Medieval Projects
It never ceases to thrill me to see my name on the cover of a new book on Amazon. Great Medieval Projects is now available for pre-order. 
Archive for curriculum
Nonfiction Monday: Build Your Own Underwater Robot
My kids have a tendency to start at step ten. They don’t want to do basic stuff; they want to start with the coolest of advanced projects. From the time Brad was about 10 he had visions of building a robot. But it had to be a fully functional robot that did something. I was not much help in this category, and he was frustrated with my suggestions to learn about wiring as a first step.
When I tracked down a book called Build Your Own Underwater Robot and Other Wet Projects, he was thrilled. It features step by step instructions that were easy to follow, with each project resulting in an actual working remotely operated vehicle. It’s no R2D2, but it was a pretty successful project, as I detailed here.
The book features a brief history of undersea exploration and a look at the capabilities of modern underwater vehicles, along with instructions for creating four different projects: a diving bell, an underwater habitat, and underwater glider, and an ROV. The instructions are very clear; a teen would be able to craft a vehicle on his/her own, but a younger child would benefit from some adult assistance. It’s kind of an obscure title, but one worth looking for if your child is interested in this sort of thing. The publisher is in Canada, but offers buying options for US customers.
Check out all of the books posted for Nonfiction Monday over at Anastasia Suen’s blog.
Getting Colonial?
Robin recently mentioned that she’s going to be using my book, Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself to supplement her upcoming unit on colonial America. I just thought I’d mention that the book is available as a FREE download, here. Seriously. Free. What are you waiting for?
Making a Case for Reading
“Please. Put down the book for awhile and get some fresh air!”
I’ve said that to each of my boys more times than I can possibly recall. So, I was happy to read this over at Jen Robinson’s Book Page.
Hungry Planet
I can’t recall if I’ve mentioned here how much I love the book, Material World, though I know I’ve mentioned it in comments on other blogs. It is an amazing pictorial, showing various families from around the world with their material possessions along with text describing the families and how they live. My kids have loved this book.
Now, from the same photojournalist, Peter Menzel, comes Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. Again, through the images in this book, readers are introduced to families from all over the world and we learn just what each family eats in a week. UNbelievable.
Hungry Planet is a new release; I just got my copy last week and already I can tell that together with Material World, these two books have been one of the best “educational” investments we’ve made. Inspiring some pretty interesting conversations (not to mention the map searches) these books are serious “social studies” material. The kids are completely intrigued every time they pick them up.
On Biographies for Kids
I love reading biographies, and love sharing them with my kids, so I was happy to read about Anneographies over at Cynsations (via Jacket Flap). Anne Bustard, author of the excellent looking Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly, features picture book biographies on her blog. A whole blog about picture book biographies. How’s that?
Freecycle Homeschool
A new group has been formed for homeschoolers to give and get homeschool curriculum. Great idea!
From the Freecycle Homeschool yahoo groups site:
Freecycle Homeschool is for homeschooling families who are looking for free homeschooling books and curriculum, and for parents that no longer need materials and want to give them away for free to families searching for items. The group is moderated to keep icky spam out. All listings MUST be free!! However, shipping and handling charges ARE allowed and MUST be posted with the listing. Please be sure to post where the item is, if it’s to be mailed, picked up only, etc. Anything that pertains to homeschooling is allowed, including books, ebooks, video tapes, CDs, DVDs, desks, chairs, other furniture, etc. Spread the word about our group to anyone interested in finding and sharing free home education materials …
Freecycle Homeschool! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclehomeschool
