Freely Educate

Coloring Pages (educational ones!) from the US Government

Did you know the United States government has a site full of coloring pages?  But these aren't just any coloring pages, these pages are full of educational facts and provide a student an introduction into many different subjects.

Go to the coloring pages menu for a full listing of all that is offered.  Below is just a sample:

• Agriculture, U.S. Department (USDA): farming, George Washington Carver, wildflowers of America, and many other subjects
• Commerce, U.S. Department :  weather, sea turtles, and the Pacific coral reef are among the available subjects
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): endangered species and other environmental topics
• Health and Human Services, Department of (HHS): health topics
• Interior, Department of the (DOI) : salmon and Yellowstone are two of the available topics
• Local/State governments :  Ohio, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, North Carolina, Maine, Connecticut, and Louisiana are topics available
• from Marine Resources :  Mobile Bay, Salish Sea, Coastal North Carolina, and Chesapeake Bay
• from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) :  space topics, of course!

Get out the Crayons (yes, some for you, too...we are never too old to color!), and enjoy coloring education!

Internet Scavenger Hunt (for middle/high schoolers)

Adjust the safe search settings in Google, then send your middle to high schoolers off on an Internet Scavenger Hunt using the list of given questions.  The download (safe; I did it today) is a small PDF file of questions for your student to research and answer.

MotherboardBooks describes the Internet Scavenger Hunt as: "Introduce your kids age 12 and up to the Internet using MotherboardBooks.com’s Internet Scavenger Hunt. Kids gather fun and weird facts about animals and geography as they crisscross the Internet using Google, after setting it to SafeSearch to screen out the bad stuff. Some typing skills are required."

Cool Experiments with Magnets

The Magnet Man website has a lot to offer budding scientists.  Who doesn't love learning with magnets?  Magnet Man describes his site with the following:

"This web site (Magnet Man) is  devoted to magnetism and the cool experiments you can do with permanent magnets and electro-magnets.  Some of the experiments are very basic - things you've done since second grade.  Others are unique; perhaps you hadn't thought of doing some of these before, or had difficulty in trying to set them up.  Lists of the materials needed for the demonstrations, directions on how to assemble them, instructions on how to show them, and notes on how they work are all here for you." ~ Rick Hoadley, Magnet Man

Thank you, Alice, for sharing this quality, 100% free, educational find with us!

GIVEAWAY: The Missing Link: Found

The Missing Link: Found is a mystery primarily written by a homeschooled teenager.  Our eleven-year-old was handed the book when it came in the mail for our review.  She was at first intrigued that a girl near her age wrote the book, but she soon became interested in the story itself.  Our gal hasn't finished the book yet, but she is moving along at a steady pace and seems to be enjoying it!

The following is a description of the book, The Missing Link: Found, from Media Angels, the family-owned publishing company:

Once again, the Murphy teens are propelled into another exciting adventure! While on vacation in the Keys, a devious plot unfolds, and the Murphys find themselves in the middle of a full-speed boat case and encounter with the FBI. Their vacation plans are then cut short by the arrival of a cryptic message form Dr. Murphy's brother, requesting his immediate presence at an anthropological dig along the Peace River. What Dr. Murphy, Christian, and Anna find there is anything but peaceful!

Encountering a deadly illness, the Murphys must also wrestle with a startling discovery and its potential results. The Missing Link has been discovered, finally providing evidence for the theory of evolution. But, what about the Bible? Didn't God create the world as recorded in Genesis? In addition, is there a connection between their adventure on the high seas and their discoveries a the dig site? Join the Murphys as they are faced with danger and a race against time in search for the truth.

In the Truth Seekers Mystery Series, you'll experience adventure, mystery, heart stopping suspense, and faith played out first-hand by the Murphy family. This action adventure mystery will keep you guessing to the very end!

*Please Note:  The book comes from a Christian point of view and creationism, or creation science, is a main theme in the book.

Want a copy?  The authors have generously offered to give away a copy of The Missing Link: Found to one of the FreelyEducate.com readers.  All you need to do is leave a comment** saying you'd like the book.  My comment form will request your email address (nobody else will see it) and I'll let you know, through email and by announcement on FreelyEducate.com, if you win.  Media Angels, Inc. will then ship the book to you (free, of course!). 

Comment Deadline:  Wednesday, November 19, 11:59pm CST 

11/25/2008.....The winner of this giveaway is Loie, who said:

"My 15 year old soon to be 16 is an aspiring writer , this would be a great book to show him yes even young writers can be published, plus what a fun read !
Thanks for a wonderful site, we gain so much from your emails daily and miss you when you go on ( much needed Im sure) vacation
Keep up the good work
Loie in Maine"

Thank you, Loie, for your comment (encouraging!) and your entry.  Congratulations!

The winner was selected through Random.org's Random Integer Generator:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
7 Timestamp: 2008-11-22 00:41:10 UTC

Audio Lectures on Two of History's Greatest Leaders

From The Teaching Company, you can listen to two audio lectures on "two of history's greatest men."  One lecture (41 minutes) is on Abraham Lincoln and the other lecture (43 minutes) is on Winston Churchill.

~ FreelyEducate.com

 

Green Curriculum for Middle Schoolers

Our 13yo and 8yo sons chased a flyaway Subway wrapper at the beach today.  It seemed the wrapper was going to outchase our boys, but finally they prevailed and ran back shouting like the conquerors they know they are.

We live in an area of America where we directly see the effects of how "little bits" of trash pile up.  When a cigarette butt or gum wrapper or Coke can is tossed into a waterway even many miles upstream, our bayous, inlets, bays, rivers catch those items as they pile up.  And as the trash piles up, it's not only ugly, but our favorite animal life has the potential to get hurt. 

With today's trash chase in mind, I thought I'd share an educational freebie from the National Science Teachers Association.  They call it An Ounce of Prevention

An Ounce of Prevention is a curriculum designed for middle schoolers.  It does require downloading to view the PDF files.  I downloaded the PC version this evening and experienced no problems in either the downloading process or in viewing the lessons.

Thank you, Alice, for this high quality, 100% educational find!

Poetry for Kids

At Poetry 4 Kids, your students can learn about poem-writing through games, listening to podcasts of poems, entering a poetry contest, and more.  You may also access the site's four-chapter-long lesson on how to write poetry.

Rebekah, the FreelyEducate.com reader who recommended Poetry 4 Kids, wrote: "Hey Lori,   Just came across something you may like.  poetry4kids.com has a poetry contest every month.  That is a very educational thing I like for my young kids to do to help with their english, grammar, problem solving skills, etc.  Thought it would fit with your whole theme here.  Hope you can use the tip.  Rebekah"

Thank you, Rebekah!

Education on the United States Election

Is anyone else looking forward to Wednesday with relief that finally our (American) news media won't be talking about the upcoming election?  Well, first we have to get through the next couple of days.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, is November 4th and we will vote for our next President!

I have three sites for you...

The Democracy Project site, maintained by PBS, covers US government material such as:  "How does Government Affect me?", "Step Inside the Voting Booth," and "President for a Day." 

Zoom Out the Vote has a page on Elections 101, but even more fun is that kids can vote in 2 days, right on the site.

BrainPOP's election site has movies on subjects like "Primaries & Caucuses," and "Political Views." The site also has a Social Studies page which contains U.S. Government & Law, among other topics.

p.s. I would be thrilled, as, I assume, would the other educators who visit FreelyEducate.com, to receive any sites offering free quality education items/pages on your country's history or election process, etc.  Please feel free to share by emailing me at: loriseaborg@gmail.com . Thanks, Lori.