss little Johnny’s IEP. Here are your Procedural Safeguards (hands you a huge stack of legal documents). Would you like me to go over them with you? No, great! Let’s move on then. Today we will begin by discussing the SLI label followed by the PLEP, special factors, annual goals and benchmarks, SDI, SAS, LRE, and round it out with a brief glossing over of ESY. How does that sound to you?”

You: Huh? What does any of this have to do with my baby? This is my baby. Do they know that this is my baby?

Sound familiar? Then you may have been to what is affectionately called in special needs parenting circles “The Dreaded IEP Meeting.” IEP stand for Individualized Education Program and is the basis for all special education services that are provided to a student in the public school system.

I am the mother of two special needs children with IEPs. I am also a school based speech therapist.
I have attended hundreds of ARC (Admissions and Release Committee) meetings. A handful of them have been for my own children. The rest have been for someone else’s child. On many occasions, I have found myself thinking, “Wow, this process is so complicated. It must be incredibly difficult for a parent without insider knowledge to navigate this system and truly understand what is being discussed and decided about their child’s education. I wish there was a simpler way.”

I cannot hope in the next few paragraphs to impart to you even the basics of the special education process. What I hope to do instead, is to point you in the direction of some resources that you can use to educate yourself in special education “due process.” I also hope to provide you some helpful suggestions from the perspective of someone who has spent a great deal of time on both sides of that conference room table.

  • Understand the Process

--Familiarize yourself with the special education process. It is daunting. But don’t feel like you have to have a degree in special ed law just to get your kid some speech therapy. My best advice: Google it! A simple internet search should provide you with the basics. If you have a specific question, look it up. You’re probably not the first person to ask it. Some websites that I have found that can help you unravel some of the ins and outs special education are http://www.specialeducationguide.com/pre-k-12/individualized-education-programs-iep/ and http://www.wrightslaw.com/.
And don’t forget good old Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_education_in_the_United_States).

--Always have a feel for the purpose of the meeting you are about to attend before you walk into the room and the papers and acronyms start flying at you. Having knowledge of how the process works will make you more confident and much more effective in helping your child get the best educational outcomes.

--Also, before, during and after an ARC meeting ASK QUESTIONS! Ask your child’s teachers, the special education director, the principal, the therapists, even the secretary who signs you into the building. You know she’s got the goods. Ask anything that will help you better advocate for your child. Which brings me to my next point…

  • You are an Equal Participant

--By law, you are an equal participant in all educational decisions made about your child. The purpose of the ARC is to come to a consensus about what is best for the child considering all the data and opinions that are brought to the table. As a parent or legal guardian you must be informed of and agree upon all meetings, evaluations, plans and programs that pertain to your child. However, you are not an equal when it comes to being an advocate for your child. You are the MOST IMPORTANT person in the world when it comes to your child. Don’t abdicate your role because you feel insecure or intimidated. That’s why you did all that Googling before you came. Additionally, if you feel that you will need support during the meeting, bring that support person with you.

--As the parent or guardian, you are permitted to bring anyone to an ARC meeting that you choose. It could be an outside therapist, an educational advocate, your spouse, your lawyer, or your momma. When you sit in a room and listen to someone bluntly describe the strengths and weaknesses of your child, it can be extremely emotional. Your mind flashes back to the hopes and dreams you had for them as a little one. It races forward to a future which may now be clouded with worry and uncertainty. You may need someone there to support you emotionally or keep you focused on the task at hand.

  • Stay Organized

The special education process is not a friend to the environment. It produces a mountain of paperwork at each and every meeting and you get a hard copy of every document that is created in that process. When your child begins receiving special education services, create a well organized filing system so that you can keep track of important papers. Be sure to read over the documents that you receive after a meeting to make sure they are accurate.

Recently I was in a meeting for my son where we had a lengthy discussion about his physical therapy services. We came to a decision and that decision was agreed upon by everyone in the room. Later, when I read back over the IEP at home, there was no mention of the therapy services we had agreed upon. I contacted his special education teacher and she followed up with the ARC chairperson who made the necessary changes and reprinted the document. Had I not happened to catch that error, there may have been a lapse in services the following year when he switched schools and therapists. I always like to go into my child’s ARC meeting with my huge file folder in hand. That way I am able to reference previous evaluations and plans if necessary during the meeting. It also shows my child’s teachers that I am fully aware of the educational services that my child should be receiving and I expect follow through on services.

