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Google Photos: A Free Google App

Feb15

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Click! Click! My fingers were busy taking pictures on my cell phone of a junior high event that I attended this weekend. The yearbook staff asked me to capture some of the highlights to share since I was a part of the festivities.

Now, what do I do with the pictures? Google has a free app called Google Photos.  It is an online image organizer and viewer. In addition, it also allows you to edit pictures with several basic functions such as, color enhancement, red eye reduction, and cropping. Other features include slide shows, printing, and image timelines. You can also share your photos with others, be it friends or family, near and far.

I think this app would be great if you wanted to create a memory book of an event or if you are in a co-op and wanted to create a yearbook for your students. If you have a student who is interested in photography you could create a class for high school credit by using this app and also guidelines from one of these sources:

4-H Photography This is a requirement page for the merit badge and in no way obligates you to join the organization.

Boy Scout Photography Badge  This is a requirement page for the merit badge and in no way obligates you to join the organization.

I love this quote and wanted to share it with you. Have a great week!

~Lisa

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FREE Homeschool Full Curriculums

Jan4

imagesBeing good stewards of our money is important, especially when many homeschool families are living on single incomes. One way you can do this is by using free online curriculum; here are some to check out:

Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool this Christian curriculum website is for all grades from preschool through high school. The subjects that are studied include English, math, computer and logic and includes lesson plans as well.

Lesson Pathways is a free online curriculum site that offers weekly lessons for students Pre K- 5th grade.  Areas of study are: Language Arts, Phonics, Science, Math, and Life Skills.

Ambleside Online created for families who are interested in the Charlotte Mason approach of education. Here is a description of what they have to offer taken from their website,”is a free homeschool curriculum that uses Charlotte Mason’s classically-based principles to prepare children for a life of rich relationships with everything around them: God, humanity, and the natural world. AO’s detailed schedules, time-tested methods, and extensive teacher resources allow parents to focus effectively on the unique needs of each child.” Grades K-12 are available on the website.

Project Gutenberg has free textbooks that are public domain. While it is not a stand-alone curriculum site, you can use many of the books to create your own curriculum.

Hippo Campus offers teachers and students from middle school through college thousands of educational videos, as well as lesson plans, and blogs with ideas for using these videos in your studies. Areas of study include: Mathematics, Natural Science, Social Science, and Humanities.

 

Online Read Aloud Books

Nov30

imagesDo you have a student that is an auditory learner? What about a child who wants you to read to them more than you have time in your schedule? Can’t get to the library or just want an audio book?  There is a free public domain auditory library whose mission is “to make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet. ”

LibriVox audiobooks are free for anyone to listen to, on their computers, iPods or other mobile device, or to burn onto a CD. Note, you should go to the site yourself if you want to see what content there is available. Everyone has different parameters for your family and some material is not suitable for young readers. I did listen to the beginning of a George McDonald book and I enjoyed the female reader’s voice. I also listened to a story about an East Indian tale about a turtle that couldn’t stop talking and found it to be entertaining.

So, how can you use this great resource for your school?

  • While your student is listening they could draw a picture of what is being read.
  • Write any unfamiliar words down and use them as vocabulary for your language arts program.
  • Audio books can help a child who needs more practice with listening skills.
  • Have your pupil summarize the story that they just heard, whether that be orally or written.
  • Discuss the story and have your scholar make connections, whether to another story you have read, or an experience that they have had previously.

History and Horses

Jul27

For some reason it seems like girls are enamored with horses. The dreams of riding and owning a horse are a subject of conversation in many a play group that has girls. I remember a particular school year when my son was the only boy in an art class of nine and one day he came home and exclaimed, “I don’t think I can take it any longer! I want to quit art class.”

I was surprised and asked, “What is it that you can’t take any more in there?”

“All of this talk about horses. That’s all they [the girls] think about!”

Beautiful Feet has a written an award- winning history curriculum called The History of the Horse for horse lovers grades 3-6+. Classic books such as The Black Stallion and Misty  of Chincoteague  that are read throughout the year. If you are interested in purchasing it, there is free shipping on your order. My boys and I did not do this particular study, but have done others of theirs and I highly recommend their products. They are well written and I was able to easily incorporate other books, movies, and additional lessons if I needed to fit my plans. History of Horse Pack - Beautiful Feet Books