Some cool Homeschool links!

So I happen to be stumbling online and find all these great educations sites and wanted to share them with you all!

Enjoy!

Miscellaneous:

Fun Holiday Worksheets!
Handwriting Worksheets
Craft Ideas
How far is it?
How much is inside?
Fun First Grade worksheets
Fun Second grade worksheets
Fun Third Grade worksheets
Fun Fourth grade worksheets
Fun Fifth Grade worksheets
Multi Grade worksheets
Spelling worksheets
Free Lapbooks!
Free Unit Studies



Measurement:

U.S. Weights and Measures
Metric Weights and Measures
The International System (Metric)
Metric Conversions
Conversion of Miles to Kilometers and Kilometers to Miles
Measuring Motion
Measuring Power
Nautical Measurement
How Early Measures Made Their Mark
Miscellaneous Units of Measure
Origins of Measurements
Cooking Measurement Equivalents
Standard Measurements in Sports
Polygons: How Many Sides?

Geometry:

The Geometry of the Sphere
Projective Geometry ala Steiner
Circles and Spheres
Coloring
Compass and Straightedge
Combinatorial Geometry
Covering and Packing
Dissection
Doubling the Cube
Fractals
Geometric Models
Geometric Topology
Geometry Lesson Plans
School-Bus Geometry
Spirals

Beautiful Morning Verses

* * * * * * *

The golden sun is shining
Up in the sky so blue;
Good morning, happy morning,
Good morning, sun, to you.

* * * * * * *

With joy we greet the morning sun,
Who shines with love on everyone,
Who shines in the sky, on the land and sea,
And who fills me with light
When he shines on me.

* * * * * * *

"Wake!" says the sunshine,
"It's time to get up.
Wake little daisies,


Wake little children,
And come out to play
Wake! for the world
Is so happy today!"

* * * * * * *

Awake, the sun is shining bright
He drives away the long dark night.
The moon and stars have gone to bed,
And earth is softest green is dressed.
Now we open wide our hearts
Of this great world we are all parts,
And if we work, or sleep, or play;
Be with us golden sun this day.

* * * * * * *

Early Morning Sun does shine,
Far up in the clear blue sky
Wake up sweetie, Let's begin our day
There's Lot's to see and do today.

*************************

Early morning
Bright sun
Blue sky
Turtle Dove
Let's Fly

****************************

Stretch up high
Stretch down low
wake up now
For there is snow

*******************************

Basic Waldorf Curriculum Outline

Grade One: Basic Math Processes, Folk and Fairy Tales, Form Drawing, Nature Stories, Pentatonic Flute, Reading through Writing, Weaving and Knitting

Grade Two: Math Concepts, Multicultural Legends and Animal Fables, Stories of Saintly People, Cursive Writing, Form Drawing, Crocheting, Pentatonic Flute

Grade Three: Fractions, Higher Multiplication, Weights and Measures, Stories of the Jewish Bible/Old Testament, Creation Stories, Composition and Grammar, Farming, Clothing and Textile Crafts, House Building, Reading Music, Diatonic Flute

Grade Four: Fractions and Decimals, Local Geography, Native American Studies, Norse Mythology, Regional History, Zoology, Musical Composition, Violin/String Instruments

Grade Five: Decimals, Agriculture and Economics Zoology, Classics, Persian, Indian, and Egyptian history, Greek History, Literature, Sentence Structure, Botany, North American Geography, Knitting/Textile Arts, Woodworking

Grade Six: Astronomy, World Geography, Medieval History, Mineralogy, Latin, Physics, Plane and Constructive Geometry, Roman History

Here is a great article on Main lesson block teaching in waldorf school

Backyard Discoveries

I have always kept my eye out for anything that may look like a little fairy house at craft stores, yard sales, etc...

Not too long ago, Michael's was having a sale and my husband had the afternoon off, so I got to go alone. In their floral section I found little "nests" and birdhouses, which didn't really look like functioning bird houses, but were made of wood and covered with moss, etc..

I purchased several items and kept the bag hidden in the car until they went to their grandmother's and I again had some free time. I carefully placed all of the items I had found all over the backyard, into hiding places within the bushes, on branches, etc...

Some they discovered right away, some are still awaiting discovery. It was interesting to watch from my window and see how they reacted when they suddenly made a discovery - precious!

It was also interesting to see what had happened to the ones who sat in the elements for weeks - how they became a part of the landscape and truly came to look like fairies had moved into them! It was an idea which has brought many hours of joy to my children...