  • Be the Squeaky Wheel

In closing, let me step up one more time onto my advocacy soap box. 99.9% of the time the person who is charged with providing services to your child in the school system is a competent, compassionate, well-educated, well-intentioned individual who is committed to seeing your child succeed academically and socially. However, 99.9% of the time that same person is struggling under the weight of a caseload that is a little too large, paperwork that is a little too tedious, and the stresses of a personal life that is a little too busy. This is where your emails, calls, and visits do make a difference.

--Ask for ways that you can support at home what is being learned in school and then actually DO what is recommended. Each contact with your child’s teacher or therapist is going to help ensure that your child is receiving not only the quantity of services that are required but the quality of services that you want. It’s the school’s responsibility to provide a free, appropriate education for your child. It’s your job to make sure the school does its job.

If you would like more information or a list of resources, please check out our Special Programs for Special Needs page.


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Best back To School Commercial Ever

8/4/2014

1 Comment

 
Post by Bluegrass Education.
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Well folks, it is August.  The kids are buying school supplies, teachers are sending letters, the day is fast approaching (or it might already be here for some of you!!!).  In honor of our new school year, I wanted to post my favorite back-to-school commercial of all time.  Can you guess the year it was made? 
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100 Ways To Make Today Magical

5/20/2014

2 Comments

 
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Okay, list lovers.  Here is something that you should enjoy.  I am reposting (with permission) a blog from A Magical Childhood, entitled 100 Ways to Make Today Magical.  Summer is about to begin, so let's get creative and make some magic happen!!!


1.  During the night, decorate the living room with streamers and a big sign that says “Happy _____ Day!” (marmot day, random day, I love you day, blueberry day…)  Make up traditions for the day together– you must wear purple, it’s traditional to eat ice cream for breakfast, whatever.


2.  Teach the kids to whistle with blades of grass and stage your own backyard grass concert together.

3.  Play with water balloons.  Get creative with how to throw them.  For instance, we like to throw them straight up and try to be as close as possible to where they land.  We also like to make targets and try to catch them without breaking them.


4.  Make a love box.  Find a fun, small box and put a treat inside.  Leave it on someone’s pillow, at their seat at the dinner table or in a lunch box.  The person has to put something in it and pass it on to another family member.  Ideas for treats– a chocolate, a tiny toy, a poem, a drawing, a love letter, a fresh flower, a list of things you love about the person, a coupon for a back rub… 


5.  Make squirt gun art.  Give the kids each a piece of poster board and some washable markers and ask them to use lots of colors and make a design all over the posterboard.  They can do lines, colored circles, patterns, whatever.  The more color the better!  Hang them on the clothes line or prop them up in the back yard and give each child a squirt gun filled with water.  Have them squirt their pictures to make the ink run and make new designs, colors and patterns.

6.  Visit a museum together.

7.  Let the kids camp out in the back yard or living room.  Better yet, join them.  Don’t forget the campfire songs!

8.  Fade some clothes.  Let each child pick a dark or bright colored T-shirt and gather an assortment or rocks or other small, heavy shapes.  Have the kids arrange their shapes on the T-shirts in a sunny place where they can remain undisturbed for a few days.  Have them check their shirts every few days until they have faded enough to make the pattern really visible. 

9.  Throw a theme potluck– everyone must bring a dish that starts with A, has exactly 3 ingredients or is a certain color, for example.  If you don’t want to have to clean first, stage it at a park.

10.  Buy a pack of toilet paper for the sole purpose of goofy fun.  Wrap your kids up into mummies, make toilet paper streamers and run through the yard, toss it and see how long you can get the tail as you throw, experiment with getting it wet and having “snowball” fights with it… If you can, compost it when you’re finished.

11.  Take a field trip to someplace you’ve never been in your community– a factory, museum, or even an old graveyard.  Really explore it and talk about what you find.

12.  Play detective.  Take the kids to a “scene of the crime” like an empty lot or quiet park.  Give them notebooks and have them really look at the surroundings, then have them make up a story of what happened there based on the evidence.  There are two tire tracks but only one set of footprints, so one person never got out of the car…. have them come up with their own stories.

13.  Make a canopy out of fabric, sheets or lace curtains over your child’s bed.  You can make something for the night or something more permanent.  Kids love the privacy and the fun of canopies!

14.  Sit down and paint, sketch or sculpt with your kids.  Sure, you give them crafts to do but how often do you sit down for an hour and join in?  They’ll love the extra attention and you might not realize how much fun you’ll have!

15.  Look at old videos of your children as babies, and even of the times before they were born.  Talk about how you felt during those times and retell the stories that go along with them.

