Freely Educate

Help Researchers by Counting Birds this Weekend!

It's not every day we get to help researchers, but this 4-day weekend we can.  It's time for the Great Backyard Bird Count!  Below are some birds in our area.  Our children love counting them and I love photographing them!  All you'll have to give is 15 minutes of your time to count the birds, and a few minutes to log your findings. 

Today through Monday, February 17-20, you are invited to help researchers identify where birds are located by simply sitting down for 15 minutes (anywhere in the US & Canada) and counting the birds you see.  With the information on the form, identifying birds is pretty easy, too!

Here is more from the creators of the GBBC:

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent and in Hawaii. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

How to Get Involved:  Visit the Great Backyard Bird Count site; go to the Educator Page for more on how to get your classroom & students involved; visit the kids' page for learning activities on birds.

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from Alaska: Free Official State Guide in Your Snail Mail (US & Canada)

Planning your next field trip, interactive geography lesson (on site!) or family vacation?  Here's an official state guide from Alaska that you may request for free to be delivered in your snail mail, with free US & Canada shipping.  

How to Get this Freebie:  Order your Alaska Official State Guide here.   

Limited Time Offer (they ran out last time we mentioned it -- we'll update this post when they're out).

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Visit U.S. National Parks FREE This Weekend!

This weekend, the U.S. National Park Service is offering free entry into over 100 parks that normally charge entrance fees. 

The above is a photo I took in my favorite national park -- the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  What is your favorite national park? 

How to Get this Freebie:  Visit the list of participating national parks here 

Free Dates:  January 14-16

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Thank you for reminding us about this on our Facebook page, Alicia! 

This Friday: Go on a Free Electronic Field Trip to Sagauro National Park

The National Park Foundation and National Geographic want to invite you to go on an electronic field trip especially for 4th-8th graders this Friday, October 21st at 1pm EST or 4pm EST. Registration is now open.

From their description:

We’ll be visiting this iconic national park to learn more about the Sonoran Desert and its exceptional desert biodiversity. We will focus on the most unique and important species living in this desert, which is visually defined by the Saguaro cactus. These cacti can live to 100 years of age and grow 45 feet tall!

On this exciting journey, we will also follow thousands of students doing hands-on science in the park as part of the BioBlitz program led by the National Park Service and National Geographic.

How to Register:  Visit the National Park Foundation website

To prepare you for the trip, the National Park Foundation created a beautiful website full of lesson plans, games, and more to help teach children about the Saguaro National Park. 

How to Access the Saguaro National Park Lesson Plans & More:  Visit this site.

If you cannot attend Friday, you may visit the trip at a later date.  These electronic field trips are available as well: 

How to Go on these Electronic Field Trips:  Visit this site; scroll to the bottom of the page.

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Through Sept 30: Free Virtual Field Trip on the US Constitution from Colonial Williamsburg

Through September 30 only, you may access Colonial Williamsburg's Electronic Field Trip, "A More Perfect Union." Here is their description: 

The Electronic Field Trip, "A More Perfect Union", tells the story of the ratification of the [US] Constitution and has as the first person narrator a young student from the late 1700s.  This Electronic Field Trip builds background knowledge for educators and students, leading to better understanding of the challenges and choices made during the ratification of our Constitution.  

The electronic field trip includes interactive games, the ability to send an email to "Ben Franklin," lesson plans, teacher guide, and more. 

How to Get this Freebie:  Visit Colonial Williamsburg's Gift to the Nation page

Especially for grades 4-8th (but we all know the younger ones would like it, too!)

Expires September 30, 2011

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Thank you, Laura, for mentioning this on our Facebook page!  

 

Free Admission to a National Public Garden

On Friday, May 6th, you are invited to attend a National Public Garden near you for FREE.  You may print out as many vouchers as you need for your party.  The biggest and most beautiful gardens in America are included in this program, so you may want to schedule an field trip with your classroom or friends this Friday!

How to Get this Freebie:  Visit this page at Better Homes & Gardens to print out your free admission voucher

This is a Limited Time Offer:  Voucher must be redeemed May 6, 2011.

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Thank you, Leslie!  If you have something to share, too, email me at freelyeducate@gmail.com.  If it's published, I'll link to your site as "thank you!"

Google Lit Trips: Teaching Literature with Google Earth

"A teacher came up with the unique idea to take a digital book from children's literature and plot out the characters' travels with the digital mapping tools of Google Earth, providing a multidimensional learning experience. Students K-12 can take a virtual field trip in real time to visit the places mentioned in the book, making it even more relevant and meaningful, " writes one reviewer.

How to Get this Freebie: Visit Google Lit Trips

How to Learn More:  Click on Site Map to view the full list of books.  Click on Getting Started to view a short video to learn more about Google Lit Trips. 

Especially for:  The Google Lit Trips site now has a section for higher education as well as K-5, 6-8, and 9-12.

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