RESOURCES:

Public Library: Your library is a wonderful resource, too. I have gotten many homeschooling books there. They often have books which you can preview before purchasing as well.

Homeschooling Companies & Catalogues:
Elijah: The catalogue of Elijah Company is not only a source for homeschooling materials but also a primer on homeschooling. It identifies the various methods (above) and points out ways to follow that approach and the materials that you can use to support you in that approach. Elijah's number is (615) 456-6284

Books: One of the best, in my opinion, for an older child is the Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewynn. It helps the teenager see what learning can be like and encourages them to go for it instead of being spoon-fed.

Web sites:
Web sources can be reached by searching for homeschooling. A few of them will be on the handout that I will send you in the next day or so.

Visual Media:

1. Television: TV can be a good resource when used well. Discovery, The Learning Channel, The History Channel, NOVA and PBS have wonderful documentaries. We've studied the American Revolution, weather, dinosaurs, home building, Atlantis, inventions, volcanoes, and the universe through TV. For example: The Learning Channel had a wonderful series called Great Books last year. They discussed Machavelli, and several other books. Biographies, Biology through National Geographic specials are invaluable in education. Check their schedules on their web pages.
   
2. Movies: Even the movies can be educational. Use movies to increase your children's understanding of what they have seen and it's relativeness to history or actual events. Use the subject list below as a jump off point for education.

English: Most of Shakespeare's plays are on video. See Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing; Pride & Predjudice. Even movies that don't have a literature tie-in can be useful: Renaissance Man (Hamlet and English grammar (similies & metaphors), You've got Mail introduces Pride & Predjudice and discusses it. (My daughters and I analyzed the movie and then compared it to the themes of Pride & Predjudice.), Camelot, Death be not Proud, Our Town, Dead Poet's Society, To Kill a Mockingbird, Clueless (adaptation of Emma), The Caine Mutiny

History:
18th Century: 1776 (the musical about the Continental Congress which wrote the Declaration of Independence), George Washington: Forging a Nation (Patty Duke & Barry Bostick), Roots, The Three Musketeers
19th Century: John Wayne in any western (life style and attitudes [watch out for differences in 20th century attitudes (about women for example) and 19th century attitudes]) especially The Alamo; The Buccaneer (last battle of the War of 1812 in New Orleans), Gone with the Wind (Civil War), Glory (Civil War), Unforgiven, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, Calamity Jane, Gettysburg,

20th Century: Bonnie & Clyde (1930 gangsters), Apollo 13, Titantic, lots of World War I & II movies such as Bridge on the River Kwai, The Sound of Music, , M*A*S*H*, Driving Miss Daisy
(Civil Rights), Tuskagee Airmen (Black airmen in WWII), The Dirty Dozen (WWII)

Science: Jurassic Park (genetics, science in general, business ethics), Contact (how & why scientists look for life in the universe, astronomy), A Brief History of Time, Twister (tornadoes), The China Syndrome (Nuclear Energy), Dante's Peak and Volcano (Scientists investigate volcanoes), Deep Impact and Amageddon (space & meteors)

GOVERNMENT:
Executive Branch:
The President: The American President (with Michael Douglas), Dave, Don't forget the Harrison Ford movies like Air Force One. Great government class, that one, including succesion of power
The Military: An Officer and a Gentleman, Hunt for Red October (probably any Tom Clancy book turned into a movie), Taps, Top Gun, A Few Good Men, Iron Eagle, Crimson Tide (military & Cold War), Executive Decision
The Cabinet and Departments: Patriot Games

Legislative Branch: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Congress),

Judicial Branch: 12 Angry Men, Eyewitness, The Pelican Brief

OTHER SUBJECTS:

Survival tactics: The Black Stallion,

Psychiatry: Rainman (Dustin Hoffman), Tribute,

If you go to TV, you'll find lots more:

USING VISUAL MEDIA:
Don't underestimate the use you can make of movies. For example, Tuskeegee Airmen is about black aviators in WWII. Questions and discussions with your children can include:

1. How were blacks treated during the war?
2. How is that different from how they are treated now?
3. What were the Tuskeegee airmen famous for?
4. What was the symbol for their squadron? (This symbol is mentioned in another movie: October Skies which is about kids learning rocket science.)
5. Do you think their treatment was fair? Why or why not?

Another recent program was Cherokee Kid. It is about blacks in the West.

1. How many blacks were cowboys or pioneers in the West?
2. How were they treated?
3. How were women treated?
4. Do you think this is a fair representation of history at that time?

Field Trips and Vacations: Don't forget field trips and vacations. Take your children to local museums and historical sites around your area. Include interesting places during your vacations.

Computer games can be good teachers. Spell It 3, ProOne's Algebra, Algeblaster, SimCity (for thinking skills), Oregon Trail (history), Rescue the Scientists, Microsoft's Ocean.

Living Books puts out great CDs for younger kids to use to learn to read: Little Monster at School, Harry and the Haunted House, Grandma and Me and, in fact, can be used to learn foreign languages. Monster and Harry are in English and Spanish.