Cindy Downes

Jul. 6, 2008 - Some Interesting Statistics!

I am reading the book, Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell, and came across some statistics that will interest those of you who are homeschooling teenagers. On page 2, Maxwell states:

More than 50 percent of all CEO's of Fortune 500 companies had C or C- averages in college.
Sixty-five percent of all U.S. senators came from the bottom half of their school class.
Seventy-five percent of U.S. presidents were in the Lower-Half Club in school.
More than 50 percent of millionaire entrepreneurs never finished college!

So, next time you think your average child is never going to amount to anything, remember these statistics! And read this book!

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Jul. 4, 2008 - 1776 Special!

Did you get your email about the 1776 special? For one day only - July 4th - you pay $17.76 and you get a one-year subscription to the print magazine, 5 issues of the digital magazine, an e-book of the Star-Spangled State Book, The Citizens Rules e-book, and an e-book of The Independence Day Lapbook!

New Subscribers Here
Renewals Here

I got mine already! What a deal!

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Jun. 26, 2008 - The Schoolhouse Planner

I just looked over the Schoolhouse Planner from the sample pages and all I can say is, WOW! Why wasn't this around when I was homeschooling! (I keep saying that, don't I!)

This looks like the ideal resource for keeping track of your school, your home, and your personal life - all wrapped up in one! Good Job, TOS!

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Jun. 26, 2008 - History Detectives

June 30th begins a new season of History Detectives on PBS/OETA. This season will include WWII Diary, Annie Oakley Coin, and more. Watch the episode and use the teacher's guide to use this as a fun learning experience!

Be sure to check out the Detective kit and games too!

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Jun. 18, 2008 - Review: Exploring Creation with Astronomy by Jeanne Fulbright.

You are so blessed to have curriculum like this available to you! As I read through Exploring Creation with Astronomy, I got so excited about teaching it that I forgot my kids were grown! (No, I don’t want to teach someone else’s!) This is the curriculum I dreamed about when my children were young. It’s interesting, fun, easy-to-use, and best of all, teaches so much more than traditional textbooks!

I like it because:

It is Christian-based and accurate scientifically. For instance, in the unit on Mars, I read that giant meteors hit Mars, which sent pieces of Mars flying into space. Some of these pieces actually landed on earth. I knew this, but this I didn’t know: In the same way that giant meteors sent pieces of Mars to earth, there is a possibility that these meteors sent pieces of earth to Mars. So if they do find life on Mars, there is an explanation!

It is interesting to read. This could be used as family reading so all can enjoy or as independent reading for upper elementary grades. The writing is not full of jargon that makes many science textbooks so dull and hard to understand. Jeanne writes so that anyone can understand it. She even makes you laugh now and then!

It is fun! After you read the lesson, there are oral questions to answer, writing assignments, and hands-on projects such as making a rocket or a compass. The projects are easy to do; the supplies needed truly are “household products,” and there is a complete listing of supplies needed in the front that you can print out as a shopping list.

The only complaint I have is that it is out of date. It was published in 2004. With science, you need constant updates. However, she has remedied this by including a Course Web site where you can get updated information, corrections to the text, links to other interesting Web sites that will enhance learning, a printable notebook template for the kids to complete (love this!), and even more activities to do! Maybe out of date isn’t too bad!

The Exploring Creation with. . . series currently includes Exploring Creation with Botany, Exploring Creation with Zoology (Volume 1 covers Flying Creatures, Volume 2 covers Swimming Creatures, and Volume 3 covers Land Animals - all following the seven days of creation.)

Exploring Creation with Botany follows the same framework as the others, but some of the unique features are a focus on Latin words, an introduction to careers in botany, and an introduction to taxonomy. There is also a printable notebook template available and many fun activities!

Exploring Creation with Zoology again follows the same format as above. There is also a printable notebook template and a set of printable flash cards available for Volume 1, which is the volume I have for review. Volume 1 introduces the field of zoology and Binomial Nomenclature. This course thoroughly covers birds and insects. Some of the fun activities include a Nature Scavenger Hunt, making your own field guide, building a bird feeder, mapping bird migration, making an ant farm, and raising butterflies.

For those of you who like the work done for you, I can’t think of a better way to teach science in the elementary grades than by using this series of books. HIGHLY recommended.

For more curriculum reviews, see my Web site.

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Jun. 5, 2008 - Want to Save Money!

If you have high school or college-age kids, or you are going back to college yourself, you need to look into the option of CLEP testing. Your high school students can earn college credit, your college student can test out of classes, and you can SAVE BIG MONEY! To find out more, check my Empty Nest Mom Goes to College blog.

