Blogging- Teaching Writing 21st Century Style

This week I introduced blogging to my  Little Renaissance Man  with a book called “Bridget and Bo Build aBlog” by Amanda St John.  I am teaching my son how to blog because I feel like in the 21^st century it is a relevant thing to do.  My Little Renaissance Man’s blog is called Adventures of an Alaskan Boy  and he has was really excited to write it!  

  I personally had wanted to write a book, but in my research I realized that blogging was the future and that writing has forever changed!  New writers start with blogging to build a following and they even sometimes write a book one blog at a time.  

Why blogging?

Every day we work on writing and  I realized that writing a blog could be a part of his learning experience.  Let us take a book report for example.  How different is a book report from a book review?  I would have my son review books, to tell readers why he liked or disliked a book.  Then why not let him link that book to a link on Amazon and if a mom says “Hey this 8 year old boy loves this book and I think that my son will too.   So I am going to buy the book.”   Why not let my son benefit from influencing a reader and profit a little.  It helps to make writing real, beneficial, purposeful,  and meaningful to a young person.

Blogging will develop my son’s skills for working on a computer and with the internet.   What better way to learn about the internet and computers than hands on writing a blog!  There are so very many experiences to be gained.  First, his typing, he has to spend a lot of time working on his typing skills that he has acquired from his typing program TYPING INSTRUCTOR FOR KIDS.  He is still working on his regular writing skills, but he has to learn to link, spell check and add on photographs.   While writing he also had to work on copying and pasting, which takes a little time to master when you are 8, but it is a skill we all will need to know.  Blogging makes learning relevant.  There is a reason for his work.  He wants to be noticed and appreciated, so he knows that he will have to give it his best.

We often talk  as educators  that having a child teach what they already know  will enhance their learning experience.  It will help the child understand better what they already know.   When my son realizes his talent, his passion and begins to write about it, it will help him learn at a deeper level what he knows.  Teaching amplifies their learning.  It will strengthen his knowledge base.  It will help him to become an “expert” in an area.  I would like to have a tool available for my son when he finally realizes his talents and wants to pursue them.  I want him to have something that he can show that he is the expert.  It is very empowering to young learners.  I want him to have control over his destiny.

I have always thought of myself as an out of the box thinker, and I hope that you might look at introducing blogging to your children’s writing too.   Make sure that you protect your child’s identity,  we used our sons nickname and a general location. 

If you have any questions or thoughts please feel free to leave a comment.  I would greatly appreciate it!  Please like my page on Facebook  “Raising a Renaissance Man.”

Our Visit to a Permafrost Tunnel

This winter our Cub Scout troops had the privilege of visiting the Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility just outside of Fox, Alaska.  It was a chilly neg. 20 degree morning and we all gathered at the visitor’s center to learn more about the tunnel.  The tunnel was first excavated back in 63’ to learn more about permafrost, and ice studies.  They showed us pictures of what was used to excavate the tunnel and of course we discussed safety issues.  Then we went to another building for our hard hats and headed to the tunnel.  Learning about permafrost is very important, especially in an area like Alaska.  The information I read there said that 35% of the earth is covered in permafrost.  Permafrost is when the ground is permanently frozen, it does not unthaw during the winter.  She showed us  a sample taken from the tunnel of defrosted permafrost  and it was mostly murkey water.  In the past in Alaska, people would build their homes, streets and buildings on permafrost, thinking that they were on solid ground.  But as time went on their houses and streets started to sink.   The houses were warm and the warmth of the houses melted the permafrost under them, the permafrost is mostly water, so the houses would sink.  That is why in some parts of Alaska you will see houses and buildings on blocks, so that heat can escape without melting the permafrost.

As we got to the opening of the tunnel we could smell a strong smell of decay, it was amazing that even though the cave is about 28 degrees, there was a very strong smell.  It was amazing to think that as we entered into the tunnel we were stepping back into time 14,000 years ago!  At the beginning of the tunnel we could see bones of animals like mammoths and bison buried in the walls! 

Then we continued into the tunnel.  The farther we went, the farther back in time we went.  We went down a tunnel that took us 65 feet below the surface and was formed 45,000 years ago.  You could see roots and sticks still preserved from plants that lived thousands of years ago, we even saw GREEN dried grass!  The tunnel walls had a fine silt that if you rubbed your hands across would come loose.  Because the environment was so dry the water evaporated from the soil.  The dust if kicked up went every! 

