Highlights from Fall and Spring Semester California Out of the Box Online Class Yes, Minecraft – Did you know Minecraft Creative is an amazing computer-aided design program? As my students worked on their written California missions project, they were invited to share in class about a few things they learned. Some of my students chose […]
My top 5 international gems This article focuses on the 5 most memorable international places I’ve traveled. Since 2002, I have had the opportunity to go on 4 month-long international trips to Asia (Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Bali, Thailand, Turkey), Europe (Austria, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Brussels, Greece, Netherlands), and Africa (Morocco). Though I have […]
As I have been teaching early California history in my California Out of the Box online classes, I have come across some amazing resources I want to share with families. Whether you are in my classes or using the curriculum (available on Amazon and our Bookstore), these resources will open up a study of the […]
Webinar Coming Up! This fall, we launched Carrier Shell Community, a place for homeschool parents to get inspiration and support. As a part of this, we are offering a FREE California Field Trips webinar on Wednesday, January 20 at 4PM. This webinar will cover the Sacramento and Gold Rush area, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, and other […]
Leaf Observation Collections In my California Out of the Box online classes, another fun project we completed was putting together leaf collections. How does this relate to California? It applies in every way; important to the California Out of the Box Curriculum is the notion that history is related to the natural features of the […]
People that have influenced me and given me hope “As I listened to the daily newscasts about students, parents’ and teachers’ frustrations with ‘pandemic..learning’ my first reaction was, ‘Worksheets?‘ for those with no or little or limited access to distance learning tools…What about questions that help students to create their own questions with inquisitive thinking, […]
What a year it has been! With Covid, so much of how we educate our kids has changed. One of my highlights has been working with my California Out of the Box online students. Even though we meet on Zoom each week and are not able to see each other physically, projects such as these […]
Earth Party! Biology Curriculum – “I am honoured to be asked for my input on this curriculum. These lessons provide invaluable educational tools for young girls and boys interested in learning about science and hopefully continuing to pursue science as they progress onto high school and beyond. I am impressed with the depth of the […]
(And, what are the “kingdoms of life?”) The five kingdoms of living things involve all of forms of life such as bacteria (single-celled organisms without a true nucleus), fungi (mushroom and yeast), protists (algae, paramecium), plants, and animals (both vertebrates and invertebrates). Let’s Not Bore Our Kids Do you find yourself spending a lot of […]
Collaboration One aspect that struck me as I wrote Earth Party! was how collaborative living things truly are. Flowering plants depend on wind, insects, and animals to propagate. If left to their own devices, they would not produce fertilized seeds. Plants need animals; herbivores (plant eaters) such as birds, deer, rabbits, and rodents need plants. […]