16.  Do three sweet things today for each family member.  They can be tiny little things, just something to show you love them that you know will make them happy.  Buy your honey a big bag of his favorite treats and bring it to him after supper.  Leave the dishes and go read a story to your toddler.  Give extra monkey hugs (in our family, we dip kids upside down and holler “monkey hug!” and swing them back up– then repeat until exhaustion), and so on.

17.  Have the kids put on a show for the family.  They can dance, sing, act, you name it.  Ask them to spend the day preparing it, then offer to charge admission after supper (to you, older relatives, whoever).  It can be a talent show, variety show, or whatever they like.  Help them put together costumes, music, and the works.  For little ones, you can do the same thing but scale down the preparation.  Let them wear tutus and spin around with scarves, then sing “I’m a little teapot” for doting onlookers.

18. Find a park that offers something different like paddle boats, horseback riding, or even horseshoes.  Spend a lazy day connecting and having fun.

19.  Chase fireflies.

20.  Make puppets and put on a puppet show.

21. Gather sticks in the back yard and some fun art supplies (paint, glitter, baubles…) and make magic wands.

22.  Bake cookies.  The more decadent, the better.


23.  Walk around town adding food coloring to puddles.  Magical Mama Tiffany says, “Wouldn’t it be fun to go walking and find all different colors of puddles?!”.


24.  Use clean sand castle molds to make ice cream castles.  Decorate wildly and eat!

25.  Play the sock game.  Everybody puts on socks and sits in a circle, then tries to pull everybody else’s socks off while keeping their own on.  Whoever is last to have a sock on wins!

26.  Blow raspberries on everybody’s bellies.

27. Leave a candy bar and a note for the mailman.

28.  Have the kids play dress up in their most fanciful clothes and then go on an evening walk around the neighborhood.

29.  Start a snail habitat.  Magical Mama Jen shared this sweet idea years ago for the Magical Childhood newsletter…

I have always loved snails, and while out with Sage a month or so ago, we were looking at snails and how they have 2 sets of antennae, etc…and I thought…why not bring them IN?  Soooo….I searched on the internet to see what snails need to be able to survive indoors.  All you need is a large container with air holes (of course, lol)  In the bottom, place about an inch of gravel…then a couple inches of soil on top of that.  Place some “greenery” from outside in there…it will root and grow very well….also, give them a rock to play on, lol, and lean a stick in there…..a good idea is to place some moss on some of the soil to help retain moisture for them.  They eat fruit and veggie scraps…..ours love carrot and cucumber, but do NOT like cantaloupe or celery.  It’s been quite educational for us to have them…as well and fun…you can see their mouths open up, they have a row of teeth called a Radula that they rub on food to eat it..very neat to see their open mouths as they stick to the container.  )

You should mist their habitat every day or so, keeping their home moist, but not overly so.  Also…the chlorine in water is bad for them, so either leave a container of water open outside for a couple days to let the chlorine evaporate, or boil water for about 10 minutes. (lid off)

You should also clean out their home every week or so…and a tip that I saw on one web site was to put their food on a little piece of wood, or something to that effect, so once it starts to get a little “icky”, you can just take the wood out and rinse it off….much easier than digging around in there with your hands to remove the left overs.

Hope that helps some…if you need more info, try typing “snail habitat” in a search engine….

30.  Go for a walk in the rain with your child.  Umbrellas optional.

31.  Have a bubble relay outside– players blow or carry their bubbles from person to person and start over if they pop.  Alternately, blow a bubble and see if you can work as a team to blow it across a finish line.

32.  Help the kids make these pretty pens from strips of their art or favorite scrapbooking papers.  Chocolate on my Cranium has the super easy instructions.

33.  Make up a miniature golf course in the backyard or living room.

34.  Throw a fairy party.

35.  Find a patch of clover and find four leaf clovers.  My kids find dozens.  To preserve them, press them between a small, folded piece of waxed paper in a heavy book.

36.  Find some whimsical stickers and help the kids scatter them around the house in half-secret places.  We once used a sheet of dragonfly rub-ons this way and it was so fun to happen upon them.  You can put them inside a dresser drawer or cabinet drawer, on baseboards or mirrors, anywhere.  Make sure they’re removable if you don’t want permanent whimsy!

37.  Make tissue paper resist prints.  The Frugal Family Fun Blog tells you how.

38.  Start an “I love you” journal together on the inside of your cupboard doors.  Cover them with contact paper for easy removal (and for keepsakes).  Take turns leaving notes to each other, artwork, recording special moments, etc.  Make sure little ones understand which places are okay for this special graffiti.

