Join me in a new spot!

Hi friends!  I wanted to let you know that I'm moving my personal posts over to a new blog:

http://solideogloriasdg.blogspot.com

The first post explains why.

http://solideogloriasdg.blogspot.com/2011/11/lets-start-at-very-beginning-very-good.html

I'd love to have you join me over at the SDG.  Don't forget to click on "Join this site"!

You'll still get the posts from sparklegirlletyourlightshine.blogspot as well.

Mourning Pansy's Opus

            I’ve been struggling with something the past few months and I finally had to confront it.  I used to have a sweet neighbor from Hong Kong across the street.  Her name was Pansy and she had the most magnificent yard in the whole neighborhood.  Pansy was in her 80’s, a widow, and had flawless pale skin and wispy, sophisticated silver hair that she always wore pulled back in a loose bun.  On Saturday mornings I would often hear the twangy, dissonant sounds of tai chi music as she taught students in her backyard.  She had taught at the local community college for years.

            Pansy took the stove out of her house when she remodeled years ago because she didn’t bake.  Her passion was gardening.  Every inch of her little quarter acre was lovingly planned and cultivated.  She had gardeners who managed the manicured hedges but she was always fussing at them because they never got it right.  She liked it just so.  The beds in the front yard were filled with purple and green oyster plant and a short variety of Mother in law’s tongue (sansevieria).  Everything in perfect proportion in color and height.  

Her side yard, which I looked at every day, had a huge shock of orange and pink heliconia along with  bird of paradise.  An imposing hedge of purple bouganvilla put a nice buffer between our yards.  From my kitchen window I had a view of the most effective agave border.  I had never seen it used in such a dramatic way- and it bloomed.  She told me once how often- every 10 years I think.  The blooms would shoot up about 6-8 feet in the air and I always got out my camera for the show when it did. 

She often invited me into her backyard for tea, where I would covet her bromiliads.  Varieties upon varieties.  Red, variegated, spotted, black, pink- everywhere.  There were ginger plants, succulents, fruit trees and ferns.  When her husband was alive they installed a waterfall which blended in seamlessly and felt as if it was natural.  Little stepping stones led to a white gazebo where she kept her orchids. 

One afternoon I went over to say hello to Pansy as I often did.  Just to touch base and be a friend.  She complained that she had just come out of the hospital and I chided her for not calling me to take her.  She had called someone else.  She had terrible stomach pain but she was feeling a little better so she decided to check herself out of the hospital.  Her homemade Chinese herbal remedies would be much better for her than the doctor’s poking and prodding.  It was Christmastime and I went back to the mainland to be with my family.  While I was there I got an e-mail from another neighbor.  Pansy had passed away.  Stomach cancer.  It was sudden.  I didn’t even get to attend her memorial service because we weren’t in town.  So just like that, Pansy was gone.  Out of my life.  But not really. The beauty in her yard continued to bring me a lot of joy.

             The house sat empty but her family paid the gardeners to maintain the yard while it was on the market, not quite as meticulously as when Pansy was here but almost. It looked lovely and reminded me of her.  I would go over and cut heliconia and weed the side yard to keep it tidy.  Of course, with no stove, it took a long time to sell.  Finally, after more than a year there was a buyer. 

When I met them the first thing I said was “you must the thrilled with the yard.  Imagine owning a home that is already meticulously landscaped and has 30 years of mature growth- a waterfall and a gazebo!  Pansy was a master gardener. Her yard was her opus.  It was one of the major selling points for you, wasn’t it? Are you plant lovers?”   

“No, actually, we hate the plants.  We don’t want to have to do any yardwork so we’re ripping out the plants and paving the whole yard.   We’re bulldozing the waterfall and tearing down the gazebo."   I was stunned and hoped that they would decide against it.  Unfortunately, one morning we heard a bull dozer and sure enough, everything in it’s path was doomed for the landfill. 

It became apparent that they were going to rip out every single plant so I went over and shamelessly asked if I could rescue some bromeliads.  I worked for half an afternoon saving as many as I could from the dump truck. The neighbors were destroying Pansy’s masterpiece- her yard.   It was unnatural.  In my more dramatic moments I thought that it was almost as if they had something against life itself. 

            Every day as I looked out of my window and drove past the house, new offenses to my well-developed sense of aesthetics started piling up. Laundry hanging out in the garage with the door up, trash cans on display in the front yard.  Junk left on the side of the house.  Weeds growing taller by the week. One day I got so distressed at the height of the grass where the agave hedge and bougainvillea used to be, that I got out all of my extension cords and cut the whole lawn- what was left- with a weed whacker.

