Becky Rupp’s Good Stuff Column has been a part of Home Education Magazine for many years. Her excellent finds over the years and those she will be including in the future are resources that can be enjoyed by the young and old alike. We have often used them as starting points for unit studies at our house.

I thought I’d show you just what I mean by looking at one of the earliest Good Stuff columns that HEM shares online, All Aboard! The article was published in 1997, but I was still able to find many of the resources she listed today that I’m sharing below. I hope you see how you could easily do the same.

In this March-April 1997Good Stuff Column she wets our whistle by writing:

Almost everybody loves a train, from small-sized admirers of television’s Thomas the Tank Engine to teen-aged students of American history, who want to know what happened to the much-talked-about Golden Spike that completed the Transcontinental Railroad. (For those who have rosy visions of driving to Promontory Point and extracting it, forget it: it’s in the Smithsonian.) Our kids were first introduced to the appealing train through Watty Piper’s classic The Little Engine That Could (Platt & Munk, 1930), now available in any number of editions, but all starring the determined little pale-blue train who finally (“I think I can; I think I can…”) made it over the mountain with a load of toys. It’s supposed to instill the virtues of courage and persistence in the very small; parents can quote bits of it comfortingly to frustrated five-year-olds, who have thrown a failed project on the floor and are stomping upon it.

So beginning with the Transcontinental Railroad’s Golden Spike and the beloved Little Engine that could, she begins to share resource after resource and I always feel as if I’m in a candy store and don’t know which one to pick first. Let’s look at these she refers to in the first paragraph:

This is America, Charlie Brown,Volume 3: The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad. I found a copy of it at the Railroad Bookstore and was also able to reserve it at my local library, along with Watty Piper’s Little Engine that Could.

Next she reviews the following books, all of which I was able to find at my local library. I’ve also added a few resources that I discovered as well to illustrate what great jumping off points Becky provides:

• Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express(Margaret K. Wetterer; Carolrhoda, 1991
  1. Hero Book from Crayola
  2. Reading Rainbow

• The Boxcar Children(Gertrude Warner; Albert Whitman & Co., 1989)
  1. Boxcar Children Website
  2. About Gertrude Warner

• The Death of the Iron Horse(Paul Goble, Bradbury, 1987)
  1. Other books by Paul Goble

• The Transcontinental Railroad by Peter Anderson (Childrens Press, 1996)
  1. Other books by Peter Anderson
• Great Trains to Cut Out and Assemble, Bellerophon Books (I didn’t find this one at my library, but is still available for purchase here
• Jackdaw Publications, “James Watt and Steam Power” portfolio which is still available, but the price has gone up.
  1. Steam Engine History
  2. James Watt

Then she offers up some games. (Again, some of the prices have gone up, but the resources still look like interesting finds.)

• Uncle Happy’s Train Game - I couldn’t find this game for sale at Mayfair, Inc. any longer, but
  I did find several new railroad games that you can look at here.
• The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons (If anyone has a copy of this game, it was going for a mighty high price on Ebay. The link that I share is a free download, but I can’t vouch for the site that offers it.)
  

• Music for Little People offered a train whistle which they didn’t seem to have any longer, but I found one at Windy City Novelties, Inc. along with more whistles than I’ve ever seen.

In this column Becky goes on to review ElementO, Gumshoe Geography, PBS Home Video/The West, Dino Math Tracks, My Best Math Puzzles. This certainly seems as if it would be more than enough, but she shares more that you can explore at Home Education Magazine Content Archives here.

HEM columnist Rebecca has a Ph.D. in cell biology, has written for many magazines, and has published several books. She lives in Vermont with her husband and three sons.

Few art projects are so satisfying as messing about with clay. It can be enjoyed by kids of almost all ages, from tots to teens; you can do practically anything with it; and it just plain feels good. It won’t poison you if you eat it. It’s relatively easy to clean up (unless stomped heavily into the carpet). And generally it doesn’t cost much. Our kids – clay fans from the word go – have used it to make everything from chess sets to Navajo pots to mobiles to models of the Parthenon, as well as a perfectly beautiful bright-blue wizard and an entire set of Christmas ornaments based on the characters in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. – Rebecca Rupp, Good Stuff – Pots, Bowls, and Mudpies: Clay for Kids, Home Education Magazine March-April 1999

Just reading Becky’s description of clay inspires me to get out our box of sculpey , pasta maker and our clay tools to see what type of ornaments, gifts and treasures we might make for the holidays. It also reminds me of the many hands-on opportunities our home educated children have to work with a variety of mediums whenever the urge hits them.

