Learning a New Language

In the event that foreign language study is not already part of your everyday daily lessons, I'd like to introduce you to a new website.  Memrise is a web-based program that makes learning another language kind of fun.

At Memrise, they use a quiz-based approach to help reinforce vocabulary words of the language you choose to study.  Some of the languages they offer include: Mandarin Chinese, French, Spanish, and Italian.

Each lesson is broken in to a small set of words for you to learn with the assistance of audio clips, short videos, an English explanation, and clever mneumonics or "mems".  A mem is anything that helps you learn a new connection between a word and its meaning. In Memrise, mems can be text or graphics.

For many of the vocabulary words taught, you will notice there are multiple audio clips.  Some of them are in a woman's voice, man's voice, and a slowed down voice.  Again, this helps your ear pick out the exact pronunciation.

Another interesting feature of Memrise is their garden analogy to help facilitate the learning process.  As you learn new words, you begin growing a Memrise garden.

Phase 1: Learn new words by planting seeds
To first learn words on Memrise, you plant seeds (new words) in your Greenhouse (short-term memory). This is the where your memories are at their most delicate and require the most love and attention. During this early phase, you are tested and reminded of the words frequently, so they get a secure root-hold in your brain.

Phase 2: Harvest: Transfer words to long term memory
Once your Greenhouse plants are fully-sprouted (well established in short-term memory) you’ll see a count-down timer begin on each plant, which will indicate a period of four hours during which the memory must mature by itself before it is ready for long term memory.

Phase 3: Reviewing long-term memories = watering your garden
Once a word is in your Garden (long term memory), it requires less attention than when it was in your Greenhouse, but you will still need to “water” it periodically. Watering is refreshing and strengthening memories, which one does by means of Memrise’s carefully calibrated tests and reminders.

The Memrise website is 100% free.  The program was founded in Cambridge, MA, by Greg Detre, a PhD neuroscientist from Princeton, and Ed Cooke, a Grandmaster of Memory.  The Memrise team combines science and fun to assist people in the learning process. 

Memrise is definitely a cool foreign language learning tool that is worth checking out.

Thank Goodness We Homeschool

Every once in awhile, I come across something that validates my decision to homeschool my children.  Yesterday it was because of an email I received about a video showing American high school students (caught off guard and out of the classroom) answering some basic questions about history and geography.

"Do you know the vice president of The United States?" the teen journalist asks. 

“The bald guy. He was gonna run and he – Clinton, right?” one student replies.

While I have to admit that while the video at first seemed pretty funny, it's actually kind of sad.  It very well may be a honest depiction that some teenagers "don't know much about anything".  While I may be elitist (yikes, let the hate mail begin), I know that my kids could answer most of these questions.  Furthermore, I am pretty confident that many of the homeschool teens I know could answer most of the questions correctly too.

Even though this may be a huge blanket statement, I think homeschoolers actually pride themselves on what they do know.  Somehow, they just don't seem to fall prey to the "dumbing down" that can happen in so many public schools.  Whether this is a result of homeshool parents, or the child's own intrinsic sense of self, I have yet to meet a homeschooler who thinks it's hip to be dumb.

This past weekend, my family watched the movie Dolphin Tale.  In the film, one of the main characters, Hazel, explains that she is homeschooled.  Seeing as how her father is a Marine Biologist in charge of an underfunded rescue/rehab facility, you get the impression that Hazel is one of those self-taught homeschoolers.  In contrast, the other main character, Sawyer, is skipping his summer school classes on a daily basis to help rehabilitate a wounded dolphin.  I loved how the film treated Hazel being homeschooled as "no big deal".  As a matter of fact, you almost feel that by not attending public school the girl has an edge.  Hazel seems to have it all together, she's social, happy, and has great self-worth.  On the other hand, Sawyer seems to be a complete mess - he's failing at school, depressed, and withdrawn.

When the two characters talk about school, Sawyer explains that he's never done very well in and fails at everything.  Hazel remarks that, "Maybe you just haven't found something you really enjoy learning about yet?"  What's awesome in film is that Sawyer's mom sees the value of what her son is learning outside of the non-traditional educational environment (i.e. summer school) and allows him to continue skipping school.  She even talks to his teacher, in hopes that he too can recognize the worth in trading in English class for a first-hand lesson in Marine Biology.  Unfortunately, the teacher doesn't agree. As the movie progresses, we witness that as Sawyer becomes more passionate about the saving this dolphin, he level of knowledge begins to sky rocket.

