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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
As the summer stretches on, instead of the state of California opening up more, I see it hitting pause or reverting closer to the “Safer at Home” mandate. One of the things that helps me get through it all — the thought of online-only classes in fall, more economic downturn and fallout, parents that were […]
Today I had a strange experience. My boys and I biked to the post office in Pasadena to mail some books out. As we pulled up we noticed a trash can that was burning. A moment later I noticed an ambulance driving down the street, headed somewhere else. The fire had melted the trash bag […]
Photo: Governor’s Mansion, Sacramento, CA Are you new to homeschooling? Is your student in grades 3-6? Are you seeking to minimize your child’s Zoom classes? Do you want fun and authentic experiences learning about California history with your child? Would you like a California history guidebook for a year-long study? (If your family has moved […]
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. […]
“You gotta do somethin’ they never got ’em in the world.” Simon Rodia, Wikipedia Are you familiar with the outsider art of architect Antonio Gaudi in Spain? If you like his work, there is an excellent monument located in the United States, right in Los Angeles, that taps into the wonderful spirit of outsider art. […]
One of the moments I have loved in teaching California history this year is seeing my students make their end-of-the-year mobiles. I could see a unique record of what they learned in their creations. Because of how much I believe in mobile-making, I thought it would behoove me to write an article on the history […]