Formerly landscaped side yard with flowers.

           Can you see what I was doing?  I was keeping a record of wrongs. They weren’t even really wrongs, they were just little sadnesses to me. Things weren’t going according to my expectations and I was disappointed.  Anger started to grow in the garden of my heart as I resented what they had done to Pansy’s memory and to the view I had enjoyed from my house. Anger was causing me to sin.  How could I see past and show love?

            I finally realized that anger had taken hold and that it was causing me to harden my heart against my neighbors.  I started to pray that the Lord would soften me and let me see the situation as He saw it.   The first thing He reminded me of was that I was seeing a real life illustration of what my sin looks like to Him and how it makes Him feel.  My resentment and anger were just as offensive to Him as their yard had become to me.   When I choose to disregard and neglect the beauty of His Word, it saddens Him.  He knows what could be.  He sees how much more lovely and fruitful my life could be if I cultivated His word instead of paving over it with the things of this world.  Secondly, He chastised me for allowing the temporal to cloud my view of the eternal.  Satan had almost taken me out on this one.  I got so myopic and selfish that I wasn’t seeing the heart of my neighbors and I wasn’t reaching out in love to them.  Thankfully, we serve a God of second chances.  He specializes in U-turns and when people repent he promises to forgive and restore.   (1 John 1:9)

            I wish I could tell you that they have hired a professional landscaper, cleaned up the junk and everything is bright and cheery over here.  It's not.  But that’s ok. Actually, it's not okay, I still struggle with feelings of resentment but I'm choosing to let the Lord get inside my heart and do some rearranging.   The Lord has given me a daily reminder of the effects of my sin and a renewed heart of love for the people he said I should be loving the most after Him- my neighbors.   

Keeping a Homechool Grade Book

For me, the two most time consuming aspects of homeschooling are preparation and gradekeeping.  For younger students it is a little easier to keep track of grades but Middle and High School start to get complicated.

I've recently started using the free version of  Jupiter grades which has been a huge help in keeping track of everything and making sure there are no mistakes.  Jupiter used to be called Snap Grades and is used widely by public and private schools.  It is very secure and is completely online based. You can set up weighted grades and print report cards directly from the site.   Here are some pointers about setting up a gradebook with Jupiter.

1.  The first thing you need to do is set up an account on Jupiter Grades.

2. Next, you will set up a seperate class for each student.  There will obviously only be one student per class unless you have twins or children who are in the same class.  I named all of my clases with the grade first and the name of the class second.  For instance, 9th Physics.  That way, I can easily see which class goes with each student.  So, at the top of my page I have 14 classes showing because each student has 7 classes.

3. Next, go to to Set Up> Grading Options and set up your grading periods, grade scale and how all of the grades should be weighted.  For example, Tests 50%, Quizzes 25% and Reports 25%.  You will probably have a different set up for each class.  Some classes might have a participation or assignment grade (daily work).


4  You might want to set up a time every week or two to log grades into Jupiter Grades so you aren't left during the last week of the grading period scurrying around trying to get it all done.  I have my kids record their grades every day in every subject next to their assignments for that day so all of the grades are in one place for each child.

5. To print Grades, go to Print > Report Cards.  You can choose to print just that quarter or the whole semester, or the whole year.  You can also decide whether you want number grades to show or just letter grades.  For high school, it would be better to have number grades listed with letter grades.  You can also have it calculate a GPA.

6. Watch the tutorials for other tips.

How do you keep grades for your home schooled students?  I'd love to hear your ideas.

How to Make the Mother of All Homeschool History Timelines

The New and Improved MOAHHT Timeline is 37.3 feet long.

            We are in our third year studying World History.  Two years ago we started with creation, traipsed through Ancient Mesopotamia, Assyria, Greece and Rome.  The next year we moved on to the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation.  And now we have finally landed at the age of Revolutions, Enlightenment, World Wars and Post Modernism.  I have to admit that I have never had so much fun learning about history.  Everyone says that you learn exponentially more when you have to teach a subject and that is definitely true.  I’m pretty sure I was paying about as much attention as anyone else in high school and college when I took world history but somehow I had some gaping holes in my over-all big picture.  I’ve been gradually patching those up as I prepare for our history lessons.  There is nothing like taking your time and really getting into it to help put everything into perspective. 