39. Make a blanket fort on the clothesline.

40. Make paper boats and sail them in puddles or the kiddie pool.

41.  Or fill the kiddie pool with something else like bubble solution for giant bubbles, oobleck or water and colored oil.

42.  Meet some friends at a science museum.

43.  Mail your child a postcard telling her how much you love her.

44.  Write a song together and record it yourselves singing it.

45.  Make homemade lemonade.  Find a way to make it unique to your family.  For instance, we put a handful of mint leaves in when making a sugar syrup for ours (one cup sugar, one cup water, simmer till the sugar dissolves and the mint is fragrant, then combine with 4 cups of water and 1 to 1 1/2 cups lemon juice, to taste) and garnished with mint.  Also consider using frozen berries for ice cubes, adding a couple of scoops of a bright juice concentrate or serving with ice cubes that have edible flowers (without pesticides!) inside.

46.  Sketch your child as he sleeps.  Let go of any criticism about your artistic abilities and just enjoy the process of really studying your child and capturing a moment.

47. Go rock hunting for smooth stones and use paint or permanent markers to write inspirational words like “courage,” “strength,” “love” or “laugh” on them — or even just silly faces and symbols.  Put one in your pocket on days you need it, and let the kids do the same.

48. Have a glow-in-the-dark treasure hunt after dark.

49.  Take a horse drawn carriage ride.  We went two weekends in a row because we happened upon them, once at a winery and once at a historic event.  At $5 and $3 each, it was worth the cost for a really wonderful experience.

50.  Record a new wacky or sweet greeting on the answering machine together.  Keep it short but fun!

51. Make nature pendants.  (Jack made a billion of these plus bookmarks the other day and loved it, though you can’t tell by this look on his face!)

52.  Call some local museums and find out when they have free days to visit (many are free all the time!). Spend an afternoon just dawdling and enjoying yourself there.

53.  After dark, head outside together and howl at the moon.

54.  Make fresh fruit sorbets in the ice cream maker.  No ice cream maker?  Make it in a bag!

55.  Make some toad houses.

56.   Have a breakfast picnic in the park.

57. Run in the sprinkler together.  Yes, you too!

58.  Make up some fizzing sidewalk chalk.  Quirky Momma has all the details on how to take homemade sidewalk chalk paint to the next level.  This is definitely on our to-do list this week!

59.  Put birthday candles in each child’s dinner tonight.  It doesn’t matter if dinner is sandwiches and it’s 9 months from their birthdays, kids just love blowing out candles and feeling special. 

60.  Go someplace beautiful together.  Is there a hill outside of the city where you can park and watch the lights below?  A Japanese garden with peaceful spots to relax?  Find someplace beautiful and just sit and talk.  Bring a treat like a bag of fresh chocolate chip cookies or old fashioned root beer in bottles, and just unwind together.

61.  Try painting on salt.  Tot School has the simple directions.


62. That idea was inspired by one on A Bit of This and a Bit of That.  For another of their whimsical projects, try salt chalk painting.

63.  Have a jam session.  Gather up instruments and make your own by filling tins with pennies and getting pots to bang on.  Find as many different types as you can, and then sit everybody down on the floor.  Have someone start with a back beat and then one by one join in.  We started a retreat with this when I was on the board of a state organization, and it was a hoot even for a room full of us old folks.    Be as loud a you want!

64.  Make homemade popsicles.  We use fruit juice and sometimes freeze different flavors and colors in layers to make them especially fun.

65.  Do some spring window art.  Fingerpaint & Superheroes shows you how.

66.  Pick out some older clothes and let the kids decorate them with markers.  You can use washable markers (keep in mind that not all might wash out) and let kids make new designs each time, or you can use permanent ones.  Fabric markers can add special highlights too.  Here’s my girls years ago in some home-designed patterns. 


67. Make mud art!  Find a good place to dig in the dirt and provide some water, spoons, platters and pretties to decorate with (we used dried flower petals, dried beans and pasta, and beads).  Let the kids mix up mud andmake whatever designs they like and leave them to dry.  Take pictures and then just rinse and reuse the special stuff later.


68.  Let the kids arrange some 2×4 boards on the lawn in a funky pattern or their initials.  Wait a few days and let the sun “brand” your lawn.  The covered area will be brown in the shape the kids made.  Don’t worry, it’s temporary.  The grass will green up again soon after.

69.  Make a celebration cake “just because.”  Add candles and too much icing.  If you want, go all out and eat it with your hands.

70.  Give your kids facials.  Include a slow, circular face massage with cleansing lotion followed by a warm washcloth soak.  Follow that with a masque (there are great recipes online) while you sit and talk.  Finish with a light moisturizer in a delicious scent.