We had to wear a hard hat because parts of the ceiling of the tunnel would fall, like rocks, pebbles and dirt.  The ceiling in some spots was so low that if you hit it with your head clumps would fall down on you.  I did this by accident and some landed on  the back of my shirt and hair.  Let’s just say that for the rest of the day, until I could get home to take a shower, I could smell the decay.  Deep in the cave we got to see ice wedges, these take thousands of years to form and the biggest one that they showed us they estimate took 3000 years to form.  An ice wedge is a crack in the surface of the earth caused by stress.  In the spring that crack fills with water and in the winter that water freezes, then stress causes it to crack again, and in spring it fills with water and the water freezes again and it cracks again and the whole cycle repeats itself until 3000 years and cycles later you have a large ice wedge.  This tour really explained a lot of the geological formations in Alaska.

We all had a great time and we were very thankful for the men and women who took time out of their day to show us this site.  If you are interested in more information please visit Permafrost Tunnel

The Apple Experiment

The Apple Experiment was a little experiment our teachers gave us in college when I was studying Early Childhood Education.  It has always stuck with me as a teacher, to me it was such a simple experiment, but it had a profound impact on me when I was around 18, especially just after graduating out of high school.

The experiment.
1.  Take a picture of an apple and look at it. Write down a description of the apple, Tell about what you sense.
Being a blog here I am going to guess that you are going to say that it is flat, colored maybe, basically it looks like an apple. Right?

2.  Now, take a model of an apple, like plastic or wood. and look at that apple and write down or just think about a description.

You might say that it feels cold, has weight , smooth, or colored.   What are your senses picking up?

3.  Now get a real apple and cut it open and take a bite and describe the apple.  Write or think of the description.

You might say it tastes sweet, juicy, it is crispy on the tongue. It smells sweet and fruity.  It feels  smooth on the skin but crunchy in the mouth.  you see that it is red on the outside and white on the inside.  You can hear  it crunching as you bite into it

The experiment was to demonstrate and remind us why it is so very important to teach children about life with hands on learning, not dittos and sit and listen tactics.  You learn so much more about the environment around you when you live it.  When you can engage ALL of your senses to learn!

It is a simple lesson, thank you for taking it and I hope that it has a simple impact on you too.

Please let me know what you think.  You can join me at Raising a Renaissance Man  on facebook.

Teaching beginning fundamentals of programming in a board game! ROBOT TURTLE

I just do not know where to start.
One thing I have been noticing, is a trend in teaching children through games.  Games are a hands on fun way to engage children and not make them feel like it is work.  It is the practical use of information to solve a problem instead of drilling and drilling.  And researchers are very excited to find that this really works!  But we already know that children just learn better when they are having fun!
Second thing is, us parents realize that programming and coding are the future and techie geeky parents like us see that the needs of our education system have DRASTICALLY changed, but the system is just not changing fast enough with the times.  Leaving many families frustrated because we know WHAT we want our kids to have access to and we really expect them too!

Third, many of us parents are already uncomfortable with how electronics are taking over our lives.  Though we want our kids to learn these important skills, we just do not want them attached to a device all the time. How much is too much?

THEN ONE GAME answers all 3 of my concerns!  Another great game by Thinkfun called Robot Turtle.  This is a board game that teaches basic fundamental programming skills, I mean basic!  This game is literally posted as 4 to 14 years old!  It says 2 to 4 players, but my son and I had no problems just playing it together!

 In the game, just like beginning coding programs, the kid has a character.  Here it is a turtle.  they first practice basic skills of telling the turtles how to get to their jewels with basic cards that go straight, right or left.  Parents get to do some acting as they move the turtle the direction the child has laid out.  Then it gets more complicated with lasers and having to move obstructions.  After that then they begin to work on a card that they can use one function repeatedly and work to use as few cards as possible.

 We have the paid and unpaid Tynker with a cute little monster eating candy, Lightbot, Scratch and Code.  And these basic functions in this game are like what these 4 apps have. So our son is a little advanced for it, but he really enjoys it and he enjoys that I spend time playing it with him( that goes a long way too) The 3rd and 4th part are the parts that challenge him and he needs more practice.  But this game is really great for a novice and parents that just want to have fun with their family!  Knowing that you are giving your children a great start to a 21st century education!

