Homeschooler Savvy

Pause for a peaceful SUN STUDIOS set

Keeping in the theme  of peaceful sun sets, and having just been to Graceland...here is a photo of the first record that went Gold for Elvis, recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis. If you want to do a virtual tour of Graceland, or the Jungle Room go here.

Graceland as an educational experience for kids and a badge earner for scouts

I'm going to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee.....with a bunch of cub scouts.  One day every year Graceland gives all the scouts and their families an opportunity to get a Platinum ticket for Graceland (adults normally $32, children under 12 normally $15) for $15 for all.  There are activities the scouts can complete which help them get music and art related badges and elective credits. 

It's a homeschoolers dream - integration of history, art, music, math (just how many records are needed for a platinum award, how many zeros is that?).  And it's not just rock and roll, but also country and gospel.  The thoughtful Graceland hostesses even give you a list of activities the scouts can do for each level of badges available for them.

How was it?  "Awesome" according to the boys that went.  The boys liked his gold records and his car collection the best.  Elvis had a Ferrari and a Rolls Royce, and (drum roll) the Pink Cadillac was there too.

The token sister liked the bus ride best (it's a homeschool thing).

We got to see the inside of the Lisa Marie airplane and the smaller jet.  Plush is the word we took away from the trip.  As in Plush Pile Carpet (yes, on the ceiling).

Some did you know questions: Did you know Elvis had a twin brother who died at birth? Did you know that Elvis served 18 months in the US army in Germany - he was conscripted, and rather than find some way out of it, he went and did his time.

Was it worth it?  Absolutely.

Website for Graceland.

Site info on Scout activities and badges.

Aussie Kim & LA Sue (intrepid Graceland explorers, extraordinaire!)

History At My House: World War I (prep work)

So you want to teach your little darlings about the First World War. Well, one does not enter into a war lightly or unprepared. A little reconnaissance is needed. Supplies must be gathered. Training must take place. This is war!

How do I prepare myself for war? First, you must understand, this is total war. It's not just history. It's math. It's science. It's literature. It's home economics. It's physical education. Yes, that's right. I said physical education. Ever hear of forced marches? Strap on your kit, and I'll tell you how to prepare yourself for the siege.

When preparing for total war, you have two new best friends: your computer and your librarian. You will need to utilize these tools to their maximum capacity. Yahoo and Google will cry for mercy when you're finished with them.

Start with a general search. I Googled World War I. These are some general, all purpose sites I found...

http://www.worldwar1.com/

http://www.firstworldwar.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/

http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/

Their are thousands of other sites, but these will do for now. I spend my leisure hours (between midnight and 2am) going through these sites. I find that the PBS site is a companion site to a video series, "The Great War" and that leads me to the library. I bribe my lovely librarian (chocolate works!) to ensure that the video will be in on time. I love my librarians.

While I am at the library, I search for books and other videos on the First World War. I find some and put holds on others. I ask my librarian for other ideas. She suggests that I search specific subject areas (i.e. science + WW1, literature + WW1, etc.). I kiss her feet and then search as directed. I leave with two bags full, and I return home to my computer and search some more. Here are some of my finds...

Science:

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/nov2003.html

(Work on drugs during WW1 saved countless lives in WW2!)

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,711767,00.html

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195168747

(I didn't buy it, but I requested it from the library. However, it looks like a good one to own!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_during_World_War_I

http://www.ivanhoe.com/science/story/2005/12/79si.html

(Did you know that the earliest chemotherapy drug was produced from mustard gas?!)

Okay, you get the idea. The subjects of my searches were Science + WW1 and Science Innovations + WW1. You could use other searches to find more (medicine + WW1, aeronautics + WW1, etc.). The possibilities are mind boggling.

Now, do the same for other subjects. I searched for WW1 + literature, food, health, geography, time line, politics, languages, maps and I don't remember what else. When I came across a book that looked good, I stocked up on chocolate and headed to the library.

The key to a successful foray into history is preparation, and also an understanding that everything is history. A periodic table of elements didn't just appear in space. Someone discovered an element and made history. L.M. Montgomery didn't just think up Rilla of Ingleside one day after eating too much cheesecake. She lived through the First World War and decided to write a story based on events in history. Reading fictional works set in an historical setting is still learning about history. You don't have to tie yourself to a textbook. History is everything. When preparing to teach history, don't forget that everything is fair game. Connecting the dots between traditional subjects is what makes history fascinating. Names and dates can be important, but they are not the sum total of an event.