I have to wonder if what Sawyer experience with tradition school learning could be the same answer to what is ailing our public school teens?  Perhaps the reason the teens don't know much about history or geography is because they are really not interested?  So it's not that they are "dumb", perhaps it's just something they don't enjoy learning about?  The big question is whether the apathy they feel towards these subjects is a result of how they have been taught?

My kids have been learning about history and geography for years.  However, I must admit that I have taught them very little.  Instead, they have learned all that they know by reading books (fiction and non-fiction), watching movies and television, and by visiting state parks, museums, etc.  My kids read and/or listen to the news.  They participate in family discussions at the dinner table regarding: politics, economics, and current events.  They have acquired knowledge in these areas because learning about them has always been an interesting and natural part of their life.

When I say "thank goodness we homeschool", its not because I think my kids are smarter than the teens in the Lunch Scholar video.  Instead, it's because I know my sons care about the questions that were being asked in the video.  They would feel foolish to be "caught on camera" as seeming ignorant on these subjects.  Somehow, my kids intrinsically know that this is information every average American should know. 

For the teens that don't know the answers to these basic questions, you just have to sigh.  If they care so little about these topics when they are young adults, how confident do we feel that they will ever take an interest when they are older adults?  Of course, with books like Kenneth C. Davis' "Don't Know Much About Anything", maybe there is at least some hope that one day they might become like Hazel and learn the answers!

                                                                                                                                                                  

NOTE:  The video, "High School Students Caught Off-Guard", was made by two Olympia High School juniors, Austin Oberbillig and Evan Ricks, in Olympia, WA.  The boys said that the intent of the video was to just get a few laughs around school.  However, when the video went viral, they didn't think it was so funny.  "Once the whole country is looking at it, it's a little different,” Ricks said. “It can get a little scary.”

Source:  Huffington Post 2/5/12

P.S.  When I showed my kids the video and told them that I was posting it on my blog, they asked me to add in a comment:  "If you plan to show your kids this video, ask them the same set of questions first".


Lunch Scholars
High School Students Caught Off-Guard

What Should My Child Read Next?

One thing that I have always loved about homeschooling is that it allows my kids the time to follow their reading passions.  The one thing that has always been a struggle is coming up with a list of books that matches their reading needs: similar author, similar theme, books in the same series, etc.

So in the event that other homeschoolers have experience similar situations, here are my suggestions for websites that will help you figure out - "What should my child read next?"

P.S.  And if your teen hasn't read The Hunger Games yet, they might want to hop on it before the movie debuts in March 2012.  In my opinion, there is nothing worse than trying to read a bestseller AFTER it has been turned into a major motion picture.   While there is alot of graphic content in this book (it's not for the feint-hearted) we read the series as a family read-aloud last winter.  My husband loved it.   My eldest son, who at the time was into a new computer game, opted out of our family reading and is now zipping through the series on his own.

                                                                                                                                                                  



The Book Seer
bookseer.com

Read a great book and wondering what to read next? Ask the famous bookseer for some advice.  I must confess that I like gimicky websites, so I guess that is why I found this one appealing.

Parental Book Review
http://sites.google.com/site/parentalbookreviews/about-us


This is a good website for parents that are looking to determine if a book is "kid-friendly".  While the reviewers do not support censorship, they do review books and rate the content with regards to: sex, violence, profanity, drugs, etc.  Of course the moral standards of each family are going to be different, so the reviewers caution you that their reviews should just be a starting point for book suggestions.  The goal of the website is to help people make informed decisions about what they are reading.

 

Common Sense Media
commonsensemedia.org

Good website for all ages.  I especially like that you can search for books according to the age (2-17) of the reader.  The folks on this websites strive to present ratings for each book with regards to:  educational value, positive message, violence, sex, bad language, etc.  They even provide suggested "talking points" to help you discuss the book with your child.  This feature would come in handy for any homeschoolers who participate in book groups.

In addition to books, the website can also be used to review: movies, televisions shows, games, music, and websites. 

whichbook
www.whichbook.net

This website allows you to customize reading needs by making four selections from content "sliders".  It uses the combinations you selected to suggest books that most closely match your needs.  You can even specify if you want books that are audio, ebooks, or in large print.

Kids Read
www.kidsreads.com
This is a good website for families with younger readers (elementary & middle school age).  The website provides parents with reading lists, series books, classic titles and the newest titles.  I especially like the specialty sections, like: Books for Boys, Books Into Movies, and New in Paperback.

 

Teen Reads
teenreads.com

An excellent site that will appeal to teenagers.  The website boasts book reviews, in-depth author profiles, and excerpts of the hottest new releases. 

Home Economics in the Cyber Age

In my house, nothing is worse than that dreaded question "what's for dinner?".  Somehow it always seems worse in the winter, when all of a sudden my family only has 6 standard meals to choose from... and they are all boring us to tears.

