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 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...

To introduce your kids to the instruments of the orchestra, here's a simple, multimedia lesson plan that could be used at home or in the classroom. We read Meet the Orchestra by Ann Hayes, Illustrated by Karmen Thompson, aloud, and at each section I played the following links. Play at the beginning: Orchestra tuning up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfSH1ezevjM As you read each section (strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, play each) play families: http://www.classicsforkids.com/music/orchestra.asp  Leave this window open. As you read each page, play sound clips of each instrument (also leave this window open): http://www.beginband.com/sndclips.shtml The following are not in the above link, so play these as you come to each instrument.                 Piccolo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzKKg9zv9k4            ...

What a gorgeous, simple, and life-affirming book! Highly recommended. A Gardener's Alphabet by Mary Azarian (Houghton Mifflin, 2000) This would be a great companion to any gardening unit, or an inspiration for wood block printing and learning the read or learning letters.