71.  Make up a family dance line routine.

72.  Have a sidewalk parade with neighborhood kids.

73.  Visit thrift shops for an old piece of furniture and repaint it together.  Make it as whimsical, funky or dramatic as they like.

74. Dedicate a song to your child on the radio.

75.  Have a watermelon seed spitting contest outside.

76. Take apart a cheap wall clock and let the kids decorate the face before putting it back up.  For little ones, do painted hand prints.

77. Put bubbles in the kiddie pool!  Just add a generous squirt of bubble bath or good quality dish soap and then spray fresh water into the pool.  We used Dawn dish soap and had bubbles for over an hour! 
  78. Invent a recipe together.  Make up a standard cookie, cake or pancake recipe and then brainstorm on things to add.  Write it all down in a family cookbook as you go (with measurements) & afterwards write suggestions on improvements for next time.  One of the most fun parts is you get to come up with your own name for your recipe– that and getting to eat it all up. 

79.  Make snow cones!  You can make up your own syrup for on top (here’s an easy recipe using kool-aid powder) but it’s even easier (and loads healthier) to just use fruit juice concentrate (undiluted).  Crush your ice in the blender or let the kids pound it in a big ziplock baggie covered with a dish towel.  Then scoop it into cups or dishes and just drizzle your syrup of choice and serve!

80.  Go see a pageant (a historic play) or other outdoor show.

81.  Better yet, sign up to be part of one! 82.  Have a puzzle marathon.  Pick out a big, challenging puzzle and clear a spot at the table.   Get some snacks, arrange a great soundtrack and sit and chat and eat and work on it together as a family until it’s done.

83.  Help the kids run a popsicle or lemonade stand.  Decide on a great goal for the earnings, whether it will be donated to charity like a local animal shelter, used for some fabulous family fun or applied towards a treat the kids have been yearning for.

84.  Find an outdoor concert to attend together.

85.  Make a date with one of the kids for a daybreak breakfast together.  Get some tasty treats for the occasion like a thermos of chocolate milk and some blueberry muffins and wake your child just in time to find a cozy spot to watch the sunrise and enjoy your special breakfast.  Then, if you get so lucky, you can go back to bed!

86.  Scatter wildflower seeds in dull places.

87.  Make up a bunch of wonderful pictures and bring them to decorate doors and walls at a retirement home.  Go door to door offering them to residents and make people’s day (and let your kids get delightfully fawned over!).

88.  Make moth paint!  From a very old issue of the Magical Childhood newsletter:

Did you know there are more than 10,000 species of moths?  For an interesting nocturnal adventure, mix up a batch of this goo and trek outside after dark to see how many you can spot.  Mix two over-ripe bananas, 4 tablespoons of sugar and 1 cup of apple juice and paint it onto several tree trunks.  After dark, head out with the kiddos and a flashlight to see if any moths have come to dine.  Their eyes will reflect the light and they will often stay and munch despite you, so you get a chance to identify different kinds and get an up-close look at the little creatures.  Some people mix up very elaborate concoctions, often involving beer and molasses, while others say that just smearing a mashed watermelon will do the job.  Still, warm, moist nights are supposed to work best.  Happy hunting!

89. Look for shooting stars.  This time of the year the sky is filled with them. 

90. Make art for lunch.  Spread a tortilla with cream cheese or almond butter and then give kids an assortment of colorful fruits, veggies and other healthy foods to make their own mosaic picture.  You can cut things like green and red peppers into strips, halve cherry tomatoes and grapes, slice olives and cheese, etc.  Take a picture before they eat their creations!

91.  Visit a farmers’ market.  Pick out some fresh, local foods and take the time to chat with the vendors.  You’ll find good deals, get good food and help the community.  You can often find fabulous other finds too, from homemade soaps to fresh cookies to jewelry.

92.  Take up a new sport.  We picked up some badminton rackets and birdies at a garage sale last week and our whole family has been having a blast playing badminton every day since then.  We rigged up a net using a hammock and bamboo stakes in the back yard.  Whether it’s tennis or t-ball, find a new way to play outside.

93.  Find a children’s book that’s set in your area and read it together.  If you don’t know of any, ask your local librarian or do a google search.  We’re in the area of On the Banks of Plum Creek here and we have friends who recently discovered that their cabin is near the fictional site of My Side of the Mountain.  Do a little sleuthing and find some story to visit where you can feel that added kinship to the characters.

