HISTORY: Moving Map of U.S.

"Growth of a Nation" is a ten minute animated movie of American history from 1789.

Here is the link to the site: American History: "Growth of a Nation."


This is an excellent 10 minute audio/visual presentation that takes a quick look at American History!  Click PLAY @ the top not "Go" at the bottom.


The speaker has a speech impediment (an audible lisp) but does a great job! I think that he is a good role model for any child with less than perfect speech!

The presentation is very user friendly. It can easily be paused, rewound or fast forwarded. By hovering over different regions of the map one can click for added information.

Note: There is an add (for purchase of the "enhanced version") that popped up for me at the 1959 mark.

Join Andrew Pudewa as he presents, "Nurturing Competent Communicators"

After attending a wonderful seminar with Andrew Pudewa  I can say with complete confidence that I am an IEW covert. Yes, I was a skeptic at first.

The tools that the IEW programs help students master are simply amazing! The seminar allowed for enough Q&A and personal attention to provide excellent communication.

Yep, once again working from home with a homeschooler's dream company allowed us the time and gas/hotel/food money to experience this awesome seminar! Our wonderful Immaculate Heart of Mary co-op also helped tremendously!

I received the following information from IEW's Julie Walker. -- I want to pass it on!

This is an invitation to join Andrew Pudewa as he presents, "Nurturing Competent Communicators" on Tuesday, March 20, 12noon Central Time.
Listen live on the Media Angels Expo page here:

http://mediaangels. com/expos/ listen-live/

Thanks,

Julie Walker
Marketing Director
Institute for Excellence in Writing
www.excellenceinwri ting.com <http://www.excellenceinwriting. com/>
800-856-5815

____________________________________________________________________

LAGNIAPPE (from Soutenus)

Here is a great seminar clip -- just in case you have never had the pleasure of attending any of Mr. Pudewa's workshops. The subject matter of this webinar is: "Freedomship" Education Take Your Children Off the Conveyor Belt and Into Life Through Internships and Entrepreneurship.

Andrew Pudewa begins speaking at the 5:40 minute mark Obviously, there is a long intro.



NOTE: @ the 51 (through 54) minute mark there is a compelling statement followed by consistently observed data and evidence that lead Mr. Pudewa to this opinion.

SOURCES:
http://www.collegeplus.org/leadershipwebinar/watch
http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/
http://www.collegeplus.org/
http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/ici

Info available here

Oh, How I Love Mr. George Baker!

Do you know Mr. George Baker?  To know him is to love him.

This is one of my favorite picture books.  It's about a man who is 100 years old and just learning to read.  He rides the bus to school with Harry, his 7 year old neighbor who is also learning to read.  They become good friends. It's a great book with an almost musical text. 

You will love Mr. George Baker and his friend Harry.

One of the reasons I love this book is because of how short yet strong it is.  Picture books are not usually simple, easy books.  They are often many pages with a good deal of text.  It can make it difficult when you want to do a mini-lesson with a book that doesn't take forever read.  I also like to read the entire picture book if I can, as opposed to just a few pages for the lesson.  That's what makes this book perfect.  It's a fairly short read with simple text, yet it carries a powerful message and can be used for so many lessons.  I love books that apply themselves to a variety of lessons! 

By the way, if you aren't using your picture books for multiple lessons, give it a try.  For example, I use Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters on and off all year.  It's another strong picture book that applies to many lessons.  However, it can be a long read in one sitting.  The boon is that once you have read the book, you can use it in future lessons reading only the parts that apply.  Your friends already know the full text, so they will be on board.  Not only does this make your mini-lessons more concise, the repeated exposure to the text will really be helpful to your friends.  You will find that the more you use the book, the more they will take away from it each time.  It's also important to revisit familiar texts for your lower students.  They really need the repeated exposure to sort of imprint the text in their heads so that they can begin to really focus on applying the strategies.  That's my Quick Tip!

Okay, time to get back on topic! 

If this were a writing lesson, wouldn't you totally be

telling me that last paragraph is off topic! :-D 

Here are a couple of ways I use Mr. George Baker in my class.

