Google Earth

Google Earth is just about the coolest geography tool I've ever seen, and it's completely free!

Scote has been obsessed with it, sometimes spending hours trying to find certain landmarks and places from his books or from Dodo's history lesson, or just soaring over the surface of the earth following rivers or mountain ranges and exploring whatever region catches his eye.

It takes maps and globes to a whole new level, with interactive pictures and links to the wikipedia built right into the maps, and tons of choices of what you'd like to see on there.

If you haven't downloaded the free version, you should go do that RIGHT NOW. It's awesome!

~EH

Desert No More

Sorry for the long haitus, but we were busy settling into our new house in Louisiana. I've tried to maintain some sort of school throughout, but it's been really sporatic and more unschooly than I am comfortable with. I have no plans to try to make up for lost time or anything. since the kiddos are still academically far ahead of where they "have" to be at this point, and they are still just little kids, no need to rush. We are getting back into our routines and morning structure, though, since we are all happier that way.

I've got lessons to get to, so I'll just post a few pictures to show what we've been up to.

free maps

Scott suddenly renewed his love affair with maps, so we tore the map pages out of an old telephone book and he taped them together to make his own atlas. He's spent the last hour happily finding area attractions from the list by looking up their coordinates, and all on his own.






This is the sort of real life, child initiated learning that unschoolers are famous for.

I mean here is my rambunctious barely 6 year old boy completely engaging himself in active learning with no prompting!

Okay I've wasted enough time, I need to get haunting. ~EH
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Hands On Equations

The basic premise of the montessori math program is pretty much the montessori approach to everything...quality, aesthetically pleasing concrete materials and free exploration combined with very brief instruction and individualized progression with an interal control of error.



I am always excited to find materials that fufill these criteria, are interesting to my kids, and still remain affordable. It isn't always easy, what with the prices at most montessori shops, but sometimes you get really lucky and find something that flies in under the montessori radar, and fuflills all the critera but doesn't have the expensive label and price.



Hands On Equations is like that.



It is the perfect marrriage of abstract puzzle and concrete materials, of easy computation and difficult thinking. I love it, but more importantly, my Dodo loves it and is not only learning how to solve equations, but to really understand them.




The wheels are turning...

Hmm maybe this number will work?

No.

Hmm, how about this one instead?

It worked!

Yep, it checks!

I'm all for any schoolwork that can bring out this range of emotion.