When my children were little, they almost always wanted to paint, create, carve, draw, sculpt, or make things with their hands. There was always a variety of easy to use resources around the house, in addition to kits that had been purchased at the local craft store. This time of year we might share those creations with others, but we also like to make things simply because we love to. Whether your are making gifts or following a passion, I hope you enjoy these arts and crafts articles and resources.

Articles

A Visit with Mary Hood – Janine Calsbeek

Back to our subject: learning centers.

“There’s what could be done, and what I really do,” says Mary. One area where she has a state-of-the-art learning center is, what else? Art. It’s the best way to approach art, she says. But remember that accessibility is crucial. When the Hoods moved into their home two years ago, Mary had an idea: put art supplies in the pantry! Things could be arranged neatly behind the pantry door and keep the kitchen presentable. Unfortunately, the plan failed. No one did art.

“It never got used. Out of sight, out of mind.” So the art center is back in the kitchen. There’s a counter top and shelving with pastels, paint, charcoal, a calligraphy set. There’s a bulletin board. There are library books about painters – Mary’s art appreciation curriculum. She also keeps a few how-to books in the art area too. The kids work on the kitchen table or floor. The easel is set up in another “washable” room, where there’s additional space to exhibit art by Hood kids.

NO PARROTS HERE – Laura Weldon

Homeschooling would be easier if my children wanted to learn about the same things that I happen to love. Long ago I had the naive assumption that they would naturally develop my passion for environmentalism, muckraking journalism, anthropology, applied ethics, messy art, alternative medicine and satire. I knew these passions weren’t genetic, my parents were into playing bridge and visiting historical sites. But I figured my children would absorb my fascination by osmosis. Nope. More like reverse osmosis. They seem to feel that just living with me is exposure enough to those topics. More than enough.

Letter Writing -Rebecca Rupp

And don’t overlook the art potential of the envelope. If you need a few ideas, the Envelope and Letter Folding Web site at www.ghh.com/elf/elf.html describes more ways to make and fold envelopes than you ever dreamed existed, with detailed diagrams and instructions.

Hanging On To What Makes Homeschooling Distinctive - Larry and Susan Kaseman

* In the midst of all this, homeschooled children learn the basics that conventional schools try to teach. They learn to read, write, and do math. They come to understand how the physical world works (which conventional schools call science), how people behave and why (also known as social science), and how the past influences the present (a.k.a. history). They develop ideas about beauty (art) and learn to make things and mend things that are broken (home economics and industrial arts).

Beyond Names, Dates, and Places - Cafi Cohen

Another popular activity along these lines is the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), an international organization dedicated to, according to their website, “The study and recreation of the European Middle Ages, its crafts, sciences, arts, traditions, literature, and so on. The SCA ‘period’ is defined to be Western civilization before 1600 AD, concentrating on the Western European High Middle Ages. Under the aegis of the SCA we study dance, calligraphy, martial arts, cooking, metalwork, stained glass, costuming, literature… well, if they did it, somebody in the SCA does it (except die of the Plague!).”

Early American Paper Quilling - Kathy Ceceri

Back in Colonial America, hobbies were serious business. Whether they were taught at home or at school, girls were expected to learn their own kind of three “R’s”: refinements, recreations, and reading novels. As author Felice Hodges writes in her interesting book Period Pastimes: A Practical Guide to Four Centuries of Decorative Crafts, the well-bred daughters of New England’s wealthiest families didn’t cook and clean; they had servants to do that. And they certainly didn’t go out and get jobs – attracting a husband was supposed to be their main occupation. Instead, these ladies of leisure filled their days dabbling in “the pretty arts,” such as needlework, music, dancing and watercolor painting. One of the most popular hobbies of the time was “quilling,” the art of making designs using curled-up strips of paper.

A Birthday a Day - Becky Rupp

Our kids’ learning styles seem to mesh better with what are popularly called “unit studies:” assorted projects, activities, and readings centered around a topic of kid-chosen interest. Here again, we’ve always invented our own, accumulating craft and science kits, and turning out piles of homemade activity books on such subjects as the Civil War, whales, stars, frogs, the heart, the eye, trees, bees, and map-making.

