Raspberry Pi

What's a Raspberry Pi ?  Well, in this case it's not something you eat... it's a full, but tiny computer, designed to be very affordable, to boost the number of students able to own a computer, and therefore hopefully revive the dwindling number of people learning computer programming.

Find out all the ins and outs of the Raspberry Pi !

Great Environmental Activities

Looking for some environmental activities for your kids?  Our new site, Earthwise Harmony has a Kids section with great activities to introduce children to environmental topics.

Also lots of interesting environmental information and concepts on the rest of the site!

Come have a look!
http://earthwiseharmony.com/KIDS/index.php

Environmental Website

We have been busy creating some new Environmental and Sustainability articles for our education themed website barinya.com  

They are full of great information, ideas and questions to get kids (and big kids!) thinking, researching and doing!  You could use individual questions or themes, or use them as a good starting point for an in depth project.


Here's a brief look at what is included in a few of them.    Follow the title links to read the whole article.


Animals and their Environments

 This article looks at animals, the way we utilise them and the effects it has on the environment.  It invites readers to ask a lot of hard questions and really delve into WHY we are doing things the way we do... and should we?

Some of the aspects looked at are animals as food, factory farming, CAFO's, free range, transporting animals,  environmental effects, pets, animal testing, animals as entertainment, animal products effects on health, vegetarian and vegan diets and viewing animals as fellow Earthlings.


Kids and the Environment

Kids and the Environment is about encouraging kids to learn about what is happening in the environment and to take a hands-on role, in many aspects of their lives, in helping counteract the damage we have caused.

The article discusses ways they can help at home, in the garden, at school, in the neighborhood, out and about, and wider world issues.

As they go about doing various research and activities, they can adopt names such as Leak Detective, Environmental Chef, Energy Efficiency Expert, Garden Guru, Water Wizard, School Environmental Warriors and Environmental Discoverers.  They can even turn Trash into Treasure!


Abundant Productive Gardens


In this article, we explore all kinds of aspects of creating abundant, productive gardens aimed at increasing self sufficiency, as well as added physical and mental health aspects.  There's information as well as lots of questions to get them thinking and planning!

We discuss the benefits of gardening, growing food, organic gardening and permaculture, creating healthy living soils, composting and worms, animals in the garden and manures, water in the garden, attracting beneficial insects and creatures to your garden, using plants for shade and creating micro-climates, and community gardens.


Resilient & Sustainable Communities

This article is all about transitioning from resource wasting, more separatist living, into thriving localised communities, with a real focus on sharing and co-operation.

We talk about the challenges facing society and some of the ways which we can help ease the transition.  We discuss the Transition Town initiative, eco villages & intentional communities, localisation, important considerations for each community, community based projects, reskilling, honouring the knowledge of our elders and indigenous people, and ways we can engage sommunity spirit and engagement. Green Products

Green Products is an environmental issues starter pack designed to get people really thingking about all of the products and services they use, and how might they do so in "greener" ways.  It includes dozens of questions to stimulate inquiry.

Some of the topics discussed are cleaning, energy, food, water, garden, technology, clothing, waste, travel and business.


Educating for the Future

Educating for the Future is an interesting article for educators, of any kind, especially those who recognise that we need to specifically educate our young people, and communities at large, for a different future world than the one we live in today.  Change is happening fast, and in different directions than any time in history.  We need to prepare people to live productive and happy lives, able to take on the challenges that will lead us into the future.

Some of the points of discussion are educating for the real world future; how we can do this in various learning environments such as schools, universities and the home; home education; learning in the community; learning via the internet; learning on the job; learning through recreational activities; learning from our elders and indigenous people; life skills and reskilling, educating for "future-proof"
jobs; and the importance of environmental education.


I hope some of these articles give you some great ideas for homeschool projects and discussions!

Check back on barinya.com from time to time, as there will be more articles coming soon!

A Magical Investigation: Part One

Excalibur!

Harry Potter!

The Neverending Story!

Folk of the Faraway Tree!

Bedknobs and Broomsticks!

Kids throughout the ages have been entranced by magical themes and all the mystery and endless possibilities that lie within them.

Why not utilise their fascination with this theme in your homeschooling plans? We've found that almost any learning area can be incorporated into a magical theme. In fact, it's quite easy to pick an activity and spice it up with magic terms and magical story to go along with it. It can change the potentially boring into something enticing and exciting!

Below are some of the activities that we have created, along a Magical Theme.

A Magical World
Creative writing, combined with art/craft.
Create your own magical world. Describe this world in a literary work.
Then, paint or build a scene depicting your magical world.