One suggestion to alleviate the meal planning doldrums is to get the whole family involved in the meal planning process.  After all, your children won't be living with you forever (at least we hope not!) and so it doesn't hurt to add some Home Economics to your lesson plans.

I recently came across a clever website called Plummelo, which allows you to do some real easy menu planning.  You can find tons of different recipes by either browsing through Plummelo's online recipe box or by doing a keyword search.  They also have a menu planning feature that allows you to search for recipe ideas based upon: what ingredients you specifically want to use, dietary restrictions, or special occasions.   

 Best of all, once you have selected what recipes you want to make, you can automatically create a shopping list of all the needed ingredients.  When creating your shopping list you can do so for one recipe or multiple recipes.  You can even add other non-recpie related items (ex. toothpaste, toilet paper, bread, etc.) to your shopping list - so that everything you need at the store is "on the list".

Plummelo is a free web-based service.  All you will need to get started is have an email account and then you can access Plummelo from any computer or mobile device.  When using the program you will be able to save any recipes you find to your own personal recipe box.  Which means the next time you want the same recipe, you won't have to go searching through your kitchen to find it.  Instead, it will be waiting patiently for you in your Plummelo account.

You even have the option to upload your own recipes and designate whether you want to make them private or public.  I have quite a few recipes that are on bits of paper, stashed away in my cook books.  One of my favorite cookie recipes is almost in shreads now, so it would be an excellent one to add to my collection on Plummelo.

I think what I really like is that Plummelo is that it's just so easy to use.  Which means my kids and my husband have no excuse for not contributing a good suggestion for dinner.  We can all save recipe suggestions to Plummelo, which should gie us lots of new ideas.  Later on, we (or me) can go through all the saved recipes and delete any that are either too hard to make or don't have enough appeal to interest the whole family.

Finally, for those of you with a serious chef in the family, you can install a Plummelo browser button to their computer.  That way, when they are browsing other recipe websites (FoodNetwork, Epicurious, AllRecipes, etc.), with the just the click of a button they can save new recipes to your Plummelo account. 

So now that you know about Plummelo, your family has one less excuse for not knowing "what's for dinner".

Plummelo - One-click Shopping List

Indulge Yourself, While Helping Others

A few months ago I heard about a shoe manufacturer, TOMS Shoes, who has a "One for One" charitable program.  For every pair of shoes you purchase, they will donate a pair to a child in need.  I think this is a wonderful program, but unfortunately, I'm just not into shoes.  

At the time I read that, I thought to myself, "Now too bad there isn't a program like that for books."  As anyone who knows me, I am definitely into books.  I have tons of them, cluttering up my entire house.  I am desperately in need of a new bookcase, but I've run out of walls in my house to erect another one.  So we stumble around the piles of books in my house, and use them as conveniently located end-tables.

Well it just so happens, I recently came upon a website that is passionate about books and world literacy.  The bookseller, Better World Books, has a simple charitable policy, "You buy, we donate - book for book."  The process is very simple, every time you purchase a book from Better World Books, they donate a book to someone in need.  The books they donate are distributed through these non-profit agencies: Books for Africa and Feed the Children.  As of October 1, 2011, they have donated over 5.8 Million books.  Wow.

What I like about this website is that they have a pretty decent collection of books for sale: contemporary fiction, non-fiction, textbooks, children's books, etc.  The sites boasts they have more than six million new and used titles, so finding a book you like should be pretty easy.  While they offer both new and used books, prices of the "new" books seemed a little high in comparison to Amazon.  However, used prices are generally around $3.98.  What I especially like is that the shipping is free on all book orders.  This comes in especially handy when you just want to buy one book and don't want to mess around trying to have your order total $25 so you can qualify for Amazon's Super Saver Shipping.

Recently, I wanted to make a single book purchase: "Don't Know Much About Geography" by Kenneth C. Davis.  Since this was just for our use for homeschooling, I was fine ordering it used.  I found it listed on Better World Books for $3.98 and with free shipping, I thought that was a screaming deal.  Then if you add in that my purchase will result in a book being donated to a child in need, it's a win-win situation.

So if you would like a way to indulge your passion for reading (or accumulating lots of books) and do some good in the process, I highly suggest you check out Better World Books.  They are one online bookseller that is helping to make the world a more literate place.

Oh, and if you're not into books, but are into shoes... then check out TOM Shoes, where buying yourself a new pair of pumps can make a difference in the life of someone else too.