World History Crafts – Kathy Ceceri

It can take three years for a monk to memorize the different mandalas, learn about meaning of their symbols, and master the technical skill needed to create them. Up to eight feet in diameter or larger, a mandala can take several weeks to complete. Grain by grain the sand is poured onto the design base using a pair of thin metal funnels called chakpus. Holding one sand-filled chakpu in position, the monk rasps its mate across the top, creating vibrations which can be adjusted to shake the sand out in a stream or a trickle. When finished, the mandala is ceremoniously swept up and deposited into the nearest body of flowing water — a reflection of the fact that nothing in life is permanent. In the 1950s, China took control of Tibet, and the country’s spiritual and political leader, the Dalai Lama, was forced to flee. Happily, the thousands of Tibetans now living in exile in India are preserving the art, religion and culture of their ancient land.

Making a sand mandala takes patience and a steady hand, but the results are worth it. And unlike real sand mandalas, our small-scale version is permanent, ready to be displayed on a shelf or hung on a wall. You can use actual mandalas as your inspiration or create your own design. Try to keep in mind the symmetry, interlocking patterns, and contrasting colors Tibetan monks use to express the Buddhist philosophy of wisdom, compassion and peace.

Pots, Bowls, and Mudpies: Clay for Kids - Becky Rupp

The boys’ potting careers began in toddlerhood with play dough, the recipe for which – now liberally splotted with food coloring – was given to me by a friend around the corner the year Joshua, our oldest son, was two. A play dough recipe, in my opinion, is a homeschool staple; for those of you who haven’t already acquired one, try this:

Mix 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups salt, and 2 tablespoons cream of tartar. Add 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 3 cups of water, and a few drops of food coloring. Mix thoroughly; then cook over low heat until the dough feels like mashed potatoes. Store in plastic bags.

As art dough recipes go, however, this is just the tip of the iceberg. MaryAnn Kohl’s Mudworks: Creative Clay, Dough and Modeling Experiences (Bright Ring, 1989) contains over 100 different recipes for various kinds of doughs, clays, and modeling compounds, among them bread clay, stained-glass dough, and toothpaste putty, along with descriptions of innovative projects to go with them.

From Boring To Board Games: Math Really Can Be Fun! -Elise Griffith

Look for a book about quilting (or quilt designs) in the adult nonfiction section of your public library. Have your child pick a favorite pattern and help him draw the “quilt block” on a square piece of poster board. Assign numbers to each color shown in the photograph of the quilt block, and have your child number his drawing. Give him watercolors, markers or acrylic craft paints, and let him paint his “block”. When the painting is dry, cut out each “patchwork” piece for a personalized, homemade puzzle. See how many ways he can arrange the patchwork pieces to create different block designs.

Design a sampler quilt without ever sewing a stitch-you’ll make it with craft felt. Calculate your foundation piece of fabric by multiplying the number of people in your family by 10 (or have your children make these calculations). Next, have each person pick a favorite patchwork pattern, draw it out on a 10 x 10 inch piece of paper, and cut it out. Using various pieces (or scraps) of craft felt, each family member uses the pattern pieces as templates and cuts pieces out of felt to match. The patchwork pieces are then reassembled and glued to the foundation fabric. When the glue has dried, a two inch strip of fabric or felt can be glued to a wooden dowel for hanging.

Make beaded jewelry by purchasing packages of inexpensive (but large) plastic or wooden beads. Have your child calculate how many beads will be required to make a necklace of about 20 inches and a bracelet of about 7 inches. Purchase vinyl string, cut it to size, and let the assembly begin. Have your child double-check her efforts by counting the beads as she strings them, making sure her necklace contains the pre-calculated number. Finally, tie the ends securely.

Resources

• A-Z Homescool Arts and Crafts
  
• About.com: Homeschooling: Craft Fun
• Activity Village Kids Crafts
• Enchanted Learning Crafts for Kids
• Familyfun.com Crafts
• Free Kids Crafts from Craftown
• General Crafts from Michaels
• Make Stuff
• Squiggley’s Arts and Crafts

Virtual expeditions have definitely come along way since those first webcams. We have been able to observe all sorts of wildlife and visit places we never could have imagined previously. We have kept our browser open for hours listening for wildlife at sites such as National Geographic’s Africam. The Africam is a wonderful example of what a virtual expedition can be. In addition to the live feed to Pete’s Pond at the Mashatu Game Reserve, they also offer the story of Pete’s Pond, A Field Guide to Animals You May See, and you are able to meet two Mashatu Game Reserve researchers. Like many of the sites we have bookmarked and visited over the years, they usually have even more resources available. For example, at the Africam site, I visited the kids section and found several other useful resources as well.