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May. 28, 2008 - Learning About the Microscope

Here are some resources to help your kids learn about the microscope:

INTERNET RESOURCES FOR MICROSCOPE LAB

Simple Microscope. Here is historical information about the microscope plus information on how to make one!

Virtual Microscope. Look at "specimens" under the microscope and then try to identify them.

Interactive Microscope. Look at onion root mitosis and moon rock!

Great Scopes. Lots of microscope activity ideas from GreatScopes. Also includes excellent information on how to buy a microscope. This company is operated by homeschoolers.

MicroScape. A virtual microscope lab. Awesome! You are shown a microscopic view of something then the Quicktime movie zooms out so you can see what it is.

Label the parts of a microscope worksheet.

For more, check out my April Newsletter.

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May. 28, 2008 - Subway Issue

Thanks to a comment from "Sweetie" on my now-deleted, negative blog entry about this topic, I have decided that this is not an issue that I, as a follower of Jesus, want to focus on. Criticism of Subway will not show the love of God to those who do not understand our stand on Christianity nor on homeschooling. It will only bring more resentment.

As a homeschooler, I have chosen to not avail myself of many things and this contest is one consequence. So be it.

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May. 21, 2008 - A Great Homeschool Quote

"By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn." — Latin Proverb

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May. 21, 2008 - World War II activity book

I discovered this on the National Park Web site and thought you might like to add it to your WWII unit: WWII Activity book.

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May. 21, 2008 - May Newsletter

I just finished my May newsletter. I hope you enjoy it!

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May. 13, 2008 - Microscope Work?

If you're teaching your children about how to use a microscope, you might be interested in the resources I listed in my April Newsletter. There's a list of reading books that will help, a list of things you can do with a microscope, and a lot of FREE Internet resources available that will teach the history of microscopes, how to make a microscope, and even a virtual microscope lab! ENJOY!

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May. 13, 2008 - My First CLEP test

Today, I took my first CLEP test and passed! That was quite an experience. I was nervous. The test center was confused about what I could or could not take which caused confusion. And the test was a lot harder than I thought it would be! But I passed, so that's one less class I have to take. It would have cost me about $600 in tuition and textbooks and three months of classes. Instead, I paid $65 for the test and $20 for tutoring. Well worth the stress! If you want to read more about my college adventures and CLEP testing, check out my College Blog.

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May. 5, 2008 - Review: The Declaration of Independence by Syl Sobel

This book came at the perfect time since I am currently studying to CLEP out in American History! The Declaration of Independence by Syl Sobel is not a very colorful book, but it does provide the basic facts of America's fight for Independence. The illustrations are black, white, and blue drawings. The text is easy to read; however, there is a lot of text on each page. Although I do recommend it as a good resource for studying the Declaration of Independence, my one disappointment is that it does not mention Federalists and Anti-federalists nor anything about states rights. I would recommend this book for 4th to 5th grade and up to 8th grade as an introduction to the topic. Published in 2008 by Barron's. 48 pages.

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May. 2, 2008 - Opportunity for Home School Student!

I am passing this letter on that I received in hopes someone out there has homeschoolers who are interested in this:

Dear Cindy,

My parents homeschooled me because they thought it would present me with more opportunities than traditional schooling. Today I am working with Oklahoma Christian University to help other students around the country to find opportunities for development.

This August, 48 students will be gathering here in Oklahoma City to participate in a week long leadership debate that will be televised nationally on Fox News! Applications are open for the next two weeks (until May 16, 2008) and I want to make sure that students from the homeschool community are well represented. We are interested in having the best students and I know that if we don’t have some homeschooled students we won’t attain that goal.

Students selected for the program will be:

1.       Great communicators
2.       Critical thinkers
3.       Aspiring leaders

If Oklahoma Homeschool has a student like this who wants an opportunity to meet other students from around the nation, who wants to hone their communication skills, who wants to be a better leader, and who wants to learn from some of the best minds in debate, public policy, and leadership in the nation, then please recommend them for the program. We have been working hard to find scholarships for every position so the students selected for the program will only have to pay $75 each, which includes all costs for the program including airfares to Oklahoma City.

If you would like more information I can email you an application packet. Alternatively, you can visit our website and download the information there. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions--my information is below. I look forward to seeing your students at iDebate!

Sincerely,
Marshall B. Sayre

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Director’s Assistant, iDebate
Oklahoma Christian University

Phone: (405) 425-1065
Email:     marshall.sayre@oc.edu
Web:      www.oc.edu/academy

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