I remember seeing this originally air and laughed so hard about it.  I was tickled to find this on another blog and be able to see again.  I know there are many not laughing now about how far in debt they have become.  But the ideal is sound - "If you don't have the money for it, then don't buy it". 

 

So I had a birthday and I was feeling pretty old UNTIL I came upon this test that another blogger had failed. I was pleased to discover that I still have the hearing of a teenager. woohoo And even if I had failed it was still funny to see the dog tilting its head back and forth while the youngins holler "What is that noise?"

Created by Train Horns

From: http://www.homeschool.com/articles/top100-2009/default.asp

The Top 100 Educational Websites of 2009
Selected by: Homeschool.com
Sponsored by: Time4 Learning

Homeschool.com’s Product Testers have done it again!

They have selected the Top 100 Educational Websites of 2009. We asked our 7,000 Product Testers to send us a list of the educational sites that they like the best and use the most often. The three sites mentioned most often were:

The Top Sites for 2009
1) www.starfall.com
2) www.edhelper.com
3) www.time4learning.com

Note: Normally we would not include a commercial site on this list. However, so many people nominated Time4Learning, it seemed unfair to leave them off the list.

 

• Click on a site name
• Explore their site for awhile
• If you love it, add it to your bookmarks
• Then use the back button to come back to the main Top 100 list

All of these sites are safe, proven and used by thousands of parents just like you. So grab a cup of coffee, put your kids on your lap, and have fun exploring these wonderful sites.

Reference

Ed Helper
http://www.edhelper.com

School Express
http://www.schoolexpress.com/

Learning Page
http://www.learningpage.com

Tools for Educators
http://www.toolsforeducators.com

Britannica
http://www.britannica.com

Discovery School
http://school.discovery.com

Homeschoolers Reference Desk
http://www.geocities.com/homeschooldesk/

Internet Public Library
http://www.ipl.org

New York Times Learning Network
http://www.nytimes.com/learning

Enchanted Learning
www.EnchantedLearning.com

 

Miscellaneous

Autism Today
http://www.autismtoday.com

Ideal Lives
http://www.ideallives.com

Study Stack
http://www.studystack.com

Study Spanish
http://www.studyspanish.com

How Stuff Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com/

Living Spanish
http://www.livingspanish.com/

To Learn English
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/

Songs for Teaching
http://www.songsforteaching.com/

Education Creations
http://www.educationcreations.com/freestuff.htm

Lesson Plan Central
http://www.lessonplancentral.com/

Time Savers for Teachers
http://www.timesaversforteachers.com/

Great Resource for K-8
http://www.kids.gov/

Time4Learning
http://www.time4learning.com

 

Math

The Math Worksheet Site
http://www.TheMathWorksheetSite.com

Math Goodies.com
http://www.mathgoodies.com

Math Playground
http://www.mathplayground.com

Math Drills
http://www.math-drills.com/

Math.com
http://www.math.com/

Algebra Help
http://www.algebrahelp.com

WebMath
http://www.webmath.com

Cool Math Games
http://www.coolmath-games.com

 

High School

High School Ace
http://highschoolace.com/ace/ace.cfm

Homework Spot
http://www.homeworkspot.com

Explore Learning
http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm

Best Colleges
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college

Preparing Your Child for College
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Prepare/index.html

 

Science

BrainPOP
http://www.brainpop.com

Chem4Kids
http://www.chem4kids.com

Exploratorium
http://www.exploratorium.edu

InnerBody
http://www.InnerBody.com

Science for High School
http://www.scienceforhighschool.com/

Cosmeo
http://cosmeo.com

NASA for Students
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html

Astronomy for Kids
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=ss&id=127

Nine Planets
http://www.nineplanets.org

StarChild
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov

The Electronic Zoo
http://netvet.wustl.edu/e-zoo.htm

Smith Life Science
http://www.smithlifescience.com/

The MAD Scientist Network
http://www.madsci.org

Try Science
http://www.tryscience.org

Science & Technology Education
http://www.ftexploring.com/

 

Arts & Crafts

Art Lessons for All Grades
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/lessons.html

Kinder Art
http://www.kinderart.com

Crayola
http://www.crayola.com

Draw Space
http://www.drawspace.com/

Draw Your World
http://www.drawyourworld.com/index.html

Drawing/Sketching Lessons
http://drawsketch.about.com/

Kids Art
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/kidsart.htm

 