94.  Explore a local historic site.  Jesse James and the Younger Brothers were in a big shoot-out just up the highway from us and the kids love visiting the site and imagining the battle.  At another site we find Native American artifacts and imagine how different life was here just a couple of hundred years ago.

95.  Extend the fireworks season by sprinkling pop rocks on cupcakes.  Okay, it’s quite junky but the kids will delight at geting a popping surprise with every bite!

96. Find a good hill and roll down it!

97.  Doll the kids up and do a photo shoot.  Make it as glamorous, funny or theatrical as they like, complete with props.  Help them pose and take a billion pictures.  Or if they prefer, let them doll you up and play fashion photographer for YOU.

98. Make your own puzzle.  Have the kids assemble an old puzzle and when it’s all together, take it outside and spray paint it white.  When it’s dry, give them paints or markers and have them create a new picture for it.  Remind them to try to cover as many of the pieces with the picture as possible to make it easier to assemble.

99. Hand out permanent markers and plain white socks, and let the kids make some fun feet!  Check out these cuties that Victoria made for Alex!

100. Try to conduct your entire family dinner conversation in song.

Here at Bluegrass Education, we hope that you use these fun ideas to MAKE YOUR SUMMER MAGICAL!!!  Do you have a great idea for adding a little sparkle to the day?  Share it with others in the comments!
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Newton's Attic-A Passion for Physics

4/15/2014

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I love when people discover their life passions!  I love when those passions can be translated into a business that benefits others.

When you hear the history and formation of Newton's Attic, you realize that this is precisely the case with this business.  Bill Cloyd began as a young boy on a farm gathering useful, undervalued materials and testing the bounds of physics.  As a teenager he perfected his free fall by building an 80 foot tower using his neighbors' unwanted TV antennae and a circus net.  Soon after he built a human catapult and practiced launching people into a nearby pond. 

The drive and ambition of Cloyd could not be confined to the small space of a classroom.  As a mechanical engineering major, it seemed like a good fit to try teaching, but Cloyd soon discovered that his passion for physics was larger than the space allowed. 
Cloyd felt compelled to start Newton's Attic, a non-profit educational resource that utilizes fun, excitement, and PLAYING as learning tools.

So that is the back story of Newton's Attic, but let me tell you about our experience there.  As a mother who is used to saying, "Don't touch that!  Stop child, you might break something," it was refreshing to hear that my children could tinker with the physics toys and robots on site.  "They can touch everything except the table saw," is what we were told. 

During the two hours that we were visiting, my children ages 3-10 were able to build and launch small rockets, play with a robotic arm, ride a roller coaster, and use an enormous catapult to shoot a weedeater and toaster across the field.  As all you mothers of young sons can imagine, watching an appliance fly through the air and then crash into pieces was sheer joy!

The staff and the equipment totally engaged our children and built into their minds and spirits.
  The Newton's Attic helpers (and family) were kind, informative, and inclusive to all the members of our group.

The Newton's Attic experience was summed up for me by a brief phrase I heard after the successful weedeater launch.  As the kids ran across the open space to retrieve the busted up parts and pieces,  I heard one of the staffers remark candidly to the owner, "Is that weedeater string?  I might need that for something."  Physics at Newton's attic is limited only by your creativity (and the laws of physics).   We can only imagine what project will be next...


If you want to learn more about the options offered by Newton's Attic, please visit their web site and tell them we sent you! 

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Unschooling

4/7/2014

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This blog post is used by permission of The Libertarian Homeschooler.  Thank you for explaining unschooling so well!

We unschool.

By this I mean our children don't go to school, we don't try to "recreate school in the home" (whatever that might mean), we don't follow a curriculum 180 days a year, and we don't do hybrids or anything like that.

What we do is live out a life of constant learning, inquiry, experiments, family field trips, business start ups, reading, growing, and observing in front of our sons.

Their father is always reading this thing or that, tinkering with mechanical things, hiking around in the woods, exploring, foraging, starting up a new small business, recycling for money, composting, gardening, working in the wood shop, or going to this sales call or that. They see him working and teaching himself new things and they see people come to consult with him about things they want to do. He takes them to interesting places and does good, memorable things with them.

They see me reading, fiddling around with sentences and grammar, writing, preparing talks, watching lectures, pawing through science books and gardening books and design books and physics books. I'm always squirreling around with language, math, history, and science. I will drive a long way to hear a good lecture. They watch me with young children and babies and I tell them what I see and how to observe.

Their father and I go to the opera and Shakespeare plays and museums and we really enjoy those things. We make big bonfires in the company of smart friends and we go on epic field trips. This is the norm at our house. They think, "this is how people are." And, really, most of our friends are this way, too. Even when we had no money--and we had NO Money--we managed to do these things.

