Day Two Hundred Ninety-One: Making a List of Media-Based Education Sources

We are not really screen people, but we are wanting to incorporate more media-based learning into our homeschool for next year. So my project for today was to look at and make a list of options for us. I looked at Amazon Prime documentaries, You Tube education channels, and TED talks, as well as Audible and Kindle books. The latter two we have used in our homeschool previously, but the others are relatively new for us. We've used them outside of school but have never really specifically  integrated them into our formal learning environment, so it was the first such list I've made. We will certainly not have an entirely screen-based learning environment, but I'm excited to add a few new resources to our bag of tricks.

Day Two Hundred Thirty-Eight: New Homeschool Group and a Date with Clay

Since we moved here, we have not been involved with any homeschool groups except CC, but today some of us went to a teen/tween game day at a coffee shop in Lewisville with a local homeschool group. It's always good to meet new people, and I think the kids had a pretty good time.

I also got to go out on a date with just Clay tonight, which may have happened before, but he was sure we had never been on a date before, "just us," and I really can't remember, so we're going to count it.

Day Two Hundred Ten: Brilliant

I was introduced to Brilliant today through a TEDEd video I found on Real Clear Science. The site claims to offer training in critical thinking through real-world STEM problem solving, which sounded like the kind of thing we might want to incorporate into our homeschool. So I poked around on the site for a while and took the course entitled "How does a Refrigerator Work?"

Of course, I have learned these principles in physics courses I have taken in the past, but, honestly, it's been a long time, and these days I usually just sit around taking my fridge for granted and not thinking about what makes it tick. The course was a great refresher and quite interesting.

I like the way the courses are set up as quizzes that require users to think through possible solutions based on previous information they have received. This is better than just reading or watching a video that tells all the steps without engaging the mind of the listener/reader. I'm looking forward to introducing my math and science loving kids to the courses and taking more of the courses myself.

*Photo Credit

Day Two Hundred One: Writing Code in Python

Today I taught a coding class to my older boys, which meant that I first had to teach myself. Udemy came through for me once again, this time with the Teach Your Kids to Code class. (I've used Udemy for some wonderful art classes for Clay in the past.) One of the things I love about homeschooling is that I necessarily get to learn right along with my kids. We only completed the first lesson, but we had fun and are already learning useful information. I have always been intimidated by code because it really does seem like a foreign language, but so far I am enjoying it. I can't wait to see how the rest of the class goes!