Home Learning Resources

Beekeeping in central Iowa

julia — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:01:07 +0000

Bee equipment auction: April 17, 2010 in Perry. Interested in bees? Central Iowa Beekeeepers Association Meeting on Sat. March 20, 2010 in Des Moines. Send a message to CIBA Julia for more information. jcammcguire at yahoo dot com

Gyotaku follow-up

julia — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:18:21 +0000

Thank you for attending and sending photos to Mike Delaney — he already has them on his website http://web.mac.com/mikedelaney1/North_Raccoon/Raccoon_River_Watershed.html

I really encourage you to send photos to the Des Moines Register for their Community Pages at community@dmreg.com — I think positive home school press would be great right now (see Three Sisters blog for a recent update on HSAP developments).

I will place all of my gyotaku photos in a flickr photo pool and invite you all to put your pics there, too, for easy sharing. I’ll send invitations once they are ready.

Lastly, in addition to the Teacher Aid, Boys Day, Girls Day, and Children’s Day just occurred in Japan. There is a Japanese Doll display at the State Historical Museum that would make a great extension of our Japanese theme.

Third Annual NICHE Homeschool Day at the Capitol

julia — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:44:55 +0000

Non-members of NICHE are welcome to attend this free event, which is designed to be educational for families and for legislators. All information is at this webpage. The registration process requires contact information.

HSAP update

julia — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:31:57 +0000

From a full article at The Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun, dated March 4, 2010. Written in first person by Nate Willems, a Democrat from Lisbon, representing House District 29, which includes Mount Vernon and Lisbon. Excerpt about homeschooling:

“On a brighter note, it appears we have reached a compromise between the Department of Education and local school districts in regard to how funds for Home School Assistance Programs (HSAP) may be spent. The current plan would allow school districts to spend HSAP dollars on teachers, support staff, and equipment but not on administrators or for facilities. These changes would actually go into the Iowa Code and, therefore, should not be subject to change by the Department of Education. Though I might have liked to go a little further in giving school districts with an HSAP greater flexibility in operating their program, it is a reasonable compromise, and all parties can feel comfortable in moving forward with it.”

Hat tip to Ulrike.

Lesson Pathways now free

julia — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:04:24 +0000

This is a place with lessons for K-5 students. Look good, though if you have
kids in that age group.
____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
1. Billboard Day – WE’RE FREE!
Posted by: “Jennifer Gray” jkg7770@gmail. com justicejourneyjagge r
Date: Mon Mar 1, 2010 9:38 am ((PST))

Hi everyone! I know I have mentioned http://www.LessonPa thways.com here
before, but now I’m sharing some great news! We were previously a paid
subscription site and we recently switched over to being a completely FREE
site!

You can read more information about our switch here:
http://www.bit. ly/ctBuIa

Here’s a description of Lesson Pathways:

We’ve found the very best online lessons, projects, games, and activities
for K-5 students and we’ve assembled them into ready-to-teach, weekly topic
units. *Sign up now* to take advantage of everything Lesson Pathways has to
offer: over *900 FREE weekly topic units*; pre-screened, high quality,
*online
resources*; and an easy-to-use Planner, allowing you to *customize your
child’s curriculum or supplement.

Please share this with your groups. *

Jennifer K. Gray

LessonPathways. com
BUILDING PATHS FOR ONLINE LEARNING
http://www.LessonPa thways.com

Experience ISU Days

julia — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:30:09 +0000

Hat tip to Lisa-Marie!

“Experience ISU” Days is comparable to Iowa Private College Week (events hosted in the summer by Iowa private colleges). …You can schedule a separate visit to ISU w/ a possible opportunity to meet w/ a dept. head. Please see the ISU link below to confirm dates & times for this event and to check opportunities for other months in 2010.

The University of Iowa has an event like this set aside EVERY month as well. Check out U of I at: http://www.uiowa.edu/admissions/undergrad/visit/first-year-options.htm

Japanese Atom Bomb Display at Drake

julia — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:04:57 +0000

Julia’s note: Hat tip to Lisa-Marie for this notice.

Drake University will host the Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-Bomb Exhibit with materials from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Japan from Feb. 8 through March 31.