Reading

Starfall
http://www.starfall.com

Reading A-Z
http://www.readinga-z.com/samples/preview.html

TLS-Books
http://www.tlsbooks.com/

Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.net

Wowio.com
http://www.wowio.com

 

Writing

ABC Teach
http://www.abcteach.com

Scholastic – Student Activities
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/learn.jsp

Online Writing Guide
http://oswego.org/staff/tcaswell/wg/para.htm

The Write Site
http://www.writesite.org

Spelling City
http://www.spellingcity.com/

Teacher’s Lab
http://www.learner.org/teacherslab/

 

Geography, History and Virtual Travel

Colonial Williamsburg: Electronic Field Trips
http://www.history.org/trips

Natural Wonders of the World
http://www.field-guides.com/sci/natwon/index.htm

Teacher’s Guide Virtual Field Trips
http://www.theteachersguide.com/virtualtours.html

CyberBee
http://www.cyberbee.com

Global Online Adventure Learning Site
http://www.goals.com/Index.htm

The Jason Project
http://www.jasonproject.org

Virtual Field Trips
http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours

Xpeditions @ National Geographic
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions

K-12 Africa Guide
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Home_Page/AFR_GIDE.html

States and Capitals
http://www.50states.com

Life in the Middle Ages
http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/ma/mahome.htm

New Perspectives on the West
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest

The American Civil War Homepage
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war

The Civil War Homepage
http://www.civil-war.net

The Oregon Trail
http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html

Geography Worksheets
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/qt/geogprintables.htm

White House for Kids
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids

Lewis and Clark
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark

 

Homeschooling

Homeschool.com
http://www.homeschool.com

Homeschool Reviews
http://www.homeschoolreviews.com

Homeschool Blogger
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/home.php

Homeschool Buyers Co-Op
http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/

Homeschool Freebie of the Day
http://www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com

Homeschool Classifieds
http://www.homeschoolclassifieds.com

The Well Trained Mind
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/

 

Educational Games

Family Fun
http://www.familyfun.com

Teach With Movies
http://www.teachwithmovies.org

Fun Brain
http://www.funbrain.com

Discovery Kids
http://kids.discovery.com/games/games.html

I Know That
http://www.iknowthat.com

The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List

From Secular Homeschooling Magazine, Issue #1

1 Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is — and it is — it's insulting to imply that we're criminals. And if we were criminals, would we admit it?

2 Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization" mean, and use the one you really mean instead of mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization means having acquired the skills necessary to do so successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me and my kids, that means that we do in fact go outside now and then to visit the other human beings on the planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a decent grasp of both concepts.

3 Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class, field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets to socialize.

4 Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way as that one homeschooler you know.

5 If that homeschooler you know is actually someone you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality" show, the above goes double.

6 Please stop telling us horror stories about the homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're probably the same little bluebird of happiness whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so please go away.

7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids when we hear they're in public school. Please stop drilling our children like potential oil fields to see if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of homeschooling.

8 Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.

9 Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be homeschooling for religious reasons.

10 We didn't go through all the reading, learning, thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision, tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an affront or a judgment about your own educational decisions.

11 Please stop questioning my competency and demanding to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family; I don't need a degree in teaching to educate my children. If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.

12 If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in school, please understand that you're calling me an idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in kind.

13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right there in "homeschool," we never leave the house. We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums, and zoos in the middle of the week and in the off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.

14 Stop assuming that because the word "school" is right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a desk for six or eight hours every day, just like your kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of education — and many of us prefer a more organic approach — we can burn through a lot of material a lot more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our lessons to the lowest common denominator.

15 Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if the idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm one of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be shallow somewhere else.

16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and then.

17 Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds more like you're horrified. One of these days, I won't bother disagreeing with you any more.

18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a better one.

19 Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see much difference between bossing my kid around academically and bossing him around the way I do about everything else.

20 Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing, aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative, pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go to school can be as annoying as they want to without being branded as representative of anything but childhood.

21 Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of prodigy because she's homeschooled.

22 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy because I homeschool my kids.

23 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint because I homeschool my kids.

24 Stop talking about all the great childhood memories my kids won't get because they don't go to school, unless you want me to start asking about all the not-so-great childhood memories you have because you went to school.

25 Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice about homeschooling, shut up!

from http://www.secular-homeschooling.com...eschooler.html

This is a music video from Acappella.  This song is wonderful.  Actually their newest album "Radiance" is one of their recent best in my opinion.  I hope you enjoy this video.  Are you ready to meet Jesus?