Category Archives: Educational Ideas

(Once a teacher, always a teacher)

WordWorld DVD “Get Up and Move” Giveaway

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Are you familiar with WordWorld? If not, check it out and see if you agree with me that it is one of the best educational TV shows available for children. There are also WordWorld DVDs available, and I’m giving away their new one, “Get Up and Move,” which encourages children to exercise while also teaching them reading skills in a fun way.

WordWorld was the only show that our grandson would watch when he was a year old. As a teacher who has taught many children how to read in first grade, I immediately fell in love with the characters and the influence I knew they must be having on young children learning their alphabet letters and sounds plus teaching them how to read words.

WIN IT:
WordWorld is providing one DVD for giveaway. This contest is open to all U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Visit WordWorld – “Where Words Come Alive” and leave a comment telling me who is your favorite character.
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BONUS ENTRIES:

Must complete mandatory entry first! Leave a comment if you already follow or subscribe.

  • Blog about this giveaway and link it back here (3 extra entries)
  • “Like” Healthy Home Blog on Facebook (1 extra entry)
  • Click the Facebook “Share” button below this post to share it on your FB wall (2 extra entries)
  • Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry) (leave a comment if you already follow me)
  • Click the “Tweet” button below this post to share it on your Twitter feed (1 entry per day)
  • Subscribe to Healthy Home Blog’s email updates- see sidebar. (2 entries)
  • Follow me through Google Friend Connect in my sidebar. (1 entry)

* WordWorld is supplying a DVD for this giveaway. I was not compensated monetarily for this article. This is my honest opinion.

WordWorld T-Shirt Giveaway

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How would you like to win one of these adorable T-Shirts for your child? PopFunk is providing a WordWorld T-Shirt, shipping included, to the winner of this giveaway.

Our daughter and s-i-l first introduced us to WordWorld when it was the only show that our grandson would watch when he was around a year old. Forget the other educational shows for babies and toddlers, WordWorld was the one that captured his attention. After watching it, I could see why. As an educator, I immediately fell in love with the characters on WordWorld and the impact I knew they must be having on young children learning their alphabet letters, sounds, and actually learning to sound out words and read.

So with that said, let me get on with the giveaway:
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HOW TO WIN IT:
PopFunk is providing one WordWorld T-Shirt for giveaway. This contest is open to all U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST Monday, April 25, 2011. Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Follow “Mr. P,” PopFunk, on Facebook &/or Twitter. (Each one counts as a separate entry.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each.)
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BONUS ENTRIES: Must complete mandatory entry first!  Leave a comment if you already follow or subscribe.

  • Blog about this giveaway and link it back here (3 extra entries)
  • Click the Facebook “Share” button below this post to share it on your FB wall (2 extra entries)
  • Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry) (leave a comment if you already follow me)
  • Click the “Tweet” button below this post to share it on your Twitter feed  (1 entry per day)
  • Subscribe to my RRS Feed.  (2 entries)
  • Subscribe to Healthy Home Blog’s email updates- see sidebar. (2 entries)

* PopFunk supplied one of their T-Shirts for a giveaway. However, I was not compensated monetarily for this article. This is my honest opinion.

April 2, 2011 is World Autism Awareness Day

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I am a special education teacher, and this is dear to my heart.
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April 2nd is the date of the annual celebration of World Autism Awareness Day.  Many events will be going on around the world in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Brazil, Hungary, India, Ireland, Mexico, United Kingdom, and the list goes on and on.  Famous people and celebrities will be in attendance at some events.  Much will be done to educate people on how to communicate with people who are autistic..

 

In the United States, we are using the whole month of April as Autism Awareness Month to educate the public about issues within the autistic community. People are encouraged to contact their local representatives as well as congressional representatives to “Vote 4 Autism.” For more information about this legislation and to take action to support it, visit Vote4autism.org.

“LIGHT IT UP BLUE“ is the theme in Australia as well as other places as the Sydney Opera House and other buildings around the world are lit up in blue lights for World Autism Awareness Day.  They are encouraging people to sign up on the site and light their own blue light bulb.

At my school, many of the faculty wear blue in honor of Autism Awareness Day.  If you have a chance, wear blue on April 2nd.  I definitely plan to be wearing blue on that day.

If you have the chance to watch this, I highly recommend the movie based on the life of  “Temple Grandin,” who has autism.  This movie won seven Emmy Awards, including Best-Made-for-Television Movie.  Here’s a summary of the movie in case you’re interested.  Claire Danes does an excellent job portraying Temple, which Temple herself admits.  Also, Grandin has her own website, Temple Grandin, Ph.D.

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Read here for more info about Autism Awareness & Tips.

Video and Web Conferencing

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We live in such a highly technological age.  People in other parts of the world are just a few clicks away on the internet.  Video and web conferencing make conferences available to those scattered across the country.