• Making Inferences - This is how I used it this week.  We made a chart of Mr. Baker's description, actions, and dialog.  Then, next to it we made an inference for each section.  At the bottom of the chart, we combined them all in to a character sketch.   My friends knew from his physical description that he takes pride in how he looks.  They knew from his actions that he is a patient, kind, talented, and intelligent man.  They knew from his dialog that he has a sense of humor and values education.  This is all derived from some fairly simple text.  Save this chart because you can use it in the Show Not Tell lesson below.
• Show Not Tell - In writing, I'm always trying to get my friends to show through action rather than just tell.  This is great to do after you're done the reading lesson on inferences.  It's also where revisiting a text pays off.  We've already read the book, so we can really focus on the author's craft.  I will bring out the chart of the inferences we made and ask how we knew all those things about Mr. Baker considering the author never really said any of that.  On the chart side that lists his description, actions, and dialog, we've already identified how the author shows instead of tells.

There are other lessons you can do with this book, but those are two of my favorites.  If you want to have a look-see, I found the Reading Rainbow episode where they read this book on You Tube.  Yup, it was a Reading Rainbow book.  If that's not a good recommendation, I don't know what is!  I've embedded it below.  The actual book reading runs from about minute 1:40 to 7:00, a little over five minutes.  

Love it!

Science Jim - What is Nuclear Power?

Science Jim Show: What is a Nuclear Plant? from Science Jim on Vimeo.

source: http://vimeo.com/21504968

Atoms - WKRP in Cincinnati & Jefferson Lab & A is for Atom & Atom Song

 What are atoms?

Atoms are the basic building blocks of matter that make up everyday objects. A desk, the air, even you are made up of atoms!

There are 90 naturally occurring kinds of atoms. Scientists in labs have been able to make about 25 more.

Click here to continue

A is for Atom part 1



A is for Atom part 2



Atom Song













Link Sources:
All About Atoms  (Jefferson Lab)

Non Newtonian Fluid

Note: I really HATE all the adds here but the info is good.

(fluid mechanics) A fluid whose flow behavior departs from that of a Newtonian fluid, so that the rate of shear is not proportional to the corresponding stress. Also known as non-Newtonian system.



CAVEAT! 
1) I have no control over the lettering superimposed over this video.
2) Let me be clear ~~~>  I do NOT recommend any other videos by this  young man. -- I include this one only because it is harmless and it demonstrates a simple science experiment that introduces  non-Newtonian properties that are easily experienced. AGAIN, I do NOT recommend any of his other videos.

THESE I DO RECOMMEND:
•  Mythbusters Season 4 Disc 1 
• AND!!  Learn about the nature of fluids

FLUIDS IN GENERAL!

Kitchens are full of fluids you might never have known were there. A fluid can be a liquid, gas, solid, or even plasma. 

Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear stress or tensile stress. In everyday terms (and for fluids only), viscosity is "thickness" or "internal friction". Thus, water is "thin", having a lower viscosity, while honey is "thick", having a higher viscosity. Put simply, the less viscous the fluid is, the greater its ease of movement (fluidity).^[1]
Viscosity describes a fluid's internal resistance to flow and may be thought of as a measure of fluid friction. For example, high-viscosity felsic magma will create a tall, steep stratovolcano, because it cannot flow far before it cools, while low-viscosity mafic lava will create a wide, shallow-sloped shield volcano. All real fluids (except superfluids) have some resistance to stress and therefore are viscous, but a fluid which has no resistance to shear stress is known as an ideal fluid or inviscid fluid.
The study of flowing matter is known as rheology, which includes viscosity and related concepts.





SOURCES:
http://www.answers.com/topic/non-newtonian-fluid
http://video.answers.com/learn-about-the-nature-of-fluids-83227076
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_2u0fV3qTM&feature=channel

 

Bees During and After Winter

How to De-Bee a Home

MLK Mountaintop Highlights - April 3

On April 3, 1968, Dr. King was in Memphis, Tennessee to support sanitation workers. That night he delivered, extemporaneously, a powerful speech which was both moving and prophetic. The next day he was assassinated.

Watch him say the most famous lines of his “Mountaintop” speech in this historic-footage video clip.