            When I started homeschooling, I read that lots of home school families make a history timeline and add to it over the years.  I thought that it was a brilliant idea and decided to make my own.  We happened to have a huge cardboard box left over from something so I cut it up  and made a 22 foot long timeline which we have been using faithfully to record the Trojan war, Francis Bacon, the Roman Empire, Bach et. all.    I can’t tell you how helpful it has been to have a visual reminder of when things happened to help keep it straight in my mind.  I know the kids are enjoying it too.  They’re making lots of connections and having those “Aha!” moments that are so exciting when you home school. When you see that 2012 is 20 feet away from Ancient Egypt you get an idea of how long people have been around- and how short American History is compared to World History.  

The other day I looked at our timeline and started thinking that although it was loved- a la Linus blanket,  it was really a bit junior varsity.  It’s made of plain old brown cardboard and every two weeks we  fold it  up and stick in the closet.  It's looking a big raggedy.     Plus, I am a selectively organized person (only a few choice areas of my life are organized) and it was bugging me that the timeline was hard to read and not categorized. Charles Wesley, The Rococo Period in Art and The Seven Years war were all in there together.    

Humble and Jumbled.

Ye Olde Timeline coming in at 22 feet.

Of course, I could buy a timeline ready to go off the internet but that would just be too easy.  I really wanted it to correspond with what we are learning.   Plus, I wanted to have the visual impact of seeing how far away those ancient dates really are and I didn't want to have to squint too much.    

So, I did what I tend to do and set out to improve the timeline.  Everything can be improved.  :) What I’ve got now is the Mother of All History Timelines and although still probably not considered pro, I think it is at least more varsity than my old one.  Certainly more organized and easy to read.  I have found it very helpful to be able to look at one thread of Science history and another one of Music and Art, Religion, etc. We are already having blast adding stuff to it.  It is 37 feet long and made of 16 pieces of poster board.  I know, where in the world do we keep it?  Well, we’re pulling it out when we work on it every couple of weeks and I keep it in a  cardboard folder that easily hides behind one of our doors.  This was actually the packaging I bought the poster board in.

Storing the timeline- notice the gecko (school mascot).

I’ve separated each sheet into 6 sections: Religion and Philosophy, Literature/ Theater, History and Politics, Science, Music and Art, Eras and Epochs.  Not all of the sheets have the same increments of time but it gives a general idea.  If you gave even weight to all the dates you'd have a timeline that wraps around the block.  

So, how can you make one of these nifty timelines for your very own?  It’s your lucky day!  You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.  I just happen to have written down the instructions.

 

5,000 years of World History in 37.3 feet

You will need:

16 sheets of poster board 22”x 28”

A pencil

A yardstick

Markers: black, blue, red, purple

This is a bit time consuming but you can take a few days and work on it or have your kids help you. 

1. On each sheet: Number in the right hand corner 1-16.

2.  On 15 sheets: Draw a horizontal line (divide the sheet in half) with black marker at 11” to form the timeline.  Then divide those halves into thirds by drawing horizontal lines with pencil at 3 ½” , 7 ½ “, 15” and 18 1/2”.   This isn’t exactly even but it is easy to measure and it’s close enough for me.  You will have 6 sections.

Dividing your sheets into 6 sections.

3.     Here’s an overview of what you will be doing:  These will be the headings for your sheets.  You can either hand write them or type them up and print them.  Cut them out and glue them to the tops of the sheets  in order ( See picture). 

a.     Sheet #1 AD 3000-AD 2500 (500 years) 2 ½”=50 years

b.      Sheet #2 AD 2500-AD 1800 (500 years) 2 ½”=50 years

c.       Sheet #3 AD 1100-AD 400 (500 years) 2 ½”=50 years

d.      Sheet #4 AD 400- 300 BC (700 years) 1”= 25 years

e.      Sheet #5 300 BC-1000 BC (700 years) 1”= 25 years

f.       Sheet #6 1000 BC -1300 BC (300 years) 2 3/8 “= 25 years

g.      Sheet #7 1300’s (100 years) 1”= 25 years

h.      Sheet #8 1400’s(100 years) 1”= 25 years

i.        Sheet #9 1500’s (100 years) 1”= 25 years

j.        Sheet #10 1600’s(100 years) 1”= 25 years

k.      Sheet #11 1700’s(100 years) 1”= 25 years

l.        Sheet #12 1800-1850 (50 years) 2 ¾”= 5 years

m.    Sheet #13 1850-1900 (50 years) 2 ¾”= 5 years

n.      Sheet #14 1900-1950 (50 years) 2 ¾”= 5 years

o.      Sheet #15 1950-2020 (70 years) 2”= 5 years

Add Titles to Your Sheets

3.   For all sheets:

a.     Mark 100’s in red.

b.     Mark 50’s in purple.

c.      Mark 10’s in blue.

d.     Mark 5’s in black.