All back yards have the potential for great discovery and activities. You should try to keep the area as natural as possible, and yet have a variety of "tools" on hand. These would include any of the following: a place for digging, a vegetable or flower garden, some wild growing plants (vines, wildflowers) wind chimes, windsocks, wind wands, pinwheels, prisms to catch the sun, gazing balls, a bonfire pit (obviously with supervision), planting sunflower houses or bean tents so children can experiment with light and dark, a water table, watering cans, seeds, potting soil and pots, scraps of wood (no nails!) for building, a long log for a balance beam, a hammock or comfortable chair, tree stumps which could be used for chairs & tables, cotton gauze cloths which could dirty, clothes pins or play clips, ropes, etc...

Simple Garden Magic:

Additionally, keeping a garden is a large part of the Waldorf curriculum. Even if you have an apartment in the city - try to keep a window box of herbs for your children. they will love it. It's also fun to take a drive out to local farms and farmer's markets.

Steiner said:

"Although it may seem absurd, it must be stated that a person who has not learned to distinguish an ear or rye from an ear of wheat is no complete human being. It can even be said that a person who has learned to distinguish between rye and without having observed them growing in the fields, has not attained the ideal. As teachers we should avoid going on botanical expeditions to collect specimens to be shown in the classroom. The children themselves should be taken out and wherever possible, be brought to understand the plant world in its actual connection with the earth, with the rays of the sun, with life itself. Through this we can find the transition in a quite naive way to something else which is very important."

A great Collection of Waldorf Verses Part 2

First Grade Circle Verses

A sailor went to sea sea sea
to see what she could see see see
But all that she could see see see
was the bottom of the deep blue sea sea sea

* * * * * * * * * *

There’s no need to light a night light
On a bright night like tonight.
For a night light is a slight light
On a bright night like tonight.

* * * * * * * * * *

Trippity, trippity light and neat
Hark to the putter of dancing feet!
Trippity trippity against the pane
Fairies a-frolicking out in the rain!

* * * * * * * * * *

Swing, swing, sing, sing, here’s my throne and I am king!
Swing, swing, sing, sing, farewell earth I’m on the wing!
Low, high, here I fly, like a bird through sunny sky.
Free, free, over the lea, over the mountain, over the sea.

* * * * * * * * * *

Calmly we move as the waves of the sea
Steadily beat on the shore.
Sheltering havens of peace shall we be
Till every tempest is over.

* * * * * * * * * *

The morning sun has risen, let’s join our hands and go
To brightly flowered meadows, to forests green and gold.
Let’s find a secret hollow where fairies come to play,
And build a hut of willow branch where we may spend the day.
We do not care for danger, we are so strong and brave.
Our hands are ever ready to care, protect and save.
Whatever friend does find us, we lend to them a hand,
And do our best to give our best, to care and understand.
Let’s join our hands and follow, adventure beckons nigh,
To brightly flowered meadows, to mountains great and high.
We stand by one another, by Michaels’s side.
The sun does warm us everyday, the stars do guide at night.
Mother Earth doth secrets hold
In rocks and trees and flowers of old.
Long imprisoned thoughts enfold,
Here is wonder, here is gold.

* * * * * * * * * *

Run, run, run, run, to town, to town to have some fun.
Hop, hop, hop, hop, we will hop until we stop.
Skip, skip, skip, skip, we will skip and never trip.
Jump, jump, jump, jump, now we go down with a bump.

* * * * * * * * * *

The jolly jester of Sir John, jumped into a giant jar of juicy jam just as a
joke.

* * * * * * * * * *

The King’s daughter was wicked and wild
She kicked and she spat
And she never smiled.

* * * * * * * * * *

Two legs lifted the little log hut
Legs that were left from you guess what.

* * * * * * * * * *

A lovely yellow swallow tail
Landed on a lazy snail
Lying on a lettuce leaf
And lunching like a garden thief.

* * * * * * * * * *

The slimy slithering snake and the foolish fox
Slyly found there way into the valley where the
Giggling gaggle of geese greeted the sun with song.

* * * * * * * * * *

If you don’t zip up your zipper
You’ll freeze in the breeze
And then begin to sneeze
O please zip up your zipper
O please!

* * * * * * * * * *

Ah, the sparkling water tastes divine.
"Ah," said Aga, as he heard the great saga,
"What tall tales are told about bad Baba Yaga".
Ee, he shrieked in glee from tree to tree.
I like fine fawn fur.
Oh, how the yellow flowers glow in the meadow.
OO, the huge owl swoops and hoots uhu, uhu.

* * * * * * * * * *

Wiggle wiggle gnome
Wiggle wiggle here and wiggle wiggle there
Wiggle your fingers up in the air
Wiggle your shoulders up and down
Wiggle your nose and smile like a clown
Wiggle your legs both left and right
Wiggle wiggle here and wiggle wiggle there
Now sit down and don’t move a hair.

