Science: Very useful science websites

Very useful Science websites

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science  
http://www.schoolphysics.co.uk/age11-14   http://www.educationusingpowerpoint.com/Key_Stage_3_Science/index.html
http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/  
http://www.gcsescience.com/pfm.htm

For  Formulas see http://www.middleschoolscience.com/formulas.pdf

English - More opinion about school

Read this article:  http://www.metro.co.uk/news/869037-boy-with-beard-banned-by-blackburn-school

What do you think about it?

Here is my essay:

Recently a 15 year old boy was put into isolation in an English school for not shaving his beard off.

Personally, I think that he as he is going through puberty, he should be allowed to have a beard.  Its part of growing up and the age he is going through.  Its part of how his body works and he naturally grows a beard at this age.  He is not being rebellious - its a natural body function.  Therefore he should be allowed to wear his beard to school.  He looks decent in the photograph that appears with the article, so I see no valid reason why should he not be allowed to wear a beard at school.

As far as I am concerned a short, trimmed beard does not distract his fellow pupils from learning.  Does  an adult man negatively affect a  business meeting, just because he has a beard?  Does his beard cause a distraction in the meeting?  No, personally I don't think so.  A beard is a natural part of a man's body.  Its a personal choice and not one that can be enforced by a school.

Schools should concentrate on the quality of their teaching/learning and not spend time on punishing pupils about their beards.

In this instance, his mother argues that he had acne and shaving irritates it.  I agree that this is a very valid reason.

Furthermore the school rules state that "hairstyles have to be neat and tidy".  In my opinion a short, trimmed beard is neat and tidy.

Consequently, the stress of this situation is likely to distract him from his education.  For me, this is a far more important point than what the school feels about his beard.

Banning him from growing a beard is like banning girls from wearing bras, its is part of growing up.

I feel that this whole situation is ludicrous and goes against his rights.

First day back from April 2011 holidays

We had a fabulous holiday break and we all feel calm and relaxed and ready to start homeschool again.  This past weekend was busy with a dance competition in which I danced 6 dances and a ceilidh in which I danced a few dances.  It was fun and I learnt a lot.

I saw this quote this morning:

“Never let your schooling interfere with your education,” – Mark Twain.



I think this specifally refers to a SCHOOL education.  I know the school I went to recently took up a lot of my time but the learning was not there, the teaching was not there and so the education was not there.  It was a very successful TIME WASTING EXERCISE but I am surely  not doing that for the whole of my school years.

Home schooling is awesome and one learns so much - it's really the best!

2KL 4SKL

I found these themed Homeschool Tshirts £7.99 - £9.99

They read:  " KL 4SKL i.e. TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL

Some other homeschoolers blogs

These home-schooling blogs are worldwide as there is no need to restrict homeschoolers to their own countries education system.

Other blogs are useful for seeing other peoples experiences be they better or worse than our own. Its also useful to see the links that other homeschooling families have posted and maybe you find something interesting.

If you find just one interesting link or post then thats a good thing for the day :)

Basically all children, worldwide should be learning the same types of things at certain ages, based also on their capability.

A good tip is to look through the older posts on blogs, as they have a lot of info on. (Don't just look at the first page and then close the window) :

http://handmadehomeschool.wordpress.com/

http://www.sarahsellers.co.uk/blog/

http://guiltfreehomeschooling.org/

http://www.squidoo.com/uk_home_education

http://icky.blogspot.com/

http://www.timsellers.net/homeschool/index.html

http://homeschool4us.blogspot.com/

http://ahomeschooljourney.blogspot.com/

http://cinc-house.blogspot.com/

http://homeeducator.blogspot.com/

So by the end of this excerice you may find that you are doing better than other homeschoolers or that you have a lot to do.

You might have heard the term un-schooling and need to look into what that means and if you think it will work for you.

Personally I really enjoy homeschooling and like the mix of my books, the internet and then a little un-schooling. By our un-schooling I mean that there might be something I want to learn about thats not part of what we are doing. Sometimes we put what we are doing on hold and go for what I want to learn about and sometimes we put what I want to learn about on the list for later. Its a good mix.

I do know some families that "unschool" everyday, totally....... and the kids just dont get around to any learning ever, (they just goof off all the time and misbehave).

I also know some families who obsessively work to a schedule. Either way either parents or kids or both get bored. So a good mix works well.

Variety is the spice of life and keeps the interest going.

Home schooling is a journey, enjoy the ride, not just the destination.

Testing out my Microscope

When we were in England for our summer holidays, we bought a lovely microscope set from an antique store.

It's still got all its parts and accessories and it works perfectly.

We have been meaning to have a look at it but been quite busy with other things.

So today was our chance.

It was the first day back at school on our island, so after my little sister was off to school we thought about what we were going to do for my first official homeschool day.

We had already started some work earlier this week but today is the first official day.

First off: NO UNIFORM. Yippeeee! I chose an outrageous outfit with a fantasy hat and striped extra long socks. It made me feel very creative. I worn bright magenta eye shadow and lime green lipstick. It was wild. The three of us (my mom, my dad and I) went roller skating before we started and practiced some ball skills at the netball court.

Then we came home to start on my quill! All of a sudden an unexpected happened, talk about having an adult closeby for safety. Well my mom was experimenting with the quill tip on a test quill and she was using my pokey thing from my microscope set and it slide through the quill tip in a jolt....

So then we had a unexpected sample for my microscope. It was very interesting once it was safely under the slide and I could see the cell wall and the nucleus and everything.



We also looked a couple of other things like a hair strand, and insect wing and nylon, silk, cotton and wool samples.

Obviously this was unplanned and an interruption for my quill making but we also looked up about cells on the internet and I saw some very interesting pictures of cells. The best beginnner cells to look at are onion cells so when we do our proper lesson thats what we will do.

Source: http://waynesword.palomar.edu

These are the parts of a plant cell:


Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/labeled-plant-cell-diagram-and-functions.html


Image Source: http://www.enchantedlearning.com.htm

You can stain cells with iodine to make it easier to see the cell parts. My microscope has a colour dial under the slide mounting which lets you view under red or blue or yellow or green etc light and it helps with different cells.

At least we know my microscope works nicely and I got a brief introductionto its parts and how to focus. I also learnt that there are different magnifications. Eyelashes do get in the way though :)

Parts & Acessories

Source: http://waynesword.palomar.edu

- Glass Slides and slide covers (Fragile)
- Tweezers
- Blade
- Sharp pokey thing :)
- Other pokey things
- Container bottles and dish with cover





Other links
This is a website that explains a lot about cells: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/lmexer1.htm

Good image of onion cells stained with blue: http://bwssls.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/onion-cells-as-seen-under-the-light-microscope/