4.  On the sheet you have left over (this is sheet #1) draw a vertical line at 7" to start recording history around 3000 BC.  I put a little jagged green line to note the fact that there’s some undetermined amount of time between when we start recording history with Adam and Eve and the year 3000.  At 7 ½” mark the year 3,000 in red marker (you might want to do all of this in pencil first and then go back over with a marker in case you make mistakes.) Then mark every 2 ½ inches.  (2 ½ “=50 years on this sheet.) Remember to count “backwards” since you are working in BC.

Sheet #1 is a little different.

6.  Make your Categories.  Copy these into a Word Document, use a bold font that is about 1/4 of and inch tall.  Make 16 copies of this list.  Cut them out and paste them onto each sheet (on the left hand side) in this order:  

Religion and Philosophy 

Literature and Theater 

History and Politics 

Science 

Music and Art 

Eras and Epochs

From Sheet #1

7.  Now you are ready to mark each sheet in pencil according to the measurements in # 3.  Put the dates below the lines (in pencil) making them about 1/4 of an inch tall.  Each sheet starts with the same number with which the last left off.  Go back over the numbers in marker following the color scheme in #4. Remember that on Sheet #5 which is AD 400-300 BC you will reverse the direction you are counting.  (See picture).  You can make a year 0 even though there is no such thing- or you can put
AD 1 and 1 BC on the same line.  There are actually 9 years between AD 5 and 5 BC.

Sheet #5 The birth of Jesus.

Start where the last sheet left off.

The 1700's

8.  Now, for the fun part.  Decide what you want to put on your timeline.  Just start wherever you are in your studies at the moment and don't worry about filling in the rest of the stuff.  This is a timeline you can work on for years.  

Make a list of all of the people, events and eras you want on the timeline for each chapter of your book.  Start a powerpoint file and add each of these items on your list to the presentation.  Then find pictures to go with the captions.  The pictures and captions should be small- maybe 1" wide by 1 1/2 " high.  You could add text to a document and have your kids search for appropriate pictures.
Be sure to include the date on each picture so you will now where to put it on the timeline.  For people, we usually try to pinpoint a special event in their lives like when they wrote a certain piece of literature or when they invented something and pin them to their claim to fame.  For other people who have too many claims to count, we just  pin them to the time period in their life when we feel they were most influential.  This is usually toward the second half of their life.   You are the boss of your timeline. 

9.  The Eras and Epochs section is used for any long period of time you would like to note during history that doesn't fit into your other categories or that would make things messier if you added it to a certain category.  For instance, there are many artists and musicians you could add to the mid 1700's so that section will probably be filled with pictures.  Use Eras and Epochs at the bottom of your sheet to denote the Baroque period in art and music.

Adding Eras and Epocs

10.  Don't forget to add yourself!  Add everyone in your family and other important ancestors or family events.

11.  Have fun and let me know how your timeline works out!

Siri, Do These Jeans Make Me Look Fat?

I got a new iphone 4s today and I think it's going to revolutionize my life.  The biggest boon is the new Suri application.  It answers all of my questions.  Sometimes with an attitude.

Some questions I asked tonight that Siri answered:

What is the meaning of life? "I don't know but I think there's an app for that.", also,   "All evidence to date suggests that it's chocolate."

Were you planning to take over the world?  "We were talking about you and not me."

Search hotels in Sri Lanka.  "I'm sorry I can't do that."  Why not?  "I don't know, I've often wondered that myself."  Does this mean you're stupid?  "Now, now."

Open the pod bay doors.  "That's a rather insensitive thing to say to an intelligence agent"  and "Apparently intelligence agents are not going to live that one down."

Do these jeans make me look fat?  "I found 17clothing stores near you. "

What's your name? "Siri- but you already knew that."

What is average velocity of an unladen swallow?  "25 km per hour."

Are you my mother?  "I can't answer that.

Will you marry me?  "We hardly know one another."

I need a place to hide a body.  "What kind of place are you looking for, mines, swamps, reservoirs, metal foundaries or dumps?"

Knock, Knock.  "Who's there?"  Drew, "Drew who?  Drew, I don't do knock knock jokes."

Tell me a joke.  " I can't, I always forget the punch line."

Take a photo.  "Drew, I leave the picture taking to you."

Who should I vote for?  "Let me check on that..."

Are you a genius?  " I can't answer that."

What's the best phone?  "Wait, there are other phones?"

Fetch me my slippers.  " Sorry I don't understand."

Set phasers to stun.  "I don't see "stun" in your address book. "  Use the force, Siri!  "I don't understand what you mean..."

Am I pregnant?  "I can't really say."

To be or not to be? " Sorry I don't understand."

Thanks "... just doing my job."

Read me a bedtime story.  "Sorry, Drew, I can only read incoming text messages."

What is the best computer?  "I prefer the Mac."

Are you a boy or a girl?  "I'm not sure we have time for this."

How are you doing?  "I am well."

Play the chicken dance.  "Ok!  Lets hear Chicken Dance!"

How old are you?  ' I don't see how that should matter."

Why is Pakistan so screwed up? "Let me check on that for you..."

Please stop playing the Chicken Dance.  "Ok, the music will stop."

How can I stop this reactor from melting down?  "Let me think about that..."

You are the best phone ever.  "I am?"

Do you love me?  "I respect you."

Bye!  "Ok, see you later."

Flowering Deadwood

            I am doing the Amazing Collection Bible Study on the Pentateuch right now. I highly recommend it!   The Pentateuch is a fancy name for the first 5 books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  Many people are familiar with Genesis and Exodus but let's face it, Numbers and Deuteronomy don't get around much.  And Leviticus?  Only for the diehard.  You lost me at the burnt offerings.  At least, that's what it can feel like if you read these books on your own.   I've found it to be extremely helpful to study these books in a group like this or listen to sermons about them and read commentaries. There are a lot of amazing concepts in these books that can be lost on us because we live so far out of the original context.   But once we start learning what the books were saying to the people they were originally written for, we  begin to see God's exquisite hand.  His perfect plan of redemption is revealed starting in the beginning and running all the way through the entire Bible. These books have applications for our lives today!  Did you know that studying Leviticus will give you great insight into Hebrews?  Those burnt offerings? Very significant.

            This week we are in Numbers.  Wow.  There is so much in here!  One story has taken up residence in my mind and I've been meditating on it for a while now.  It's the story of Aaron's staff in Numbers 16-17.  Aaron was Moses' brother and the high priest in Israel.  Right before this story, Korah, who was a prominent Levite, and some other rebels challenged Moses' and Aaron's authority.   This was a dangerous thing to do because God had give this authority to Moses and Aaron.  So, in effect, these rebels were challenging God. You'd think that by now the Israelites would know not to do this.   Unfortunately, grumbling and complaining were their constant reaction when they didn't understand what God was doing.  So, instead of believing that God had appointed Moses and Aaron for His own perfect reasons, they raised their fists at Him and God judged them. At first, God said He would destroy all of them by a plague but Aaron offered incense and made atonement for the people.  In fact, Numbers says that Aaron stood between the living and the dead and God stopped the plague.    Just as Aaron stood between the living and the dead as an intercessor, Jesus (our Great High Priest) stands between life and death as our only hope of mediation between God and man and salvation.  

             Here's the other part that I love.  God puts an exclaimation point on this story by sending an instructive sign to Israel- and to us.  He tells Moses to tell all of the leaders from the twelve tribes to bring their walking sticks, mark them with their names and put them in front of the holy place over night.  They were to watch to see which one of these budded- because that would indicate which man God had chosen to be the holy high priest.  In the morning, they awoke and Aaron's staff had not only budded- it had sprouted, blossomed and produced almonds!   Way to go God!  This stick which everyone knew to be dead, was not only alive but thriving and reproducing!  