Cure for Reluctant Readers- Asterix

I first heard of Asterix back in 2009 when my husband, son and I vacationed in Belgium.  We stayed with a wonderful family who had a school age boy who had these comic books.  Later when  we were exploring Belgium, we also had dinner at a fast food restaurant that had Asterix prizes in the children's meals! Yes, Asterix is big in Europe!  It was started  in 1959 by Frenchman Rene Goscinny and later after his death a few other authors created more..  It is about a village with Gauls that are resisting, through magic potions, Roman rule.

Asterix is written in comic book style and children find them hilarious to read, the recommended reading level is 9 to 11 year old's or 4th to 6th grade..  Adults love them because even though they are historical fiction, they introduce children to the Romans, Caesars, Roman terminology, Gauls, Druids and the legionnaires. It depicts with a lot of humor what life was like back in 50 BC.

 There are 35 comic books in the series, but I tend to buy the omnibus, which is 3 books in one.  They follow the adventures of Astrix and children get an introduction to a lot of history and places that most American children rarely get any introduction too!  It starts in Gaul, but soon they are off with the Goths and gladiators, then Cleopatra, Britannia and Normans.  It is an amazing amount of cultures like Spain, Switzerland, Corsica and Belgium!

I highly recommend these, every mom and dad should have the opportunity to wake up in the morning and see peak at their child passionately reading and giggling!

Who Was/Is and What Was series, great books for adults and kids!

When I was a freshman in college I took a class to help prepare me for college and how to be successful.  I really do not remember much about the class, but one thing stood out all these years later!  If you do not know about something, start with juvenile books!  REALLY,  there is NO SHAME in being an adult and reading a juvenile book!  Honestly, if you are not a MAJOR history buff, I think they are FAR superior books.  Here is jokingly the way I see it.  When you are a writer for adults you add LOTS of information  (way to much) to prove just how much you know about the subject and to prove how smart you are.  As an adult, when I read a grown up book I will easily get completely overwhelmed by ALL of the facts that my brain just shuts down and I remember very little.  But when I read a juvenile book, it is like they just talk about the skeleton or the MOST IMPORTANT facts that holds everything together. Not the skin, guts, heart, veins, kidneys, etc., just the important stuff that your brain can more easily hold onto and not get overwhelmed!

The Who Was / Is and What Was series are very popular with my son and I.  The series will take a person or event and tell about it in easy to understand chapters.  They are written for 8 to 12 year old's or 3rd to 7th grade.  There are MANY to choose from, I would have to count, but I know at least 30 books are available and they just keep printing more.  What I love is that they will tell the many biographies, but important facts or other important people they will take a moment to explain who they/what they are too.  These books are really well illustrated too!

I use them for homeschooling our son.  I like to take several books and use a theme.  The picture up above we had used a Revolutionary War theme.  It was a wonderful collection for my literature based technique.  When my son read Who Was George Washington  he read about a man who served the British by fighting in the French and Indian war,  then later as things began to heat up between the Patriots and the British he sided with the Patriot and led the Minute Men into defeating the British.  Then you continued through Washington to see our nation grow.  Read Who was Paul Revere and you see that he was a patriot who MAY have been at the Boston Tea Party and of course there is the famous ride.  You get a glimpse of life from a Patriot, but again, you are seeing from his story the build up from the French and Indian war, to the start of the war and his war effort.  From Who WasThomas Jefferson you learn more about the Declaration of Independence and his efforts in building this great nation and how he served as 3rd president, Then Who Was Ben Franklin, you see a respected scientist, statesman, ambassador and newspaper owner and his part in this time in history.  By the time you come to What WasThe Boston Tea Party    then you get another view of the events that led up to the war.  Us teachers call this spiral learning.  They learn a bit, then they learn a bit more adding to what they know and then a bit more and I really felt after 5 books we had a really good feel for that era in history.

We did an Explorer theme where we studied Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Daniel Boone,  and Ernest Shackleton.  The we did a theme of scientist, leaders and artists!  The possibilities are endless and it has been really fun and educational reading!

Cure for the Reluctant Reader- Magic School Bus CHAPTER BOOKS, yes I said chapter books

I have heard so many parents say "Magic School Bus, well I really do not like those books."  Parents admit they are really good informational books, but they just do not like how cluttered they are.  Oh but the TV show, WOW parents LOVE the tv show. And personally I too am a big fan of the show, but not the books!  I have since discovered that MOST parents have yet to discover the CHAPTER books, and it is my honor to introduce them to you if you have not yet been introduced.  I LOVE these books!  My 2nd grade science curriculum was based off these books!  These books were so good I had my son read them TWICE! Science, fun and adventure!!!  Who could go wrong with that?