Credits
Video clip online, courtesy U.S. National Archives
Awesome Stories

Bottled Water

Just a Bill - School House Rock

Popple - St. Patrick

SOURCE: Veggie Tales by way of Popple by way of Curt Jester

The Building of The Parthenon

Our History Lesson today . . . . . The Building of The Parthenon
This should count as MATH and history. AMAZING!
Season 33, episode 9 -- from HULU.com

Meet the Elements

Iron is a metal
You see it every day
Oxygen eventually
Will make it rust away
Carbon in it's ordinary form is coal
Crush it together and diamonds are born

Come on come on and meet the elements
May I introduce you to our friends the elements?
Like a box of paints
that are mixed to make every shade
They either combine to make a chemical compound
Or stand alone as they are

Neon's the gas that lights up the sign for a pizza place
The coins that you pay with are copper, nickel and zinc
Silicon and oxygen make concrete, bricks and glass
Now add some gold and silver for some pizza place class

Come on come on and meet the elements
I think you should check out the ones they call the elements
Like a box of paints that are mixed to make every shade
They either combine to make a chemical compound
Or stand alone as they are

Team up with other elements
Making compounds when they combine
Or make up a simple element
Formed out of atoms of the one kind.

Balloons are full of helium
And so is every star
Stars are mostly hydrogen
Which may someday fuel your car

Hey who let in all these elephants?
Did you know that elephants are made of elements?
Elephants are mostly made of four elements
And every living thing is mostly made of four elements
Plants, bugs, birds, fish, bacteria and men
Are mostly carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen

Come on come on and meet the elements
You and I are complicated but we're made of elements
Like a box of paints that are mixed to make every shade
They either combine to make a chemical compound
Or stand alone as they are

Team up with other elements
Making compounds when they combine
Or make up a simple element
Formed out of atoms of the one kind.

Come on come on and meet the elements
Check out the ones they call the elements
Like a box of paints that are mixed to make every shade
They either combine to make a chemical compound
Or stand alone as they are





SOURCES: http://lyrics.url.com/show/6645/they-might-be-giants/meet-the-elements-lyrics
and
http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200911273
and 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0zION8xjbM&feature=player_embedded

Silly Spanish Rap

uhhmm. . . . . . followed by more silliness!

BeDazzled Spanish Clip and Script

Good Morning Sir    Muy Buenos Dias Senor
Would you like something to eat  Gustare algo de comer?
      Como dices, no hablo espanol
      Un momento
      Estoy hablando espanol
      ¡Que diablo!
      Realmente, estoy hablando espanol
Que tal si Mrs Klein mi professor en espanol me
pudiera oir
Ella siempre decia que yo nunca podiera juntar
dos phrases
Sigo que esta equivacada
HOLA !!!   Mucho Gusto!!
Me llamo Eliot
Hola Juan
Hola Esteban.  Donde esta la biblioteca?
Esta es la casa de mi tia
No Gracias.  Soy alergico a los crustacios

Senor . . . . se siente bien
Muy bien.  Muy bien no podria estar.
Bueno.  El desayuno ya esta preparado.

Y despues… a la caballaceria

Los hombres quieren que vaya a los establos

para que vean el Nuevo cemental

Establos?  Oh mis establos
Deja que yo pregunto a mi querida esposa si
quiere ir conmigo
Mis Establos    HA HA HA HA

You Are God's Original Masterpiece

H/T Archdiocese of Washington

I just read in the news an interesting story. It seems that a tornado recently went through junk yard. As you can imagine there was a horrible amount of junk whirling around in the air. But here’s where the story really gets interesting. It seems that the tornado swirled that junk together just right because as the wind died down all those banana peals, cans, broken pieces of pottery, stuffing from old mattresses springs, car parts etc all swirled together into a fully functioning 747 jumbo jet airliner with a filled fuel tank and fully equipped cockpit. There was even a logo emblazoned on the tail fin: “Tall Tales Airlines.”

“Ah,” you say, ” The story’s touching but it sounds like a lie!” And sure enough it is a tall tale. But how different is it really from what some atheists, and also certain evolutionists want us to believe about creation? I say some evolutionists because there are some forms of evolution that a Catholic may accept. For example a mitigated form of evolution that holds that things have evolved but God has guided the process. But what most atheists and evolutionists want you to believe is that evolution, in fact everything that happened after the big bang is a chance happening. that evolution is blind, nothing guides it. It just happened by accident, a chance coming together of certain forces and processes that has produced everything we see including ourselves. Again, they insist that the process is blind, it is guided by no outside intelligence. It all just happened on its own. Now if you believe that, then I have a 747 to sell you.