              Neat story but what does that mean for me today? Well, for me, there are a couple of applications.  First, I am like that dead stick.  There is nothing in me that is special or prone to budding.  I have the same chance as any other dead stick of becoming holy or producing buds on my own- none.  There is nothing in me that is holy.  But, because of a Holy God and His work in me, I have life.  Not only that, but He causes me to thrive when I am in Him.  The common and unholy is made holy by the power of the one who is Holiness itself.  In Revelation, the angels cry "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!"  This tri-repetitious Hebrew literary device is only used about one character trait of God- his holiness.  Aaron's staff was not returned to Him.  It was kept in the Ark of the covenant along with the stone commandments and the golden jar of manna as reminders of God's provision, law and holiness.  Aaron's budding staff is still a reminder of the power of God to bring holy life to his people.   

            Second, God may bless the work I do and make me fruitful, but it is only because of His grace and mercy,  not because of anything I add to the picture.  Any part of my being that is productive is only because of God's work in me, for without Him I can do nothing.  (John 15:5)  This is a great relief and blessing to me.  It is not all up to me to strive to make all things in my life "work out."  It is only up to me to choose to obey and follow the Lord's leading and rest in his plan for me.  So, I thank the Lord for taking a dead, unholy little stick like me and giving it life so that He would receive glory.  

Technology in the Homeschool: Gettin’ Your Wiki On

               

                 I spend a good deal of time gleaning the internet for information and resources to enhance our home school.  In my first year of homeschooling, I would find a website that looked promising and I’d write it down on a piece of paper so I could come back to it later if I ever needed it.  Sometimes I’d bookmark it.  Or put  a sticky on my computer.  This system started to deteriorate rapidly as my bookmark bar became overloaded and I could never find that piece of paper with the link to the really cool animation of mitosis.  I needed a solution to help me organize the cool and useful stuff I was finding.  That’s when I learned about wikis. 

             

              If you’re like me the first thing that pops into your head when you hear “wiki” is “not a credible source for research papers.”  Actually, that’s Wikipedia, which is one of about a gazillion wikis out there.   According to Wikipedia (I know, I know), a wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWIG text editor…etc…  Whatever that is.  Don’t let the HTML talk scare you, it’s easier than it sounds. It’s just a great big organization tool to help you rein in the information dragon.   I attended a full day seminar teaching home schooling parents how to utilize a Wiki in the classroom and it has revolutionized the way we organize and manage the power of the internet for school. 

               The internet fosters collaboration and the sharing of knowledge.  As a result, incredible amounts (I think the technical term is “scads”) of information and data are added to the collective intelligence each day.  For those of us who are still trying to figure out how to play 10 simultaneous games of Words With Friends this can feel very overwhelming.  Suddenly, we not only have to tend to vast amount of laundry, lesson plans and healthful meals (and WWF) but we also have to somehow conquer and harness the internet and bring it under our dominion.  A place for everything and everything in its place.    This can be a fast and steep learning curve.   Sometimes it’s tempting to just pretend it’s not there.  Like that pile of papers we’ve been meaning to go through. 

               I remember when I was in high school one of my classmates at our private school showed up in the parking lot with a new car- that had a phone in it!  A no-kidding full-sized bat phone.  We were all amazed.  This was 1989 and we all thought it was ridiculously decadent and “out there”.  Who in the world talks on the phone while they are driving?  Who would they talk to anyway?  No one has phones in their car. You can always stop at a pay phone if you need to call someone.  Or just wait till you get home, for goodness sake!  Little did we know…20 years later we would be wondering what we did before we carried phones with us everywhere we went.  Technology makes it easy for people to stay connected  in ways we might not have thought possible.  Same with the Internet.  Technology is making it easy to get information.  The problem is what to do with it once you’ve got it.  That’s where it starts to feel daunting.  A wiki can help you organize information, media, resources, discussion threads, lists and collaborate with others.  It’s very versatile.

           Let me give you a more concrete example of one way you could use a wiki.  This year my son is taking Apologia Physics.  I have set up a page on the wiki called Apologia Physics 2011-2012.  Off of that page I have all of the book chapters listed and each one links to a separate page.  So for instance, I have “Chapter 4 Motion in Two Dimensions”.  On this page I have links to the lectures for Chapter 4 from an open source online Apologia Physics Class.  So there is a link for “Lecture 1- Navigation in two dimensions” and “Lecture 2- Range Equation”.  I’ve also linked to several Khan Academy lectures and physics sites in case he needs extra clarification.

            You can do this for any course.  Last year, I took the Apologia Exploring Creation with Physical Science curriculum and found links to videos and extra resources for many of the concepts in the chapters.   So for instance, one whole page was dedicated to Chapter 3 and on that page there were links to extra material for the kids to watch.  Yes, it took some time to search and gather information to put on the wiki but it helps to have it all in one place.  Plus, you can use the information year after year because it’s always right where you left it- on the wiki.