They are surrounded by inquiry, conversation, initiative, curiosity, and humor. We also know that most of what we try will be more learning experience than overwhelming success, but we're good with that. Your home is probably a lot like this, too. Maybe you're visual artists or history reenactors or musicians or biologists or metalworkers or farmers or surveyors or doctors. But maybe you haven't thought of it in these terms.

The point is, this is what our children see. This is what they think is normal. Learning, experimenting, teaching yourself, observing others, finding resources, these are caught, not taught. Shakespeare, Rose Wilder Lane, Sam Maloof, Bach, Frank Lloyd Wright, Montessori, Rothbard, Brubeck, Beksvoort, Rand, Feynman, Hayek, Rossini. These and others are the 'soundtrack' of their lives. Taking them away from this for the sake of looking at a textbook or filling in a worksheet they have no interest in makes no sense. It is a step down.

But this isn't all. They observe us, they take this in, they construct themselves with these things they find in their environment. But we observe them, we figure out what they're good at and we feed it. We really feed it. We figure out how. We make sacrifices. We make trades. We ask for help. They spend 80% of their time in their sweet spot. In the part of their lives where they are monumental and fierce and strong. And we help them and push them and encourage them to become and create and magnify in the places where they are naturally strong. It is a pleasure and an honor to be the assistant in each boy's work. They are building and crafting and laboring. They are creating edifices that we could not create. That we would not have known to create. Good. This is solidly good.

And as they create, they draw adults to themselves. They go places children do not usually go and participate in ways children do not usually participate. This draws mentors to them. People who want to help. And this is the part a lot of people don't get. Those mentors are key to this way of being with children. They can be found at community colleges, toastmasters meetings, museums, lecture series, music class, language lessons, the auto repair shop, the feed and seed. They're everywhere. Your children need them. Find them. Bring them into your circle. They are honored guests in your lives. They will want to share with you if you are interested in what they have to share. Invite them for coffee. Invite the for dinner. Bring them into your circle now. Not later. Make intellectual community. Make an intellectual nest for your children and let these people be a big part of their lives and treat the like the important people that they are.

So when I say we unschool, this is what I mean.
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Our Favorite Educational Apps Under $5

3/31/2014

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In our household we like to employ several methods and techniques of learning... reading, writing, discussion, evaluation, and even GAME TIME!!!  Because our children respond so well to interactive learning tablets, we wanted to share our favorite educational apps with YOU! 

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Bugs and Bubbles/Bugs & Buttons (Preschool and Early education, $2.99, for iPad & iPhone, "Buttons" available on Android)
These educational games are colorful with wonderful graphics.  They teach patterns, colors, numbers, directions, sorting and much more.  Even though it designed for younger kids, my older ones like the bug racing!

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Little Writer
(Preschool and Early Education, FREE, for iPad and iPhone)  Let your little one explore writing with the tracing game!  The game is beautifully designed with numbers, letters, shapes, and words.  You can even add words of your choosing! 

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*McGraw Hill Word Wonderland
(PreK-2nd, $1.99, for iPad) 

Help the frog hop, eat, and shake his way through the pond.  This game is a great way to review phonics with different skill levels available.  A Lite version is available for free.

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Brain POP Featured Movie 
(FREE, for iPhone, iPod Touch, & iPad) 
Offers a featured video of the day covering a huge variety of subjects!  At the end of the video, there is an optional quizz to help your child retain the information.  With a subscription, you also get access to their full collection of movies, quizzes, games, and more!  Brain POP Movie is a great addition to what you are already doing at home!

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Code Squad 
($1.99-$2.99, for iPad, iPhone, and Android)  As described by the designer, "Recruit up to three other Base 10 agents to join you as you decode a series of math-busting devices. Solve all the equations to disarm the device and receive a congratulatory message from Agent Prime. But be careful! Too many wrong answers and your keypad will disconnect, taking you out of the action — and putting your entire team at risk."

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**Simple Physics 
($1.99, for iPad, iPhone, and Android) 
One of our favorites!!!  SimplePhysics lets you design complex structures and then test your structures for strength, endurance, and durability.  Try again and again until you design a structure that holds and fits within your design budget.

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**Stack the States
(Geography, ages 8-12, $0.99, for Android, iPad , iPod Touch, & iPhone)
As your child learns state shapes, capitals, and abbreviations, she'll build a stack of states to reach the finish line and pass to the next level, eventually creating a full map of the United States. Also in this line of products is Stack the Countries.