Now this world, even our own bodies are far more complex than a 747 Jumbo liner. And just as a mindless tornado can’t likely whip out a fully functioning 747 neither would a mindless explosion produce a fully functioning and orderly universe or even a fully functioning human person. The existence of these orderly and complex systems surely bespeaks an intelligent designer. If you landed on a planet in some distant galaxy and found in the sand a functioning watch it is not “unscientific” to conclude that some one with intelligence designed and made this for a purpose. You may not see any life on the planet now, but at some point there was intelligent life either living here or that visited here. But the point is that you would be on good scientific grounds to conclude that the watch pointed to an intelligent designer. Now I know that Science can’t formally call this designer “God.” We who believe do that. But science is on reasonable ground within its own discipline to conclude that an intelligence, a designer is indicated by the evidence. The stubborn refusal by many to do this seems more ideological than scientific. And they hold it with the kind of “religious” zeal they claim to be above. They call us the fanatics but I wonder who really is more fanatical. Who really is ignoring the evidence here? To a large extent I think that it takes more “faith” to “believe” that all this happened by chance or due to blind evolution than simply to believe that an intelligent designer set all this forth.

I’d like to give two examples from creation to illustrate just how intricate and multi-layered creation is and then pose the ask the question “Dumb Luck or Design?”

MAGNIFICENCE OF LIFE- Consider the awesomeness of the human body. Its chemistry is just as extraordinarily well tuned as is the physics of the cosmos. Our world on both sides of the divide that separates life from lifelessness is filled with wonder. Each human cell has a double helix library of three billion base pairs providing fifty thousand genes. These three billion base pairs and fifty thousand genes somehow engineer 100 trillion neural connections in the brain—-enough points of information to store all the data and information contained in a fifty-million-volume encyclopedia. And then after that, these fifty thousand genes set forth a million fibers in the optic nerves, retinae having ten million pixels per centimeter, some ten billion in all, ten thousand taste buds, ten million nerve endings for smell, cells that exude a chemical come-on to lure an embryo’s lengthening neurons from spinal cord to target cell, each one of the millions of target cells attracting the proper nerve from the particular needed function. And all this three-dimensional structure arises somehow from the linear, one-dimensional information contained along the DNA helix. Dumb Luck or Design?

RARE EARTH ! The earth on which we live and which, by God’s grace sustains our life is surely miraculous. Consider the following facts. The life support system we call the solar system has just the correct distribution of large and medium sized planets to have swept clean most of the space through which Earth must travel. There are thus few asteroids anywhere near our path! Further, large gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, “catch” comets in their gravitational fields and keep these comets from targeting earth. Our star, the Sun, is just the right size to consume its supply of hydrogen and produce energy at a rate that provided the time and conditions for life to form. Our orbit through space, at 93 million miles from the Sun, departs from a true circle by only 3 percent. Were it as elliptical as is the orbit of Mars, the next planet out, we would alternate between baking when closer to the Sun and freezing when distant. Earth contains just enough internal radioactivity to maintain its iron core in a molten state. This produces the magnetic umbrella that deflects an otherwise lethal dose of solar radiation. The volcanic activity driven by this internal heating is just adequate to have released previously stored subterranean waters into our biosphere, making them available for life processes, but not so much volcanism as to shroud our planet in dust. Earth’s gravity is strong enough to hold the needed gases of our atmosphere but weak enough to allow lighter noxious gases to escape into space. All this is balanced at just the correct distance from our star so that our biosphere is warm enough to maintain water in its liquid, life-supporting, state, but not so warm that it evaporates away into space. A just-right Earth with just the needed gravity, radioactivity, magnetic field, and volcanic activity to support life is located at just the correct distance from the Sun to nurture the inception and development of life…all the ingredients come together in just the way. Dumb Luck or Design?

Learn the Greek Alphabet in 10 Minutes

Independence Day

Read our nation's Declaration of Independence here.

Schoolhouse Rock - No More Kings


Schoolhouse Rock - The Shot Heard 'Round the World


Schoolhouse Rock - Fireworks