Mudspark Life Learning

New ebook! Nerd Schooling  by Clea Danaan puts together my experiences as a teacher and homeschooling parent. It's an exploration of learning through what kids are really interested in - Minecraft, graphic novels, roleplay games, and more. Being a nerd means expressing your true self, and we learn best when we do what we are interested and care about. My son, for instance, has been studying Swedish on Duo Lingo, I think mostly because his favorite game developers are Scandinavian. He is watching Gravity Falls and making his own comics characters. He plays Minecraft with friends online. What is he learning? Well besides Swedish, he is learning a lot about the country and the different flags. He learned some about the native Sami people. He is making characters and worlds, developing leadership skills, and learning what makes a good game flow. Want some ideas for incorporating activities like this in your homeschool classroom or regular classroom? Check out Nerd Schooling ! The cov...

My kids are currently 9 and 13, and some of their favorite activities are making playdough, building forts, playing in the mud, and making blanket forts. All sorts of questions and discoveries arise through this sensory play that is often considered more appropriate for much younger children. Like why does Oobleck work the way it does? Why does the ratio of 4:1 make this substance but not that? What is the point of cream of tartar in playdough? Why is this mud grittier than that mud, and why does it smell like this? What makes clay from the ground turn into art class clay or stucco? You get the idea. You don't even have to come up with any sort of lesson plan - in fact, when I get all teachy, they lose interest. They don't listen. Play is important for all ages, even and maybe especially play that you think they are too old to engage in. What will you play today? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more ideas on natural parenting,  check ou...

Science: MinutePhysics http://www.youtube.com/user/ minutephysics?feature=watch  NationalGeographic http://www.youtube.com/user/ NationalGeographic/videos  TEDEducation http://www.youtube.com/user/ TEDEducation/videos DiscoveryNetworks http://www.youtube.com/user/ DiscoveryNetworks/videos  AnimalPlanetTV http://www.youtube.com/user/ AnimalPlanetTV/videos Sick Science:  https://www.youtube.com/user/ SteveSpanglerScience Videos and cool science experiments from Steve Spangler and SteveSpanglerScience.com Crash Course Chemistry: https://www.youtube.com/ playlist?list= PL8dPuuaLjXtPHzzYuWy6fYEaX9mQQ 8oGr Crash Course Astronomy: https://www.youtube.com/ playlist?list= PL8dPuuaLjXtPAJr1ysd5yGIyiSFuh 0mIL SpaceLab:  https://www.youtube.com/user/ spacelab Can plants survive beyond Earth? Can proteins observed in space reveal the mysteries of life? These questions and more get answered by SpaceLab, a YouTube channel cre...

Want to give your kids a world class education without spending any money? Here are my suggestions for a well-rounded home-based education that requires little or no money. Assume that all books are obtained through the library (learn how to use your local library's inter-library loan system). Also see what your local public school system has to offer homeschoolers; my kids participate in a once-a-week enrichment program that provides us with free curriculum. Museums often offer discounts to homeschooling families and groups, and they also offer free days. Trade lessons with friends: maybe you can offer child care or help remodeling a kitchen or canned tomatoes in trade for music lessons or mentoring. Visit thrift stores regularly and look through the education, books, and nic-nack sections - I've found science kits, books, unused anatomy coloring books, a decent globe, pencils, and book shelves for almost nothing at our local thrift stores. Book swaps are another great place t...

You have no doubt read that kids these days spend too much time on screens, and too little time outdoors. Articles and books arguing the evils of screen time quote studies linking screen time to obesity and diabetes as well as depression and lack of vitamin D (which can lead to cancer). Then there are the equally compelling articles and blogs that posit that playing computer games is actually really good for our children. They learn hand-eye coordination, three-dimensional design, problem solving, and even social skills. They are exposed to math concepts, story arcs, and consequences.  Which perspective is to be believed? I think it's both. Kids benefit greatly from screen time, and they need to also spend lots of quality time in nature.  I suspect that the problems of screen time arise not from the computer or TV itself, but from circumstances outside the screen bubble, like poor nutrition and lack of attention from caregivers. I also sens...

My nearly-five-year-old son is really, really into Pokemon. He's the kind of learner who goes deeply into something for a long time. When he was a baby, he loved bears. And bugs. As a toddler he discovered trains, and we learned a lot about Thomas' world and real trains. Then it was super heroes, and the world of good and bad, helping people, and team work. His latest obsession is Pokemon. As an eclectic homeschooling mom, I am fascinated to discover what he learns about the world through Pokemon. Lots of online sources will tell you how Pokemon the card game teaches statistics and algebra, but my son is just learning to read, so that level of the Pocket Monster world is not part of ours yet. But by engaging with and encouraging his interest, I see myriad layers of learning going on. Math Pokemon creatures are often combinations of real life creatures, like Bulbasaur, who is a cartoon dinosaur with a bulb on his back. As he evolves, the bulb sprouts into a bud and then an...

One thing I love about living in Colorado is that while "real" spring is far from here, we can go play outside on the scattered nice, warm days in February and March. On a whim the kids and I went to Bluff Lake Nature Center. I planned to collect some water if there was any in the wetland, and to start a project of taking a picture in one spot over time to see the changes. Here are some photos from our trip. Our chosen spot to document over the seasons Take a picture of me! We found a tuft of bunny fur and an owl pellet (at least I *think* that's what it is!) We collected a vial of water to look at under the microscope. Tons of raccoon prints down by the water! We watched a DVD yesterday about water ecosystems, so some microscope viewing of our local winter water is in order.

We are using the book The Private Eye , a system of using a jeweler's loupe to examine natural objects close up, come up with analogies about what you see, draw the object, and use the analogies to write poetry and stories, and then to learn about it's scientific properties, again through the lens of analogies. My seven-year-old created the following poem and drawing. This is the first time we have done the analogies part, rather than just looking at things through the loupe. We will revisit the same coral in a few days to come up with more analogies, explore it's properties ("why is it like a whirlpool/rose/seaweed? What does that tell us about it?") and write a story.

Kids for Saving the Earth has a free education packet , along with a "Conserving Classroom Calendar ." The calendar has links on it that bring you to printable lesson ideas. Another fabulous free resource for learning about the earth and our relationship with it are the classroom resources at Heifer International . They also offer a program called Read to Feed , where kids take pledges, raise money, and help other kids and families in struggling countries. Meanwhile, they learn about giving and service and about other countries. Compassion and education are important traits to teach in order to raise eco-loving kids. The Rainforest Action network also has curriculum available, including reading lists, films, and a save-an-acre program. 

Yesterday we discovered earwig colonies under a bunch of rocks in our backyard. There seemed to be a large earwig, a whole bunch of teeny earwigs, and some little white eggs. I was curious about why all of these would be clustered together, so looked up earwigs online. Apparently they are one of the few insects that show some maternal behaviors, as the mother earwig stays with the nymphs at least to their first molt. They molt five times before becoming adults. The mothers also watch over their eggs. I've never really liked earwigs, but I knew they just eat decaying matter like dead leaves, and they in doing so are an important part of an ecosystem. But those pincers do look nasty, so I also looked up whether or not earwigs bite. They can pinch but can't really break the skin and aren't aggressive. As I was perusing the wikipedia page on earwigs, my son said, "I want that coloring page!" So I printed out the two images of prehistoric earwigs that lived at the ...