It’s mid-November and I’m feeling an increased sense of urgency to finish my winter preparations. So after nearly a week of rain and drizzle, wind and cold, I’ve enjoyed this weekend’s golden autumn sunshine and the opportunity to work outside. I’ve been focused on tucking my gardens in for their long sleep, this means doing…
Blog
Great Migrations on National Geographic Television
As the Scientific Homeschool we love our science channels. We watch Mythbusters, How It’s Made, Planet Earth, Destroyed in Seconds (is that really science? or just the male desire for destruction?), Dirty Jobs, Bugging Out, Head Rush, Meteorite Men, Through the Wormhole, even “Punkin Chunkin” and more. I even consider watching “Phineas and Ferb” on…
Darwin’s Darkest Hour
I’ve been looking forward to watching this particular film for a long time, unfortunately in our area there’s not much in the way of video rentals, so we wait for movies and documentaries to be available to us online. Finally today, I found Darwin’s Darkest Hour at the NOVA website. Written by the Brittish screenwriter,…
Going secular for the holidays
With Halloween upon us and Thanksgiving on the horizon, I find myself looking ahead to the winter holiday season with much excitement. I’m like this every year, but seemingly more-so this year. This will be our second year observing the Winter Solstice rather than the traditional Christmas. Now that we’ve broken away from the ill-fit…
Learning to Say “Yes”
Now that we’re practicing unschooling, I’ve been consciously making an effort to say yes more often. We’ve done no formal sit-at-the-table school work this week. Basically it feels as though we’re on vacation, enjoying the New England autumn–and working through our screen-obsession. As we adjust to the unschooling lifestyle, I’m keeping in mind that saying…
Secular Homeschooling Lonely Business in Central Maine
Homeschooling is becoming more mainstream, but secular homeschooling, particularly secular homeschooling without religion, remains a lonely endeavor in central Maine. We live in an area the locals refer to as the Foothills Region, which seems to be a no-man’s land for organizations and groups. On the coast we have the Homeschoolers of Maine, a Christian-based…
Child-Led Inquiry or Unschooling
It’s been a long time coming, I think, but our family is finally taking the plunge into unschooling. Unschooling is also referred to as child-led or interest-led learning. Basically it is a way of viewing the learning in everything so that you see the educational value of it all. Let’s face it, learning can happen…
20% of Plant Species Face Extinction
Mainly because of population sprawl and habitat loss, scientists say that roughly twenty-percent of the Earth’s plant population is under threat. This article from DiscoveryNews talks about those threats facing plant species. In fact, in a recent study which classified some 4000 species, 22 percent were classed as threatened. This is a scary thought, since…
Homemade Playdough for Multisensory Learning
I make a lot of things from scratch in my home. A lot of our food is made the old fashioned way, from scratch–without the aid of a boxed or packaged-mix. I do this partly to prevent ingestion of preservatives, dyes, and other harmful chemicals, and partly to stretch our budget. I also make a…
Homeschool Summer Vacation in Maine
We’ve been avidly enjoying our summer vacation. The boys are eating up the free time (among other things), and I’ve been taking the time to pursue some of my many interests. But here is a brief glimpse into some of our summertime activities. Nothing beats eating blueberries right off the bush. A flair for dramatics….