Video Game Content

This site was of special interest to me because it was created by a Lenexa mom, Darla Liebl. I like her concept.

Videogamemom.org is an easy, reliable video game review site for parents who want the facts, not opinions, on today's popular video games. I simply watch kids play videogames and look for anything a parent would want to know. No more searching the web for details, no more trusting the videogame rating system, no more depending on other people's opinions on what's appropriate for your child.

What this site is: A video game review site for parents who need a quick, easy way to get the facts about popular video games based on an evaluation of SLARV:

Sexual Content

Language

Additional Comments

Racial Insensitivity

Violence

What this site is NOT: My video game opinion. You're the parent, you can form your own opinions on what's appropriate or not appropriate for your child.

You can read the article from Kansas City Sun Publications, or view the site here.

Thanks for the tip, Shelley.

White House Farmer

There are two Kansans on the list for White House Farmer. I don't know how serious the site is, but voting closes on January 31st. So if you hurry on over, you can vote!

WhiteHouseFarmer.com was conceived by the Brockmans, a farm family in central Illinois. The idea came on an endless blue sky day, after reading the Pollan article in the New York Times magazine, and while strolling the country roads with our father to help him regain his strength after Whipple surgery.

Homeschool Buyers Co-op

The thing I have to remind myself each time a Homeschool Buyers Co-op newsletter arrives is that I don't really need all the cool things they have to offer. Membership is free, however, and they really do have a little something for everyone. If you are shopping, you certainly can't afford to pass up some of the deals you can receive through the Co-op.

The Homeschool Buyers Co-op is the nation's largest purchasing cooperative for homeschooling families.

They have more than 36,000 members at the time of this entry.

As well as the many great deals (on-going and limited time offers) through Homeschool Buyers Co-op, they have an extensive list of freebies including curriculum, field trip links, and a growing collection of product reviews and FAQs.

Kansas Day: January 29th

From the Library of Congress:

Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861. About two hundred years earlier the French Jesuit priests, Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, were among the region's earliest European explorers. A map drawn by Marquette in 1673 indicated that the Kanza, Ouchage (Osage), and Paneassa (Pawnee) tribes dominated the area that would become Kansas.

The United States acquired Kansas in 1803 from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase. During its early years as a U.S. possession, the area was part of Indian Territory and was used by the federal government to relocate tribal peoples. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed the residents to decide if theirs would be a free or slave state.

Some activities for Kansas Day...

Kansas Day at the Museum
Kansas Museum of History, Topeka
9 a.m. — 3 p.m. Thursday, January 29, 2009
Free Admission


Kansas Day at the Museum
Smokey Hill Museum, Salina
Saturday, January 31, 2009


Sunset Zoo, Manhattan
Kids visit for free the entire month of January!


Kansas Day Celebration
Santa Fe Trail Center, Larned
Sunday, January 25, 2009


Lecompton's Bleeding Kansas Program Series
Sundays, January 25 - March 1, 2009
Free Admission
Constitution Hall State Historic Site


Celebrate Kansas Day!
Kauffman Museum, Newton
Sunday, January 31, 2009
1:30-4:30 p.m.

Kansas Day Celebration
Butler County History Center & Kansas Oil Museum, El Dorado
Sunday, January 31, 2009

If you know of more, please send them!

On TV: The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies

From Jim Lovett, MonarchWatch.org

From time to time the monarch migration and associated conservation issues are covered in the national media, via articles in newspapers, magazines, and short clips on TV news programs. Overall, the coverage of the monarch story has been spotty bits and pieces, and Americans have not been exposed to an in-depth treatment of the amazing monarch migration, nor the people and cultures that encounter monarchs on their yearly north and south passage across the continent. This is about to change.

NOVA's "The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies" will be aired on PBS at 8PM (check local listings) Tuesday, 27 January 2009.

Read Chip's complete blog posting online.

Union Station: January 27-30

From Sherri Woodward, Union Station Kansas City

We hope you are planning to visit Union Station next week during Home School Days, January 27-30.

I wanted to notify you in advance, that due to operational issues related to a portion of the exhibition, Dialog in the Dark is temporarily closed. We hope to have information on when the exhibition will re-open on Wednesday, January 28

However, our other attractions will be open and available to the Home School families at the discounted rates below.

Science City: $6 per person

Regnier Extreme Screen: $4 per person

The Tsar & The President: $6 per person

KC Rail Experience: $4 per person

Additional information regarding shows and exhibits can be found on our web site at www.unionstation.org.

