TeacherTube

TeacherTube, as you might guess, is a video site with content that teachers (or parents) may find useful.   Started in March of last year, the site is a great resource for brushing up on your Earth Science or explaining electromagnetism.

via GeekDad 

Spark new interest by clearing the coffee table

BraveWriter reminds us to “clear the coffee table” to spark interests.

…clear off a space that is taken for granted in your house and put something out that is surprising, new, novel or has been overlooked for a long time.

Suggestions include:

• bucket of Legos
• collection of art postcards
• Poetry books
• decks of cards
• the game mancala
• paintbrushes and watercolor paints
• new pencils
• note cards
• disposable cameras
• a birding field guide
• binoculars
• chess or checkers
• a mini white board and markers
• bean bags
• beads and wire to make bracelets
• an assortment of shells and fossils
• teatime essentials (like mugs, teabags, a muffin mix and poetry)
• picture books from the library
• jacks
• back issues of National Geographic from the library
• a new DVD

Carnival of Learning in the Great Outdoors

Perhaps you’re already familiar with blog carnivals (blog events dedicated to a particular topic).  A few good educational / homeschool related ones are:

• The Carnival of Homeschooling
  
• The Carnival of Unschooling AKA Unschooling Voices
• The Carnival of Education
• The Carnival of Children’s Literature

Now here’s a new one I’ve discovered:

• The Carnival of Learning in the Great Outdoors

Are there other related Carnivals you’ve found?  Let me know in the comments!

Practicing Daily Excellence

Mental Multivitamin posts A Lifetime of Excellence, about trying to improve yourself and your teaching to the point of everyday excellence.

My favorite bit:

“Many of us can be excellent for a day, but we find a lifetime of excellence to be just a bit difficult. Good teachers leave their egos and problems at the door each morning. They become so immersed in the children they teach that they forget time, problems, who they are, or what they can’t do. They believe that they exist for their students. They hear with their hearts, they see with their souls, and they teach with their conscience.”