published on or around the 15th of the month
from the author of www.brightkidsathome.com
Januaryr, 2007   volume 1- Issue 5

The Editor's Page


Welcome to Our World!
by Amy Cortez, Editor - The Eclectic Telegraph
If you camp, you know the smell. The one that grabs your nose when you air out the tent and unpack those sleeping bags. If you stored your gear correctly, it's not mildew. No this smell is adventure. The campfire, the orange blossoms, the sea, the wonderful scents you encountered the last time you hit the trail. At our house it starts with an idea from a book, a video, junk mail, a movie, a photo. [read on]


Grassroots Campaign: Write Your Legislators…..
by Amy Cortez, Editor - The Eclectic Telegraph
If you are homeschooling, you have already made a political statement. You are coloring outside the lines by most American standards. How far you color outside the lines really has to do with where you see yourself philosophically on this planet. Right or left, religious, secular, gay, straight, single, married, white, black, Latino, Asian, Native American -- all words that describe American homeschoolers.

There is a group here in the United States that has consistently promoted themselves at the Federal Level as the group that represents all homeschoolers. They can get away with that, because they do, because we let them.

Homeschooling is a way of life that cannot and should not be represented by any one group, and it certainly is not something that should be regulated at the Federal level.

On great example of this is what OldSage brought to you last month and that is a bit about a certain subgroup of homeschoolers that want to amend our U.S. Constitution with ideas about the rights of parents. Basically this would get down to describing and regulating what parents are and what a family looks like. (There is a wonderful history of this story written by Mary McCarthy called "Parental Rights Legislation" at the Washington Natural Learning Association website.) This movement by this one group illustrates how one group can and does usurp your right as an individual and as a homeschooler. This group may tell you they are protecting your rights and freedoms, but ultimately they are not, especially if you do not agree with their agenda.

So who are the "good guys" and "bad guys" with regards to homeschooling?

[read on]

 





TravelBlog: Free Inspiration

Travel Blog is a collection of travel journals, diaries, stories and photos from all around the world, ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

www.lonelyplanet.com

Our expert travel addicts have got their eyes on the road, their ears to the ground and their pens poised for action.

Travelin' With The Kid
blog.brightkidsathom.com

Read about our adventures in our own back yard and on the road! From a mom who has been homeschooling and traveling with a highly gifted student for more than 5 years.

 


www.kidscantravel.com
Outstanding family vacation ideas and the tools to get you there. Get tips and advice for travel with kids. Find great child-friendly destinations and attractions. Discover fun things to do with kids."

www.lonelyplanet.com
Therefore I travel...

Bright Kids at Home
www.brightkidsathome.com
A practical website geared towards homeschooling and traveling with gifted and talented students.
From a mom who has been homeschooling a highly gifted student for more than 5 years. Here you will find ideas about how you might homeschool your gifted student. You'll find ideas about how to homeschool and travel.


Huh? What's a podcast?

YouTube
Broadcast Yourself

Founded in February 2005, YouTube is a consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube originally started as a personal video sharing service, and has grown into an entertainment destination with people watching more than 70 million videos on the site daily. YouTube is building a community that is highly motivated to watch and share videos. The service is free for everyone.


Gone Sailing.
Really.
Happy Trails!
See you in March!

Flickr.com

Flickr -- almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world - has two main goals: 1. We want to help people make their photos available to the people who matter to them.2. We want to enable new ways of organizing photos.


Try something new!
Step-By-Step Collaboration
Instructables is a website where passionate people share what they do and how they it, and learn from and collaborate with others. Instructables was started by the partners at Squid Labs because we needed a quick and easy way to document and collaborate on our many projects. It seemed really useful to us, so we shared it with everyone,

Study Abroad
Study Abroad in Spain, France, Italy, England, Australia and Argentina with Global Student Experience.


Give a child a video game & maybe a job By Lisa Baertlein, Thu Jan 11, 2007. Reuters

Mathematics, science and video games? A U.S. university professor is urging schools to consider using video games as tools to better prepare children for the work force.
...
David Williamson Shaffer, an education science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says schools should use games to prepare children to compete in the work force, where juggling technology is a daily requirement. [Read on]


Curriki: The Global Education & Learning Community

Curriki is an ever-growing collection of free lessons, assessments, resources and textbooks. The resources have all been developed by members of the curriki community. Our mission is to improve education around the world by empowering teachers, students and parents with user-created, open source curricula, and it's all free!

John Lennon Songwriting Contest Session I is now open. The winners will be announced on September 1st.

  • Open - January 9, 2007
  • Deadline - June 15, 2007

12 Grand Prize Winners (one in each category) and 36 Finalists (three in each category)


How to go to M.I.T. for free
By Gregory M. Lamb, January 04, 2007 , The Christian Science Monitor
Online 'intellectual philanthropy' attracts students from every nation on earth.

An excellent description of the OpenCourseWare movement, begun at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 5 years ago. OpenCourseWare (OCW) provides free access to course materials such as syllabi, video or audio lectures, notes, homework assignments, illustrations. It's all free of charge. (We've used it in our homeschool for the last three years.)


You can make a Valentine's Day Rose from Duct Tape?
Duct Tape Rose

This instructable will teach you how to make Duct Tape roses, They are pretty good for valentines day and other events like fund raisers.

You can grow your own luffa sponge? See how at: www.groovygreen.com

"The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit, mobile recording studio outfitted with traditional musical instruments as well as current technological advances. Since 1998, the Bus has provided free hands-on programs to hundreds of high schools, colleges, Boys and Girls Clubs, music festivals, concerts, conventions and community organizations. Working together with some of the biggest names in music, the Lennon Bus encourages students to play music, write songs, engineer recording sessions and produce music video projects using the latest audio, video, and live sound equipment.If you are an educator and would like the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus to visit your school, please contact us at info@jlsc.com.

Past Editions

 


Ad Guidelines Contact Us Contribute  AboutUs 

Created and Maintained by MyCro Chyps for BrightKids@Home
© 2006-2007. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy.


Updated: January 18, 2007