A Tapestry of Magic
A craft and creative writing activity.
Magic weaves a secret tapestry throughout the universe.
Design and make a wall hanging depicting a magical scene, symbol, or pattern using embroidery, patchwork, collage, weaving etc.
Write a story or descriptive article about your completed project.

A Wizards Guide
Creative writing, art and photography.
Make a guide book suitable for a wizard taking up a position as a teacher at a School of Magic.
Illustrate your guide with drawings and photographs.

Wand Cauldron
A creative craft activity.
Make a cauldron to keep your wands, fancy pencils etc in.

Broomstick Users Guide
An activity which uses creative writing, plus artistic illustration or photography.
Create a users guide for the latest broomstick.
Illustrate your guide with drawings, or posed photographs.
For an extra challenge, make a video version of the guide!

Famous Wizards
A creative writing project.
Write about a famous wizard in movies or books... or write a guide to several famous wizards.
you can even create your own wizard, and make him/her "famous" in your own work of fiction!

If Only They Were Wizards
A creative writing activity, using current affairs.
Find articles, in newspapers or magazines, which show muggles (non-magical beings) struggling with some situation or other.
Re-write it as it might have occurred if the main person had been magical instead!

The Great Gnome Caper
An imaginative photography activity.
Create a photographic display of what these magical little beings get up to while their owners are away!
You might even like to make your own paper mache gnome.

Wizard Totem Pole
This is an activity containing practical artistic and craft skills, geographical and historical elements.
Research traditional totem poles, their purpose and design.
Explore your own family history and your own talents and ideals.
Design and create your own totem pole!

Wizard Explorers
A creative writing activity, which also incorporates reading comprehension and mapping skills.
Read the journal exerpts of one of the greatest wizard explorers of all time! From these, create your own map of The Great Lost Lands! Fill in the missing journal entries to finish your map!

Have fun!

More to come in future posts!

HOW, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY?

How could you represent these concepts photographically?

Think about each of these words,what they could mean and how you could illustrate them.

Brainstorm some ideas, such as:

How?

How do you do it?

How is it made?

How does it work?

How many are there?

How could this happen?

How could I make it better?

What?

What is it?

What if...?

What does it mean?

What is it used for?

What next?

What on earth?!

When?

When did it occur?

When could you do that?

Where?

Where am I?

Where did it happen?

Where next?

Why?

Why not?

Why did it happen?

Why is it this way?

Now, decide what pictures you are going to take to represent each of the words... and go out and take them!

Display your pictures.

PHOTO HUNT

Grab your camera and go hunting- for some unique photos!

Try to make your photos something a little bit different, not just the obvious.

Once you've got the shots you need, make a display of them.
You could do a PowerPoint type presentation, a poster, or present them scrapbook style.

Can you take a photo to represent each of the following?

• Upside down
• Inside out
• Before and after
• Round and round
• Seeing is believing
• After the storm
• At the top
• Beneath the surface
• Why is it so?
• Less is more
• Too late
• Too soon
• That's life!
• Brute strength
• My hero
• Stating the obvious
• Do you see what I see?
• Happily ever after!

LIBRARIES FOR LEARNING

Libraries can be invaluable sources of all kinds of learning opportunities and resources.

Most homeschoolers visit their public library on a regular basis. But do you know just what a variety of services a library often provides? Here's some basics of what may be available, which of course will differ depending on your actual library.

• Book, books and more books! If it's not on the shelf, check the catalogue or ask a librarian. Some libraries have storage facilities, so not all the books available are in the actual library at one time. but you can request these items to be made available to you. Most libraries also have facilities for you to request to be put on a waiting list to borrow an item when it comes back from loan. Libraries will also try to obtain items for you, through inter library loans, or even purchasing the item, if it is thought to be of general interest. This can be a slow process, however, so not much good for urgent needs.
• Children and teens collections
• Large print books, for sight impaired.
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Some library collections have various club newsletters
• CD ROMs
• CDs
• DVDs
• Videos
• Language Kits
• Audio Books
• Toy Library
• Engraving equipment
• Energy saving kits
• Electricity timers
• Pedometers
• Printing and photocopying
• Scanning
• Computers and internet
• Fax
• Laminating
• Badge machine
• Free home library service for housebound people
• Justice of the Peace service
• Community information
• Displays
• Book discussion groups
• Storytelling groups
• School holiday activities
• Guest speakers and visiting authors
• Library "Friends" groups
• Meeting rooms

Libraries are usually open most days of the year, though often not public holidays.
Home educators can make the most of using the library at less busy times, when other kids are at school.

A wealth of fascinating information about almost any topic, as well as imaginary happenings to get lost in, are at your fingertips!