It looks like we are going to be isolated from school, work, church, and many of our other social interaction groups for a minute. I know that so many of us are not formally trained on how to educate our children or keep them occupied. However, you can’t shirk your obligation to teach just because you didn’t go to college as an education major. As a parent we are a critical, if not the most critical, contributor to the academic success of our children. It’s in this time that you have an opportunity…no wait, a privilege to step up beyond your normal after school pickup to morning drop-off time responsibilities. And you get to work from home too. So imagine that, doing your job and being a homeschool parent. That’s no easy job and one that teachers aren’t trained for either. So, let’s figure this out.
Below I have started to compile a list of resources that can compliment what your school and teachers are supporting remotely. I hope that you will find these links great options for a mental break, not only for your kiddos but also for you, to allow you to breathe, find inspiration, a moment of comedy, self education, or collaboration. I’m going to try to update this as we go through the coming weeks. Please reach out to me and let me know if you have other ideas that you think should be added to this list and I’ll do so as long as they fit the mold. Email me, message me, call, FB message, whatever. I want to find out all the different ways we can be successful during the next few weeks and share it with as many people as possible. More updates soon!
Here are a few of my favorite YouTube channels that are educational in focus. They feature experiments that captivate the imagination and you can learn science principles from without the need to take notes. Some of them you can recreate in smaller ways or with different methods.
Mark Rober
MARK ROBER Mark is probably most famous for his stolen package glitter-stink bomb prank. He is a mechanical engineer that has worked for NASA and Apple on projects we are all familiar with. All I have to do is say Mark Rober and our sons will go sit in front of the TV. He release 1 video a month, but he has a really big backlog. If you watched one a day, you will have a few weeks of videos to get through. Here is his SITE for DIY instructions.
Craig Groeschel
CRAIG GROESCHEL Be a leader not a follower. Not all of these episodes on leadership will interest your kids (maybe the older ones will benefit), but you need to invest in yourself as well. You can view on Youtube or consume via audio only via podcast app. Podcast is my preference because I can walk around and do things…or listen without needing the screen on. You can also find leader and note guides HERE.
Destin Sandlin
SMARTER EVERYDAY is hosted by Destin Sandlin (website), a mechanical engineer who has worked in missile testing. He is a youtuber who is a christian…not a christian youtuber. The distinction is subtle, but the benefit is that people are being exposed to science from someone that has a biblical based world view. This is the cool part…because he doesn’t have to shut his brain off to believe and he doesn’t have to shut his faith off to do science. This is critical for our kids as they are working through faith and science. His experiments are top notch and definitely keep the attention of our sons.
The options for education resources listed below should augment what your school is supporting your family with. I don’t know if any or all of these are good options, so look at is as panning for gold…you go through a lot of gravel to find the good stuff. Let me know what you think and if you find something weird let’s get it off of the list. Here are the options I’m hearing other parents use (in addition to what their student’s teacher is providing:
edX (for grownups)
image from https://library.wustl.edu/recently-published-papers-in-math-3/
Eddie Woo - Gandalf of Math
Eddie Woo - The. Best. Math. Teacher. Ever. At least that’s what some people say! To be honest, I’ve gone back to class under his tutelage trying to better understand principles that I only learned the tricks of to pass exams in high school and college. I took maths through Differential Equations and I find his instruction amazing. I’m not going to fib, his breakdown of how to derive the area of a circle equation left me smiling at how practical math can be!
image from https://jydesign.com/hci-design-the-growing-tension-between-consuming-vs-creating
AUDIBLE is a great way to listen to books for personal or group consumption. We have listened to many books on road trips with our kiddos and they have soaked up a lot of information this way. If you want to invest in their education or yours, this is a must for those times when you want to read but can’t.
KIWICO is a really fun company. You can get a monthly box for each of your young scientists. They also feature kits for each age group and you can even order a version for ages up to 104! Use this link https://www.kiwico.com/Refer?i=JoshuaR96 to get $10 off your order.
Harvard Digital Photography Class - it’s a bit dated, but it’s free and the principles are still applicable. Learn a new skill and the best thing is that it lends itself to social isolation if you start out with landscapes or street scenes. If you don’t have a DSLR or mirrorless camera, you can download a full manual camera app for your phone. My personal suggestion is HALIDE for iOS…and maybe Android (I don’t know that life). You can shoot RAW (like a pro) or jpg…like a noob. Here is the YouTube LINK to the class playlist!
EDUCATIONAL PODCASTS
Brains On! focused on kids!
WOW In The World focused on kids!
RadioLab - science…and it will make you smarter…start all the way back in the beginning of the episode list. OR listen to COLOR
More Perfect - discover the Supreme Court and its cases
Tianna Bartoletta is a very famous…well maybe infamous would be her preferred descriptor, olympic gold medalist, world record holder, and also a student of physics! Here is some of her stuff for your adult sanity!
Meditations use code MEDITATE to get for free. Limited time. Not endorsing, just sharing.
Workouts - these are limited time only! Tianna is awesome for getting this out for free!
Fitness Away From Gym works for hotels, neighborhoods, and if you’re about that secluded life!
Quick Links - research for yourself, may not be appropriate for kids without guidance:
Jelle’s Marble Run…great youtube channel!
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