Dr. Temple Grandin will be doing a webinar on livestock tomorrow which illustrates how anyone, anywhere can tune in and watch this.  Having worked with children who have autism, I would love to meet or at least hear her speak.  Why?  In the 2010 TIME 100,  Dr. Grandin was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in 2010 in the Heroes category.  Why?  Because being autistic herself, Temple Grandin has given more insight into autism than anyone.  She didn’t speak until age three or four (I read three and a half but the movie about her says four), yet now she is a highly sought after public speaker and is a professor at Colorado State University.  What an amazing lady!  If I didn’t have to teach tomorrow then I would definitely want to watch and listen to her on the webinar.

Getting an Online Degree

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The value of a degree cannot be underplayed in this economy.  With today’s market, competition is high in the job market, and one must have the skills or degree necessary for the job.  Many are opting for an online degree which can be completed at their convenience and within their schedule.  When one has a family and values the time spent with their family, an online college education provides just the flexibility they need so they can still go to soccer games, open house at school, and all the many things that parents attend.

Not only do online universities provide the convenience and flexibility that is attractive to so many, but they usually provide a savings, some more so than others.   Common to all, though, is the savings in gas money, time that might have to be taken off from work, and babysitting fees for those with children.  No wonder so many are looking at online degrees to complete their college education so they can compete in today’s highly competitive job market.

Note:  This is a sponsored post.

Engaging Students Online With Discussion Platform

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Collaborize Classroom. All opinions are 100% mine.

Collaborize Classroom: How would you like a free online learning platform for your students that is secure and safe?  Collaborize Classroom offers just that!  Teachers can extend classroom discussions in a private online community of students.  The online platform is safely structured to continue discussions, facilitate online learning groups, and allow students to share resources and engage in collaborative learning.

This online collaborative learning provides deeper participation inside and outside the classroom as students are engaged in online discussions, activities, and assignments.  Students can share resources and engage in discussions that will result in a richer educational experience.

What’s great is that teachers can set up their Collaborize Classroom site in just minutes.  They just need an email address to utilize this free online learning platform that complements classroom discussions and encourages discussion, participation, and engagement.  Teachers can also create online lesson plans using free resources.  Here are some of the free resources available:

  • Do’s and Don’ts for Student Forums
  • Rethinking Your Role
  • Art of Asking Questions
  • 5 Activities with Collaborize Classroom

The platform is not meant to replace traditional instruction but helps to facilitate learning groups in a safe environment.  All of the sites are secure and have a password protected process.  The password is known only by teachers, students, and those who are invited to join the site.  All information and data is protected and safe!

Collaborize Classroom is free, allowing teachers to accomplish more than they could otherwise, and the free resources are a valuable addition to using this online learning tool.  The web-based technology provides endless possibilities for student learning.  In my opinion, this is a great way to encourage student engagement, especially those who are shy and don’t talk in class.  Most students are online at home anyway using social networking.  This platform fits right in with the way they communicate online socially.  And with the current economic crisis, the fact that this is free enables any teacher to use this platform.

The Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams

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I thought that sweet potatoes and yams were basically the same thing.  That’s because here in the U.S., most of our “yams” also have “sweet potato” on the label as well.  The USDA requires that because our “yams” are not really yams but are actually sweet potatoes.  And, of course, sweet potatoes are really sweet potatoes.

Why all this confusion?  There are two varieties of sweet potatoes, firm and soft.  The firm variety was introduced first in the U.S.  When the soft variety came along, the term “yam” was used to differentiate between the two.  Yams were actually in Africa and Asia.

Sweet Potatoes have two embryonic seed leaves and yams have one seed leaf, so the two are not even related botanically.  Here are more fun facts about sweet potatoes and yams.

New Word World Episodes Start Tomorrow

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Word World has new episodes starting Monday, October 4th.  These will have more advanced skills.  And they have upgraded the WordWorld “Build a Word” iPhone app and also have three new WordWorld mobile applications for Samsung’s bada platform.    Be sure and check out Toys R Us and Target for WordWorld products .

NASA Space Center Houston – Home School Families Day on October 6, 2010

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For homeschooling families, this is a great opportunity to go visit NASA’s Space Center in Houston, Texas.  Home School families only are allowed on this day as it is closed to the general public.  There is a big discount on tickets which is great!  Here’s more info for those interested.

Online Schools

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Now is the time of year when a lot of people are thinking, “Back to school!” for their kids.  Stores are busier than usual with back to school shopping for supplies and school clothes.  It’s also a time when adults are thinking about maybe going back to school, too.  Fitting in time for classes, though, is hard with jobs and busy lives.  Because of that, Online School is becoming more and more popular with people nowadays because it’s easy to fit school around your schedule. Our son took one online course while he was home for the summer, and it was great to be able to fit in an “online class” and studying into his busy work schedule.