The exhibit will be held in the Collier Heritage Room in Cowles Library, 2725 University Ave. It will include dozens of photographs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki before and after the bombings, drawings from survivors depicting their experiences and a collection of 15 oral testimonies.

The exhibit will also be accompanied by a free public lecture. Historian and Drake Assistant Professor of History Michael Chiang will discuss the impact of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

The lecture, titled “Countdown to Peace: The A-Bomb and Japan’s Decision to Surrender,” will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 4, in the Cowles Library Reading Room, 2725 University Ave. A reception will follow.
Professor Chiang’s research interests include late imperial and modern Chinese political and social history; China-Taiwan relations; bureaucracy; contemporary Japanese society and politics.http://www.drake.edu/international/cgc/about/chiang.php
Chiang speaks Chinese and Japanese and is involved with the:

Association for Asian Studies
American Historical Association
Chinese Military History Society

The exhibit and events, which are made possible by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Japan, are part of Drake’s Engaged Citizen Experience series.

The theme for this year’s Engaged Citizen Experience is “Religion, Reason, and the Republic: What Role do Faith and Science Play in Shaping Democracy?” The initiative is part of the Drake Curriculum, which aims to ensure students will learn to participate effectively in democratic processes through coursework and classroom and community activities. Students are required to earn a number of credits to fulfill the Engaged Citizen Experience.

For more information about the exhibit and related events, contact Mary McCarthy at 515-271-2038.

Computer game artist and programmer to talk

julia — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:00:55 +0000

A computer game artist and and game programmer will be speaking this week. Produced by Iowa City Secular Homeschoolers. Three Sisters has no other details. — JULIA

Friday March 5th
1 PM to 3:30 PM
Iowa City Public Library
http://www.icpl.org/
Room A

Who can attend – Anyone interested in knowing more
about the computer game making industry.

Someone from Budcat Creations
http://www.budcat.com/ will come and talk about
what goes on at a computer game making company.

Located in Iowa City, Iowa, Budcat Creations is a
developer of quality entertainment software for
the PC and console markets. With over eight years
of development experience and more than fifteen
published titles under its belt, Budcat stands
ready to deal with anything thrown its way. A game
studio in Iowa? Sounds like trickery. But, they
assure you, they’re not actually a farm who has
mistaken themselves as a game development studio.

Please fwd.

Education opportunities with the National Weather Service

julia — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:36:07 +0000

Just in from a fellow support group member. NWS stands for National Weather Service. — JULIA

If anyone wants to tour the office (groups or individuals are welcome) or become a volunteer weather spotter for the NWS, here is what you need to know:

To schedule a tour at the NWS in Johnston, please call 515-270-4501 M-F 8a-3p and ask for Gail.

The 2010 Spotter Training schedule has been established and can be found at the following link:
http://www.crh. noaa.gov/dmx/?n=spotterinfo

All ages are welcome at the spotter training sessions. Just look for the city nearest you in the schedule and come ready to learn.

Have a great eve!

Kim designresourcestudio@gmail.com

Poster Design Contest

julia — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:00:59 +0000

Call for National Veterans Day Poster Nominations

Do you have an idea for a national Veterans Day poster? If so, the Veterans Day National Committee wants to hear from you. The committee is seeking submissions for the 2010 national Veterans Day poster. The poster is distributed to VA and military installations around the world. It also graces the cover of the official program booklet for the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. A selection committee will convene in May 2010 to review submissions and select a finalist. The final poster must be 18×24” at 300 dots per inch, but please scale down submissions to 9×12” and submit electronic versions as jpg images or PDF files via e-mail to vetsday@va.gov. Alternatively, send copies of artwork or a CD with artwork files to: Department of Veterans Affairs (002C), 810 Vermont Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20420. Please do not send originals.

The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2010. To view Veterans Day posters from previous years, please visit http://www.va.gov/vetsday and click on “Poster Gallery”. Submissions should include sufficient information to demonstrate that the image is the work of the artist and is not copyrighted material (i.e. photos and concepts). The committee may select a particular submission but ask the artist to make modifications to the original design. Additional changes may be required prior to printing.