Also during Home School Days….
• $10 off Family Membership (for 4 or more people) purchased January 27-30
• Special science demos each afternoon
• FREE educational materials

Please call (816) 460-2020 if you have additional
questions.

Doing, Doing, Doing

My son loves doing things. He loves making, creating, planning, building, constructing, dreaming, figuring, contemplating… and, although I have moments when I’m not entirely sure how I am going to keep up with him, I love that he is a constant reminder to me that there is no better way to learn than by doing.

The things I see my son do each day are the very reason we opted to homeschool in the first place. I don’t want him to be confined to a seat in a classroom when his nature is to tackle the world in leaps and bounds (sometimes literally).

One of my concerns, however, has always been that one day my kids will get to a place where they will need expert guidance that is beyond me. And the hang up is not that I feel I must be or become an expert in everything that interest them, but that I am not always the personality that is good at going out and asking for help when I need it. I want them to be good at asking for help when they need it, and therefore I’m having to figure out how to do that – how to model that – myself. I’m good at exploring along with them. I enjoy doing a wide variety of things myself. But sometimes I think I take the “figure it out myself” approach a little too far. Sometimes it’s a relief to be shown how to do something. Sometimes you can get places a whole lot quicker if you just ask someone who is really good at something to provide a bit of mentoring.

My son has been taking electronics apart for years, and he’s recently started focusing on putting stuff back together. “I want to make it work again,” he was telling me the other day about a broken CD player that hasn’t worked in years. “If I could just figure out what part of it isn’t working.”

He proceeded to take the thing apart, review all its pieces, and then put it back together again. It was very important to him not to “break” it further. He wasn’t successful, but I so admire his attempt.

I told him I couldn’t help him with this particular problem, but maybe if we looked at opportunities to “do” more with the inner workings of electronics and electricity, he’d get to the point where he could build things himself and successfully repair things down the road.

I pulled out a 4-H book for the electricity project that I thought would give us a good start. We made a trip to radio shack where he spent his own money buying a few supplies (we also scavenged quite a few of the supplies from old flashlights and stuff we already had around the house). He’s making circuits. He’s already built a flashlight and yesterday he put together this switch to turn his light on and off.

Radio Shack has some a great little electronic “project of the month” that he’s looking forward to taking part in. Eventually we will make an opportunity for him to spend some time with his uncle and/or grandfather to get some serious hands-on experience. I’ll be keeping my eye out for other good mentors along the way, as well.

Right now, we’re both having fun with these projects – but I have a feeling his enthusiasm might outlast mine by quite a bit. Or maybe we’ll both gain enough skill that wiring needs in our old house will eventually seem not so intimidating. Better yet, perhaps I’ll have a skilled electrician in-house (or at least willing to come visit and work for cheap) by the time we get around to building a new one!

This is how it works! I think he likes explaining what he's figured out as much as making it work in the first place.

His sisters have been quite interested, as well. Here he's telling them about the switch he put together and how it works.

Mark your Calendar...

Unschoolers need a holiday. When people ask if they homeschool in the summer, they say yes. When people ask when they have a break from learning, they say never.

This has gone on for a long time now.

July 24, 2008 will be the first (and maybe last) annual Learn Nothing Day a vacation for unschoolers, though it may be celebrated by anyone who wishes.

Click on the above logo for the official "Learn Nothing Day" website.

Home is Where the School Is

Home Is Where the School Is
By Gregory J. Millman
Washington Post
Sunday, March 23, 2008

But "home-schooling" is a misnomer, really. Most of it doesn't even take place at home, and the schooling has little in common with what goes on in school. The legal definition varies from state to state, as do registration and other requirements. In New Jersey, the law only requires parents to see that their children get an education "equivalent" to public instruction.

What home-schoolers most readily reflect are the virtues of the old American frontier settlement or the Amish barn-raising -- we co-operate in self-reliance. My wife and I have been teaching our children ourselves for more than 15 years, and we've found that home-schooling opens doors that schools leave closed.

Unschooling Voices

Submissions for Issue #13 of Unschooling Voices are now being accepted.

Silvia at Po Moyemuwill be hosting this edition and has submitted this question:

What do you do, as an unschooling parent, when your child expresses an interest in a particular topic and you don't know how to help them in a way that doesn't involve lesson plans and curriculum?

If you would like to participate and don't have a place to post, Kansas area homeschoolers are invited to post their entries here.

John Holt Quotes

Joanne, at An Unschooling Life, recently posted some great John Holt quotes. If you haven't already read John Holt's books, I highly recommend them.

Show & Tell: Taliesin's Bookmark

Taliesin's artwork was selected by the Friends of the Salina Public Library for a bookmark.

Great Wolf Lodge: Virtual Scrapbook

GWL ~ Year 1

15 members of the Topeka (TAHN) and Lawrence (LAHN)Area Homeschool Networks shared three rooms at the Great Wolf Lodge.

Second Annual Area Homeschoolers GWL Get-Away

TAHN, LAHN and GAHN (Gardner) got together with 41 attending the gathering.

Third Annual Area Homeschoolers GWL Get-Away

KSHomeschool.net organized the gathering with
a total of 140+ attendees from across the state of Kansas.

We met new friends from: Baldwin • Blue Springs
Dodge City • Edwardsville • Emporia • Gardner • Hutchinson • Kansas City KS
Lawrence • Lecompton • Lenexa • Manhattan • Osage City • Shawnee
Smithville MO • Spearville • Tonganoxie • Topeka • Wichita

Are You Going to Join us in 2008?

Kansas Area Homeschool Network in 2008

Where will Kansas Area Homeschool Network go in 2008?

Anywhere we want it to go. What would you like to see?

• Make sure your local support group is listed in our directory (or that the information is current if you are already there).


• Send us a link to your blog if you would like it listed (sidebar, right).


• Feel free to send us announcements and news of interest to Kansas Area Homeschoolers.


• Submit Show & Tell items by the first of each month.


• Send us your thoughts, comments, suggestions, articles and essays... or just leave notes in the comments section of this blog. We love to hear from you.

I have still not succeeded in transferring everything from the old KSHomeschool.net site to here, but I will continue to work on it as I have time. If there is anything specific that you are looking for, drop me a note and I'll put it on the priority list.

Thanks and Have a Great 2008!
Tracy

P.S. Don't forget to get your reservations in for Great Wolf Lodge! The rooms are filling up. If you need the details or have any questions, drop me an email at goobmom23 AT yahoo DOT com. This invitation is for homeschoolers. Feel free to share the news with your local groups.

Show & Tell: Graham Cracker Construction Party

What you can do with Graham Crackers, Icing, Candy, and a Little Imagination...

Show and Tell: Toa Mahri

drawing by Isaac, age 10

click on the image to see it in greater detail

Our Non-directed Support Organization

Got this link to a great essay through FutureMom's blog. Thanks, FutureMom!

Our Non-directed Support Organization
by Earl Gary Stevens
Home Education Magazine
May/June 1995 Issue

While it is true that a network is not a community, Eileen Yoder, who co-founded SMHESN with me, points out that within our network we are a community of people at various levels of commitment and caring and willingness to give. Some people give a great deal, and, as time passes, they tend to be seen as leaders. But as long as we claim ownership and responsibility only for what we as individuals offer to others and not for any kind of group authority, then we avoid misunderstandings and debilitating conflicts.

Unschooling Voices #11

The January 2008 edition of Unschooling Voices is up! There is always a lot of good reading at Unschooling Voices and lots of thoughtful blogs you might enjoy adding to your regular reading list.

If you are interested in participating in the next edition, it will be hosted by Relaxed Homeskool and you can check out the guidelines for entries here. Remember that if you don't have your own blog, I am always happy to post any Kansas Area Homeschooler here on this site.

Enjoy!

All Kansas Area Homeschoolers are Invited!

Great Wolf Lodge: February 26 & 27, 2008

The dates are on the calendar!

Send me an email at goobmom23 AT yahoo DOT com for reservation requirements. If you can let me know where you heard about the gathering and what part of Kansas (or surrounding areas) you are coming from, I would appreciate it.

At this point, we are the only group with plans at the Great Wolf Lodge for these dates. Feel free to share this information with your local homeschool groups.

FAMILY SUITES (sleeps 6) - RATE
February 26th $129.00 plus tax
February 27th $103.00 plus tax

LOFT SUITES (sleeps 8) - RATE
February 26th $209.00 plus tax
February 27th $169.00 plus tax

Deadline for reservations is January 15.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me!
goobmom23 AT yahoo DOT com

I look forward to meeting you all again (or for the first time!) at the Great Wolf Lodge in February.

Tracy

Mind The Gap

Article by Diane Flynn Keith

So, why are you minding the gap? What is it exactly that you are afraid your child will miss? Reading? Writing? Arithmetic? Building missions with sugar cubes? Face your fear. Give it a name. Make a list. Then really look at that list and determine what is most important in order to give your child the educational foundation that will allow him or her to become an autonomous, self-directed learner. If that is your goal, following a curriculum and agenda created by the state (or anyone else) is counter-intuitive.

Thanks, Tracie, for the link.