Many of these sites seem to be created by those who have a passion for their subject and it shows.

Here are a few articles and some resources that may help you find other virtual field trips around the world. Happy trails!

Articles

The Value of Virtual Expeditions - Judy Aron

Every homeschooler knows what a wonderful learning opportunity travel is for kids. They learn mathematics (conversion rates in currency, distances traveled), history, social studies, geography, art, writing skills… you name it, because travel is a real life experience.

For homeschoolers who have access to the Internet, virtual expeditions are also an incredible resource. There are many web sites which can “take you away” to a particular place, but a virtual expedition is different: it’s more interactive and is added to on a daily basis. These daily unfolding experiences are almost like a real trip.

My children are ages 5, 10 and 13, and through the Internet they have been traveling around the world. This past Spring, thanks to the efforts of GlobaLearn, they were able to join a Trans-Asia Expedition which retraced the steps of Marco Polo and the Silk Route. GlobaLearn is a non-profit company which has built an award winning on-line educational program featuring live expeditions all over the world. Using laptop computers, digital cameras and recorders, their team of explorers recorded their discoveries daily and sent them via a satellite uplink to the server computer in Connecticut.

Good Stuff – Rebecca Rupp

New Virtual Field Trips

New Virtual Field Trips by Gail Cooper and Garry Cooper (Libraries Unlimited, 2001) is an annotated compendium of field trips that kids can take via the Internet, on days when it’s too cold, too snowy, too late, or too difficult to hop in the car — or when the field trip in question is to Japan, Wales, the Amazon River, the bottom of the ocean, the inside of a cell, or the cockpit of the space shuttle.

Interview Eve Pranis of Journey North

Mary: What is the purpose of Journey North?

Eve: Journey North’s mission, simply put, is to inspire a sense of wonder! It is to invite children via a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change to understand ecological systems and the interdependence of living things. We accomplish this by motivating them to think and act like scientists as they share their own field observations of the natural world; puzzle out the impact of changing sunlight, conduct local investigations; and analyze real-time interactive maps and data collected by other classrooms, scientists, and families. Journey North helps educators integrate science, math, technology, geography and other subjects in an exciting, authentic context.

H is for Homeschooling – Scott Stevens

Q is for all the Questions that children ask. Asking questions and searching for the answers is the true art of learning. A simple question from a child like “How do joey kangaroos get into the mother’s pouch?” can lead to a learning adventure of finding books at the library, videos, internet searches, kangaroo craft projects, and more.

From Anchorage to Nome – Lisa Amstutz

The Iditarod, the haunting name, has caught me, transformed me, and will never let me go.
– Susan Butcher, 4-time Iditarod champion

On her seventh birthday, my daughter built a dog sled out of Popsicle sticks to top her birthday cake. This was highly unusual for a girl who normally chooses things like pink ponies or kittens, but not too surprising considering our family’s obsession at the time: the Iditarod.

By the time my daughter’s birthday arrived in February, we had already spent a month exploring Alaska. After carefully charting the course, we selected a team and prepared to run the world’s most extreme race–vicariously, of course, courtesy of the Internet and the public library. This just-for-fun unit study ended up having more educational and entertainment value than anything else we did all year.

The New Seven Wonders – Helen Hegener – HEM Editors Blog

As a kid I was fascinated by the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. They were wondrous creations, all right: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Lighthouse at Alexandria, the Colussus of Rhodes, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; I studied their pictures in old National Geographic magazines and thought about the lives of the people who built those incredible testaments to human engineering capabilities.
Resources – Virtual Tours

• American Museum of Natural History – Butterfly Conservatory Cams
• Ancient Roman Villa
• Andes Expedition and Virtual Autopsy
• Congo Trek 360
• Estuary Live
• Interactive Tour of Ellis Island from Scholastic
• NOAA’s Aquarius
• Sealab Antarctica
• The Jason Project
• The Kennedy Center
• The National Zoo
• The Sistine Chapel
• The United States Mint
• The Virtual Cave
• Van Gogh Tour from the Natiaonal Gallery of Art
• Virtual Gettysburgh
• Virtual Tours of the US Government
• Virtual World – Columbia River