 These books are geared to 7 to 10  year old's, and grades 2nd to 5th.  I found that each book I enjoyed adding experiments and other information to help bring it to life.

 The main series there are 20 books.  There is a wide variety of themes like bats, bones, whale watching, space, twisters, space travel insects sharks, electricity, and much more.  It has all the same kids you have come to love on the show.  And each book has a different child's point of view!

  Mrs Frizzle is , well, still Mrs. Frizzle.  Dorathy Ann is still the know it all, Carlos still tells jokes, Pheobe still says "at my old school" Arnold is still worried about everything and Liz is still so darn cool!  Can you tell even I am still a fan after all these years! 

After the main series there are a few Magic Bus Fact Finders for like bats, space and bones and there are 4 additional books on like Flodds and earthquakes.  I hope that you check these out and that your children will find them as fun as we did and get a little more science in!

Cure for Reluctant Readers- Max Axiom Sneaks in Some Science

I believe a reluctant reader is really just a child who has not found a great book!  There are so many books out there!  Some required to read, some really boring and some children really can not relate to at all!  But writers have become aware that there is one technique that kids really love, GRAPHIC NOVELS and they can even sneak in a little science lesson in too!  Double bonus!  Kids are happy, parents are happy and teachers are happy!

My son has really enjoyed these new graphic novel about science With Max Axiom!!!  Max acquired super powers from being struck by lightening!  When he awoke he realized that he could  change his size, he became super smart and started teaching science in a super cool way!  Max Axiom tackles many scientific concepts like Investigating The Scientific Model, force and motion, and states of matter.  There are just to many titles to list!  There are at least 20 of them ranging from physics, chemistry, biology, and more!

These are geared for 8 to 14 year olds or 3rd to 4th grade reading level.  But trust me, Even as an adult reading through this series I still learn something new!

I hope that others will enjoy these little gems as much as we are!

Cure for Reluctant Readers- Hank the Cow Dog

It's me Hank the Cow Dog (not really)  head of ranch security, and I hear there are some little cowboys that are considered relookant, reluckant, reluctant readers.  That just means that they have not found any books that they love to read.  It is my job to give these little cowboys and girls some good yarns to follow and  as head of ranch security, I go on many adventures and meet many different friends.

On my many adventures I meet many interesting characters.  First there is Drover, my trusty right hand man who seems to always have a bad leg when there is danger.  Then the love of my life Beulah, oh Beulah, my beautiful collie.  Only problem is she thinks she is in love with a stupid bird dog names Plato.  But then there is Missy Coyote, but her dumb brother Scraunch want to kill me.  I sure have had some good times with Rip and Snort the coyote brother, but they are not the smartest coyotes.  Have I mentioned Pete, Pete the barncat!  Pete is just your typical dumb cat!    Then there is Madame Moonshine a mystic owl who helped me once get out of a little problem with Rufus the doberman pincer.

Then there are the humans.  First there is Slim Chance, he is just a ranch hand, but he treats me and Drover good and sometimes gives me bits of his sandwiches.  He often takes me out to help him work or into town and that can lead to an adventure or 2.  But lets just say he has saved me a few times from trouble, like when I was almost caught by the animal patrol. Then there is Little Alfred, Sally Mays son.  Little Alfred  and Hank have a special relationship and Hank says it is his sacred duty  "to protect and defend all innocent children against all manner of monsters and evil things."

I sure can spin a yarn or two or maybe about 65 of them.  There are plenty of books to read for our little cowboys and cowgirls.  I have been framed for eating chickens, made Sally May mad at me for eating my steaks, saved Madame Moonshine from the coyotes, Lived with the coyotes for awhile, drank mop water and took on Rufus, had adventures with a violin playing fox, saved a littler of cats and many many more!

And if you can't get enough of me, you can listen to my adventures on long car rides and all through the day on CD's.  You will love to hear my songs like "Ignoramus"  , "Don't Get Your News From a Chicken" or "Trudy Trudy What a Beauty" on the Cd's and you can even get the greatest hits CD's.

You can also visit the official Hank the Cowdog website!