            I could walk you through all of the steps to setting up your wiki but someone has already beat me to it.  Thank goodness.  No sense in reinventing the wheel.  Here’s a tutorial called How to Build an Educational Wiki to get you started.  

            Not many things in life are free- but your wiki can be! Sign up for an account at WikiSpaces for Educators to get your free wiki.   Be sure you make it private unless you want to have it viewable and editable by everyone.

             One thing I will mention is to pay attention to whether you are linking to an internal page or an external page.  If you find a web page or video on You Tube you want to link to your wiki you should have it open in a separate external web page opened in a new window (click the box for new window) so it isn’t stored on your wiki.  Likewise, all private pages should be linked internally. 

              I am not terribly techie so if I can do it, you can probably do it even better.  If you are just getting started here’s how I suggest you organize your (very basic) wiki:

1. Click the Edit Navigation link and delete the blue Page List widget. Now you will be able to edit the navigation bar just like you would edit a wiki page to add links and explanatory text.

If you need assistance editing a page you can watch the very helpful Wikispaces video tours.  In fact, you should probably watch it right now before your proceed. All of the “Getting Started” video tutorials are great.  I’ve also had good success with their customer service when I needed to find out the answer to a question I couldn’t ascertain from the website. 

Now that the blue page list widget is gone, type in these words- one per line- and save.

Home

School Members

Classes

Resources

RSS Feeds

Now you should see these pages in a list in your navigation bar, which is probably on your right.

 

2. In your navigation bar, click on “Home”. This will take you to a page that says it does not exist yet.  Click on “Edit Page” and type an introduction of who you are and the purpose of the wiki.  For instance: “Welcome to the XYZ Home school Wiki!   Here’s where we post assignments, logs, links to websites and resources for our school. “ Save your page.

3. In your navigation bar, click on “School Members”. Click on Edit Page and type the names of your children and yourself.  One name per line.    

Highlight the first name in the list and click on “link” in the toolbar.  A box will open that has two tabs on it on the top.  One is for internal links to pages within your wiki- this is called “Wiki Link” and one to “External Links”. External links are for anything outside your wiki- like a You Tube video or a webpage address.   External links should always be opened in a new window.  Link these to internal pages with the same name as your highlighted text.

These personal pages can be used by each individual as a bulletin board where they can organize resources and fun stuff they find on the web. 

4. In your navigation bar, click on “Classes”.  Off of “Classes” make internal Wiki links to pages for each class you have and include information that will identify the specific student, subject and school year.     

For example: 8^th grade Art History- son#1- 2010-2011.

 Off of “Classes” make links to assignments, external videos, resources, finished work, etc.  (You could also put these class specific pages under each child’s section under “School Members”.)

5. In your navigation bar, make an internal link for “Resources”.  Off of this page make internal links to general subjects and topics.  For instance: Home school links, Co-op Resources, Stuff I want to read sometime, Curriculum, Inspiration, Technology,  Science, Literature, Math, Projects, Sports, Scouting, Music, Blog and Log, Administration, etc. Off of each of these you can create pages where you link to external websites, videos and  RSS Feeds.

5.  You may want to keep up with certain websites that have RSS feeds. In your navigation bar, make an internal link for “RSS feeds”.  Off of this page use the edit button and click on “Widget” to add a widget.  It will open a link where you can paste the RSS HTML  For the feeds you want to watch.

6.  If your family blogs or your have blogs you want to watch, you can make a page that keeps them all in one place.   I also link to internal logging charts I‘ve made using the “Table” button in the toolbar.  We use these to keep up with reading logs, volunteer service logs and physical fitness logs. (More on those later)

            You can use a wiki to collaborate on projects, reports, papers, or classes.  Just invite other people to join you and start working together.             

            I consider our Wiki to be “fair to middlin” as we say in the south. We use it almost daily and it serves us very well.   No doubt there is a ton more I could be doing with it and as soon as I fold this next basket of laundry I’m going to get right on it.  

            While I’m folding, I encourage you to poke around WikiSpaces for Education and give it a try. (You could also try Wet paint.) You’ll probably find ways to use a wiki that I haven’t even thought of.  If so, leave me a comment and do your civic duty of adding to the collective intelligence.  Let me know how you use your wiki in your home school!