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Dr. Frankenstein's Body Lab
($2.99, for iPad and iPhone) 
Learn the body parts, where they go, and how they work.  From the developers,"Step right into Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory to help him complete the ultimate experiment – creating a monster! Children are able to make their way through five body systems to acquire the parts needed for the sixth and final game to build their very own monster."


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**Mathly Hollows 
(Grades K-3, FREE to $1.99 for full version, for iPhone & iPad)
My son LOVES this one!  From the designer, "The friends of Mathly Hollows need help defending their village from monsters. By solving math problems intended for kids in grades kindergarten through fourth grade the village can be saved. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are the focus of this app."

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**Monster Physics
($0.99, for iPad & iPhone)
Instant Classic at our home.  From the designer, "Set your imagination free! Build intricate, working contraptions with over 68 different parts including wheels, rockets, propellers, cannons, magnets, claws, wings and more. Choose from different materials including metal, wood, plastic, rubber and ice. Connect parts together by welding them, drawing a rope or chain between them with your finger or using special dynamic joints to bring them to life.  Once your invention is complete, Monster Physics™ will render it with it's built-in physics engine and let you actually operate your creation in real time.

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MathBoard 
($4.99, iPad & iPhone)
No frills math.  Practice your math functions (adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing) with or without a timer, using either fill in the blank or multiple choice questions.  Set the difficulty level.  Set the number of problems.  Save your scores or don't.  This app is HIGHLY configurable and it is a good resource for old fashioned practice on newfangled technology.

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Where's My Perry? 
($2.99, for Android, iPad & iPhone)
When I told my kids that we were including this game, they responded, "Mom, that's not a learning game!"  Sneaky education!  That's what we are doing here!  Designed by the makers of "Where's My Water", this is what they tell us about this app: "Help Agent P get to headquarters for mission briefing by guiding water or steam to power his secret transportation tubes! Transform water in cool forms like ice, steam and solids to solve all sorts of mind-bending puzzles! Every drop counts when it’s SPY TIME!"

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Mathmateer
($0.99, for iPad, iPod Touch, & iPhone)
Build your own rockets and use them to discover math.  From the designer, "Play one of the 56 different math missions. Each mission has touchable objects floating in space, including stars, coins, clocks, 3D shapes and even pizzas! Earn a bronze, silver or gold medal and also try to beat your high score. Missions range in difficulty from even/odd numbers all the way to square roots, so kids and their parents will enjoy hours of fun while learning math."


Our favorites are denoted by the symbol **.  Look them up and enjoy!  Have a favorite app that you would like to share?  Please let us know in the comments section!  We are always searching for new ways to learn!
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Homeschool Hybrids

3/15/2014

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A guest blog from Athena Bradley, a Lexington mother whose kids attend a central Kentucky homeschool hybrid.   For more information, please visit her blog, Mom in Sync.  
It is with great excitement I bring you this information. I know a secret, and the world must be enlightened! Our children attend a home-school / private-school co-op and have for the last four years. The curriculum is outstanding, the concept is incredible, and based on the ACT and SAT test scores of my oldest son, the resulting education has proven to be superior. My son scored a 33 on his first ACT, the summer after 10th grade, a 2210 on his practice SAT, and we eagerly await the results of the SAT he took two weeks ago.

Our school offers an actual classroom environment Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week, while we home-school Monday and Friday each week. The benefits abound. Three days each week my children enjoy time in a classroom with other children, while engaging in clubs, teams, sports, music, and plays if they desire. The other four days each week, I get to have my children at home with me. I have my children more days than they are at school away from me, unlike the 5 away/2 home ratio of traditional schooling. The bonus at our school is the children also learn Latin! Contrary to common remark, the “dead language” proves quite helpful in taking ACT and SAT tests.

For us, Memoria Press teaching material is used in both the classroom and in home-school. These materials are easily accessible and reasonably priced. For grades up to 7th, the curriculum ranges from $290-475, plus the Latin package. For higher grades, price varies based on the options you choose. If you do not have a school nearby using Memoria Press, or one that offers Classical Cottage style Christian education, you can purchase materials from Memoria Press to use for full time home-schooling. The lesson plans are provided and broken down daily for you. Our children are experiencing huge benefits from the four years they have used Memoria Press materials in combination with their learning environment.

In the event we move to a city without a school like the one our children currently attend, I will definitely utilize the Memoria Press materials and attempt to form a group of friends doing the same.

Keep current on the Memoria Press Facebook page. And please share this information with anyone you know who home-schools or is considering homeschooling.
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