Spooky. Scary. Silly. Ghoulish. Gross. Halloween has many forms. And nobody makes it seem simpler or more real than in the movies, but how do they create the scary?
Magic? Well . . .
Science? Absolutely.

Topics: Activities, STEM, Technology, Science, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Homeschool

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Yawn. Sounds like something only an IT nerd would get excited about . . . right? Before you completely dismiss this topic, be advised that there’s a good chance that you’re currently at risk of having your online accounts compromised.

Topics: 21st Century Skills, Future Ready, Professional Development, Technology, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, High School, Elementary School, Homeschool, Middle School

Dyeing and decorating eggs is a must in many households around the Easter holiday. Generally, families use the ready-made dye tablets you can snag in a box on any endcap in the supermarket. It’s a simple process: pour in water and vinegar, drop in the dye tablet, plop in the egg, stir around, tap off the excess, and dry. 

Topics: IDEAS & INSPIRATION, BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, Homeschool, Science, Activities

With all the demands you face as a teacher, every second counts. Efficiency and effectiveness are necessary. Plus, it’s a digital world, so you must stay current. Let us help – here are some popular digital resources to check out. We are all about getting hands on, minds on, and making your classroom life and teacher life better!

Topics: IN THE CLASSROOM, Collaborations, Elementary School, High School, Homeschool, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, Middle School, Teacher Resources

STEM isn’t just a buzzword in schools – it ’s a crucial part of many homeschools too. As of 2014, it was estimated that almost two million young people were homeschooled in the US – or about 3.4 percent! That’s a lot of homeschools taking on STEM, but it sometimes has its challenges.
 
Over at Blog, She Wrote by Heather Woodie, STEM is a mainstay with posts such as “ 100 STEM Activities for Kids & Teens of all Kinds.” While Heather has the advantage of having been a biology teacher and having an engineer husband, she believes you don’t need this background to teach STEM in a homeschool. But she does have some advice for those homeschoolers.
 

Be a Science “Yes” Mom (or Dad)

Keeping a “yes, we can” attitude ­– no matter your STEM background – is key to getting hands on with STEM.
 
“I’ve written about being a science ’yes’ mom. If kids come to you with a question or they want to try something, instead of putting it off and making sure you have all your ducks in a row, just say ’yes’ and you figure it out as you go,” Heather said. “I think that’s one of the biggest stumbling blocks I see for parents, because they feel like they have to have all the right worksheets and all the right equipment, and it all has to be organized and ready to go or they can’t possibly do it well. Just say ’yes.’ You don’t have to have all the worksheets.”
 
For part of her reasoning, she looks to her husband’s job as an engineer at Cornell University. 

Topics: Homeschool, IDEAS & INSPIRATION, STEM, BEYOND THE CLASSROOM, Resources