You have your marching orders, now hop to it soldier. Total history is upon us and we must prepare. Research is our finest weapon in the battle to make history interesting and fun!

LA Sue

(More on my family's WWI studies coming soon.)

Gifts that broaden horizons - Music education

  I believe kids are naturally musical, they've got rhythm in their bones.  If you want to teach them music I suggest Suzuki instruction, it is very gentle, encouraging and they get to an advanced stage fairly quickly. If it is a major chore to get them to practice, I suggest you leave it to them to decide they really want to learn the instrument (at a later age perhaps). From what I've seen, Kindermusic is good, however, it seemed a little overpriced to me. 

For young kids, just make a regular date to put some rhythmic music on and let them bang on pots and pans, blow on whistles, ring a bell... you get the picture.  If they see you enjoying music, singing along, tapping your feet...it's contagious, they can't help but enjoy it too.  Live bands are great to take kids to see as well, although it's always a good idea to have some earplugs handy (they sell them in the shooting/hunting section of Walmart) since most kids' hearing is usually not as damaged as adults hearing.

Gifts with hidden agendas - I love them.  Here are my favorites for classical music education. By far THE best classical music CDs I've ever listened to for kids are the ones put out by Classical Kids.  We have nearly worn these out from playing them over the years (by kid request).  I think this has been by far the best money I ever spent on kids CDs. These are the ones we have, and they are discussed in order of child requests.

Mozart's Magic Fantasy: A Journey Through 'The Magic Flute'is based on his opera the "Magic Flute" (a duel between good and evil with an underlying Christian analagy).  This can be a little scary at the beginning for under 5s, but then (at age 4 & 6) my kids got so totally absorbed by it they kept asking for it over and over, ad nauseum (for years!).  This one was my daughter's and son's favorite.  It is an amazing introduction to opera for kids. Before you know it you will hear your cherubs singing like sopranos (it's quite funny).  These CD's are great for extra peace during car trips.

Mozart's Magnificent Voyage is about Mozart's life.  Mozart's son complains about school at one point in the CD (which irritated me), but in the end he realizes how lucky he is and settles down, so I guess it's a lesson learned.  My son also loved this story as well (it has boys in it).

 

The rest of the composer CDs are gripping stories which involve the composer in some escapade during his life, while his music is played either in the background, or as part of the story.

Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery was my daughter's favorite (a girl is the heroine), it portrays Vivaldi's work as a priest in an orphanage in Venice.  It is nicely linked (by a common heroine) to Classical Kids: Hallelujah Handel! This story also deals with Orphans - Handel often performed for Orphanages, or donated earnings from performances to orphanages.

Tchaikovsky Discovers America is a really exciting story which is based on the time Tchaikovsky came out to perform in America (at the turn of the century).  Mr. Bach Comes To Call is a great CD if you have a child that plays piano, as it is all about practice, practice, practice. Beethoven Lives Upstairs was the first of the CDs put out by Classical Kids, and is a very well done look at Beethoven's life, through the letters of a young boy.

The Song of the Unicorn plays middle ages type music (lutes, etc.), with a story loosely based on the tales of King Arthur and Merlin.  A Classical Kids Christmas is simply great classical Christmas music, with and without words.

These CDs run at about $12 each.  I was trying to put ONLY our favorites here, but I failed miserably, we love them all. 

Want a full scale course on the Orchestra and composers?  Try "The Story of the Orchestra" by Robert Levine.  I found it a bit serious, but the pictures and matching music CD make it a very comprehensive course on composers, instruments and classical music. 

Often your the local library has a CD collection, you can always pick up a different classical music CD each week along with your books and play it in the background during housework or schoolwork.  You would be amazed at how quickly kids start to think of it as "normal" music.  If you have XM radio in your car or on your TV, you can try the XM channel Pops.  It plays the favorite classics.  Who knows, if you start early enough, they may even choose this for their listening pleasure over Hannah Montana....

Aussie Kim