Craig Gibson from www.mothmatic.com would like Homeschool.com readers to know about his Math website.  Mothmatic offers several free to use animated games.

Games are fun….and fun learning is forever learning!

Ann Simpson

Do your kids love summer camp?  Perhaps they can attend camp in the winter!

Check out the local zoo, the local Discovery Center, and the Science, History and/or Art museums near you.  Consider equestrian clubs, karate schools and any type of organization that offers lessons your children might be interested in.  Many organizations offer winter camps–some especially for the homeschool community.

Camps are fun…and fun learning is forever learning!

Ann Simpson

Explore the world with the Roberts family, learning where to go, what to see & do, and how to travel with kids!

Created by parents — for parents and for their children, the Travel with Kids series shows real life travel experiences.

Travel With Kids is broadcast on PBS and worldwide in 30 countries. DVD versions are available on Amazon and on their website.  Travel With Kids is also seen on Hulu, iTunes and Roku.

Watch the Travel with Kids trailer–you’ll see how your kids will enjoy the videos and learn interesting and fun information at the same time.

I have to admit, as  I was watching the videos, I couldn’t help but think, “Darn!  I wish I’d thought of this!”

Travel is fun….and  fun learning is forever learning.

Ann Simpson

The Key to..®Series are affordable math workbooks for elementary, middle, and high school math students. Separate mathematical topics include Key to Fractions®, Key to Decimals® , Key to Percents®, Key to Measurement®, Key to Metric Measurement®, Key to Algebra® and Key to Geometry®.

The Key to… set of self-paced, self-guided workbooks are classroom-tested and proven successful with students at all levels. 

Key to… curriculum is an exceptional series for the student who needs some extra time on a new concept or who finds math a bit intimidating.  With each new concept the first few examples are worked out in detail. Concepts are presented in a simple format allowing an easy transition from the simpler to the more difficult problems.

Math is a fun subject when kids understand it!  And as we all know….fun learning is forever learning!

Ann Simpson

This year, the first day of winter, or the Winter Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere will be December 22.  On this day, because of the earth’s tilt, the Northern Hemisphere will be leaning farther away from the sun than at any other time during the year, and it will be the shortest day of the year.

Following, is a poem about winter,  by Arimoko Konshei

Winter is cold

Winter is brittle

Winter is dark

Winter is long

Winter is here

Winter is gone

How is that possible?

It seems so far away in the Summer

It seems so close in autumn

Why? How?

It is winter

Poems are fun and fun learning is forever learning!

Ann Simpson

If being more organized is one of your goals for the upcoming year, check out MySchoolYear.com — a site that allows you to keep track of your homeschool records online.

With MySchoolYear.com you can design your own lesson plans and revise them easily, organize your curriculum by subject and grade level, keep track of multiple schools (your homeschool, a dance class, an art program, a college prep course, etc.), record your materials previously and presently used for future reference, track and retrieve supplier information, schedule your classes conveniently, keep track of grades and time spent working on each subject, view or print your own report cards…and MORE.

MySchoolYear.com is very easy to navigate and to use. It’s flexible, and can be easily personalized. It is password protected — making it available to you and only you.

MySchoolYear.com is the perfect assistant to your classroom. Your very own teacher’s aide  –  keeping you organized and allowing you the time to focus on your most important subject – your student(s)!

And yes, fun learning is forever learning!

Ann Simpson

Asa Zanatta from K5Learning.com writes–

Recent research demonstrates how early and how quickly young children are adopting technology. For example:

• Children age 8-18 spend 7 hours, 38 minutes per day using entertainment media.  They multitask, so they pack 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into those 7.5 hours.  (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010)

• 1/4 of kids are going online daily by the age of three, while around 1/2 are doing so by age five (The Joan Ganz Cooney Centre at Sesame Workshop, 2011)

• Children under two spend twice as much time watching TV and videos as they do reading books (1 hour 54 minutes, vs 53 minutes) (Common Sense Media, 2011)

Asa continues, “We decided to summarize some of the ‘nuggets’ from a number of 2010/2011 research reports in a ‘prezi’ and I thought I’d share it with you.”

In case you’re interested,  you can see the data  at http://www.k5learning.com/blog/our-kids-are-using-more-digital-devices-longer-ever.

The nugget that caught me by surprise was — “More kids aged 2-5 can play a computer game than ride a bike.”

Ann Simpson

WHEN:                Wednesday, December 14, 2011

TIME:                   From 3:15 to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

SIGN UP:             http://vp121411.eventbrite.com/

Brought to You by HANDS-ON EQUATIONS!

MIT OpenCourseWare makes teaching materials used in MIT undergraduate and graduate courses available on the web, free of charge, to any user anywhere in the world. It is not a degree-granting or credit-bearing initiative, but a large-scale, web-based publication of MIT course materials. Educators are encouraged to use materials for curriculum development, and self-learners may draw on materials for self-study or supplementary use, including learning resources specially developed for high school students.

OCW is online at http://ocw.mit.edu/.

What a great resource!

How fun!  And fun learning is forever learning!

Ann Simpson

An instant Christmas classic…

Are you raising your children to believe in the birth of Jesus Christ, but still embrace the idea of Santa Claus while they’re very young? Well, good news–there’s an app for that! And just in time for Christmas! Food4thought Productions has launched an interactive and educational book application made for the iPad and available through iTunes. It is available on Amazon Kindle and Nook Color as well.

When Santa Got Sick tells the tale of how Santa cannot make it out on Christmas Eve so he commissions individuals all over the world to deliver presents — he also reminds everyone what Christmas is really about — the birth of Jesus Christ.

When Santa Got Sick features time honored Christmas music as well as an original Christmas song, “Emmanuel Has Come“. The book contains 18 pages of original illustrations, which are are both colorful and engaging.

When Santa Got Sick is an interactive book–and it’s an educational tool as well! Food4thought Productions added a feature for children just learning to read. Kids can identify letters and words as a moving highlight matches the reader’s voice.  After just a few times, you can turn off the sound and let your kids read the book themselves!  Be prepared though – your kids might want to read this tale over and over and over again!

When Santa Got Sick is inexpensive ($3.99 on iTunes and $5.99 on Amazon Kindle and Nook Color), fun for the whole family, and can be given as an educational and entertaining gift!

This isn’t just a book for the little ones–children of all ages will enjoy When Santa Got Sick!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNJIE3HfuAc

And yes…fun learning is forever learning!

Ann Simpson