You Tube

Better World Books - $10MM for Literacy

Touch Typing

Have you ever watched your kids type on the computer?  Are they using all ten fingers?  Or, are they using the two-finger "hunt and peck" method?  When our kids are young, we don't seem to pay too much attention to how they're interfacing with a computer.  Instead, we are usually more concerned with whether they can access Google to get the answer they are looking for.

However, once our kids mature into teenagers, they start spending a lot more time typing information into the computer.  Whether it's writing an online assignment, completing a merit badge, or updating their blog, how fast teens can type starts to matter more.  If you're smart, you will not wait until your children are in their teens before you begin thinking about how well they can type.  As soon as a child is old enough to use a computer, they're old enough to use it right.

Being able to type, using all ten fingers, is valuable, no matter what age you are.  Touch-typing is a skill I acquired when I was in my early teens (on a dreaded manual typewriter no less) and I'm glad that it's second nature for me now.  Nothing is greater than the ability to type as fast as you think.

Unfortunately, while I am a pretty accurate typist, I have to admit that I'm not very fast.  Luckily, there is a great website out there that can help.  Typing Web is a web-based typing program for people of all skill levels.  Since it is a web-based program, there is nothing to download, and no software to install.  Whether the user is starting from scratch, or just need some tips to increase their speed, Typing Web has something for everyone.

For newcomers, the program offers lessons that teach you how to type, a few letters at a time.With each lesson, you will receive information on both your speed and accuracy.

In addition to standard lessons like learning the home row, the program has additional lessons to help you master capital letters, punctuation, etc.  They even offer a host of practice sessions that range from typing using text from classic books (ex. "200,000 Leagues Under the Sea") to current headlines in the news.  This provides you with the added bonus of learning something while you practice.

The designers of this program, have tried to make the learning process fun by offering a slew of typing games, to help make practice entertaining.  For instance, in the "Magic Library" players are lost in a spooky library, where they get attacked by a barrage of magical books! Typing the letter listed on each book, destroys the book and saves you.  In addition to the typing games, there are even games that are "just for fun".

With Typing Web, there is even a Teacher Tool that allows you to track the progress of several users, whether you have one student or several.  Finally, you can even customize the program by applying a personalized "skin" (fancy way of saying a "background").

Finally, I'd like to point out that the Typing Web is 100% free.  All you need to register for an account is an email address.  For those people who want to check out the program before signing up, there is an option to use the program with no registration.  However, you should know that if you choose to go this route, none of your progress will be saved.  To keep the program free, the trade-off is having to endure some ads on the screen.  However, I did not find them to be annoying or offensive.  If you decide you wold like to get rid of all the ads, the cost to upgrade to a premium membership (i.e. ad-free) is a one-time fee of $9.99.

So if you are looking for a way to teach your child some good typing skills, or would like brush up on your own, Typing Web is really worth checking out.

Read More - One Bite at a Time

Snuggling up in a big comfy chair with a good book is one of my favorite things to do.  However, whenever life become busy, it always seems that reading is usually one of the first activities to go. Sigh.

To stay on top of a commitment to read more books, there’s an internet "bookmobile" that's worth checking out.  It's called DailyLit, which is a service that brings you books --- one bite at time.  Book segments are delivered directly to your email inbox each day for you to read at your leisure... using your computer, laptop, or mobile device.

DailyLit offers more than 1000 titles for readers to choose from.  Their books range from the classics to the modern fiction/non-fiction.  Best of all, all of their books are 100% free.  Thanks to support from such sponsors as Harper Studio, Random House, and Diane Von Furstenberg, DailyLit can provide this wonderful service for free.

Once you choose the book you'd like to read, you then select when and how often you’d like to receive installments.  For instance, you can set it up to receive installments: Daily, Weekly, or Monday/Wednesday/Friday.   You can set the specific time you'd like your installments to arrive, down to the exact hour and minute.  Next, you can adjust the font type and size to meet your needs.  Like your books in Large Type?  No problem.  In addition, based on your reading appetite, you can customize how big you want your reading chunks to be:  normal, long, and longest.

With that.. you're ready to go.  Continuing installments of the book you selected will begin arriving in your email box based upon the delivery option you selected.  If you ever find that you'd like to read more on a particular day, you can immediately request the next segment.  On the same token, if you find yourself too busy and need to take a break, you can reduce the frequency with which you receive your installments or even put them on hold for a bit.  This comes in handy when you are heading out of town for a few days.

DailyLit is a cheap and easy way to get in a bit of reading each day.  I tried out the program recently with a classic (The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas).  I found it a cool way to finally read book I've had on my "to read" list for ages. In addition, it's a wonderful way to get your kids reading too.  With how kids today seem to love being on computers, DailyLit may be just what you need to put a new twist on an old classic.