Do you remember the first time you jumped off a diving board? Were you scared? Terrified? When you developed the courage to face the (deep) deep end, and you plunged in, how did it feel? I remember feeling that terror, doing it, and repeating it for hours after that first jump. I conquered it! There […]
A semester-long study of the kingdoms of living things is just the thing! And just what are the kingdoms of living things? They are the major groupings of life forms: bacteria, fungi (mushrooms), protozoa (pond water protists, molds), plants, and animals. All of life can be generally placed in one of these five groups. We […]
Though online classes are available from a number of providers, we feel what we offer in our California history class – California Out of the Box – is truly unique. What makes our classes different? Not only do we use the literature approach which is unique to homeschool, but we go deeper through discussions AND […]
Q & A with Christine Echeverri, author of Earth Party! Why did you write this curriculum? The real reason — so many life forms are disappearing before our very own eyes! Many young students are aware of this predicament. Instead of leveling on guilt and sadness about this, we step back provide a broad introduction […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
What were your moments, growing up where you experienced deep learning? Was it a speech you gave? Was it an away trip or camp you attended? Was it a super-fun class project? Was it a book you read that plunged you into a situation very different from your own? How many moments like these did […]
When my eldest was in the fourth grade, and we initially began homeschooling, we met a family at one of our weekly activities who told us about a wonderful homeschool co-op in Arcadia. At the time we were plugged in to a few groups in Pasadena, so I did not get the chance to visit. […]