* * * * * * * * * *

K goes of bang
It’s in kiss and kick
Kitchen and keeper
It’s at the end of quick
K is in kettle
Kipper and kite
But sometimes it’s
Modest as in know and knight.

* * * * * * * * * *

Queen quite quiet
By the river
Watch the quail quiver and quiver.

* * * * * * * * * *

Whether the weather be fine
Or whether the weather be not
Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be hot
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather
Whether we like it or not.

* * * * * * * * * *

"How do you do goose?"
"How do you do?"
"Are you a new goose?"
"Quite new, are you?"
"yes, I’m like you, goose,
a true new goose too>"
"How do you do, New Goose?"
"How do you do?"

* * * * * * * * * *

My maid Mary,
She minds the dairy,
While I go a-hoeing and mowing each morn:
Merrily run the reel,
And the little spinning wheel,
Whilst I am singing and mowing my corn.

* * * * * * * * * *

Midst the mountains melting snows
Murmuring breezes meekly blow;
But mighty winds among the vales
Meet mists that move o’er marshes pale.

* * * * * * * * * *

Bean bag bean bag 1-2-3
Under your right leg on your knee
Bean bag bean bag 1-2-3
Under your left leg on your toe
Bean bag bean bag 1-2-3
And away you go

* * * * * * * * * *

Wake up you sleepy head and go and find the cattle
Wake up you sleepy heads and go and find the cows
The sun is so warm and the cows are all lost
I think I’ll rest until they come home….

Are your Children caught up in commercialism?

My opinion? I believe it all comes back to the same old message. Turn off the television. Of course, they are then attacked by the ads and billboards wherever we go, the specifically spaced items at every store, the commercials in our mailbox, hanging on our door knob, on the radio... it's so hard to get away from it all, really.


Kids & Commercialism
Pat Veretto, frugalliving.guide@about.com
used with permission.

Our children are surrounded by pointless materialism and commercialism to the degree that their worlds often become shallow and selfish quests for nothing more than 'things'. Things that are impersonal and poor substitutes for self worth. Things that create intolerance for the 'havenot's, and ego- inflation at the price of self confidence. It's disheartening to realize there are men and women who spend their days trying to find a way to sell our kids on the myth that they 'need' this and 'need' that. 

Schools trade the minds of our young people in return for satellite dishes and tv monitors. 'Channel One', a for profit organization provides over 12,000 schools across the country with these and videocassette recorders in exchange for the right to broadcast 'news' into the classroom, in which they sell advertising time to pay for the venture... by marketing to your child. 

Advertising to children as they are 'held captive' in a school situation is an underhanded ploy. It's bad enough that companies deliberately target young children with flashy toys and games during cartoons and children's shows on tv, but then they play on young teenager's natural feelings of awkwardness and promise them the moon. 

Why don't they advertise to their parents, who hold the purse strings? Right. It's just easier to market to a child and bypass the parent, who then feels frustrated, and powerless to undo the damage.

"...annual gross television-broadcasting revenues in the U.S. are conservatively estimated at about $25 billion..." Newton Minnow, former Chairman of the FCC.

What's a parent to do, especially with the holidays coming on so quickly?

If you're the least bit an activist, you can write letters - to the editor of the local newspaper, to the schools, to your congressmen and to your friends. 

Talk to your kids about it. Even the youngest can understand that, while some of those things might be cool to have, they might not be as fun as they look. Tell them honestly that the companies that make them want the money more than they want them enjoy the product or it's results.

Become an advertising critic. Point out the flaws and unrealities of commercials, but don't harp on it to the point that your kids turn you off.

Be a good example. Let your kids see you ignoring or questioning ads as you shop for things you would need to buy anyway. 

Ask your kids how they really feel about the product, but tell them to not answer for at least an hour after seeing the commercial. Sometimes helping a child to think about it the first time is all it takes. 

Encourage your child's questions and doubts about the product, and help them to explore them completely. 

Remind them of their personal interests and hobbies and ask them if they'd rather have that product than one that pertains to their other interests.

Avoid temptation by going to the park instead of the mall; play ball with the kids instead of watching tv with them.

When the commercials and advertisements have your kids convinced absolutely that everyone else has it and they absolutely need it, remember that you're the parent. Put your foot down. Make the child come up with a reason acceptable to you.

Steiner said, "Things have gradually developed in such a way that in general our whole civilization has been flooded by the impulses proceeding from the philosophies of the western nations. Our whole public life is permeated by their philosophy." (The Educational Task of Central Europe, 1920)

Final Verse a'la Rudolf Steiner:

Out of the gravity of our time
There must be born
Courage for Deeds.
Give to your teaching
What the spirit has given you,
And you will liberate mankind
From the nightmare
That weighs upon it
Through materialism.