Homeschool Your Child Using Themed Based Curriculum

Themes are a fun way to homeschool your child. A theme can be created from any topic that your child is interested in. A theme is simply a base topic from which you can teach from in your lesson plans. A few examples of themes are apples, bats, zoo, space, fun in the sun, or even Dr. Seuss. You can choose just about any topic that you would like for your theme. Using themes will make your lesson plans more creative, fun and interesting.
Themes usually have a time frame from which they are based around. Themes can last from one week all the way to one month depending on how in depth you want to approach your theme. I would suggest using a theme no longer than two weeks with your homeschool child. Incorporating themes into your homeschool lesson plans is really quite simple and you and your child will both enjoy the fun that comes with creating a theme based lesson plan.
Themes do not have to be incorporated into every teaching objective for the week. You can be selective and use themed based curriculum once or twice a day, throughout your homeschool lesson plans. Get your child involved into your lesson planning process. Have your child help choose themes that are interesting to him. When children are actively involved in the lesson planning process and given choices they are more eager to learn. I suggest getting your child involved in all aspects of lesson plan preparation to keep their interests.
Let's take the theme apples as an example of using themes in your lesson plans. In science, you can dissect an apple and look at the apple seeds or you could discuss how apples grow. In math, you could dissect an apple into halves and fourths. In social studies, you could learn about Johnny Appleseed. In language arts, you can read many books related to apples and even write your own apple related paragraph. During art, you can make apple prints using cut up apples with paints. In P.E., you can have an apple toss, jump over apples, or even bobbing with apples. For music time, you can find many songs related to apples to sing with your child. Make homemade applesauce, apple muffins, or apple butter for your cooking class. You can make interactive bulletin boards using apple projects that your child creates.
The most important factor in using a themed based curriculum with your child is to integrate the themes into your child's objectives that need to met for the school year. A nice blend of themes into your curriculum base objectives can be both fun and rewarding for your child. Make learning fun and interesting by incorporating theme based curriculum into your lesson plans.

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By Leilani Mairet

L. D. Mairet is the mother of four children, a former teacher with a triple major in education, and a former educational preschool owner. You can share and swap homeschool lesson plans at her homeschool site http://www.topchoicesite.com/free-homeschool-primary-lesson-plans-and-resource-sharing-center-html

Why College Education is so Crucial for Success

At this point in life I am a self-sufficient and independent person ready to take the next step in life. As I am finishing high school I clearly see my future goals that I can potentially derive from college education. The high school experience helped me understand that education is not all about reading textbooks and writing research papers. Even though those components are also extremely important and without them education would not live up to its definition, I understand education as a gradual process of learning that has a far greater scope than simply attending lectures and doing homework assignments. There are much more things I have yet to learn.
I view college education as a global learning process that would encompass learning new things that will have some positive influence on my personality in the future. Studying the various disciplines offered by a university is important but college experience should not be confined to that academic experience only. I consider college education a much more valuable experience than high school because living on campus far away from my family will have very significant impact on my personality. Living on my own will help me assess my personal skills, and ascertain the areas of strength and weakness. I consider on-campus residence opportunity a crucial part of college education because I will get a chance to discover things about myself that I never though I had. There will definitely be pleasant moments as well as hardships but it is the only way to test a person. It is much better to know your weaknesses and strengths rather than staying ignorant of their presence. Even if a person has many weaknesses it is a much better option to discover them and then fight each particular weakness rather than overlooking the drawbacks and shortcomings of one’s personality.
I consider college education to be of extreme importance because it contributes to the overall process of transformation of a teenager into an adult. Some teenagers never overgrow that stage because they have never been exposed to independent, self-sufficient lifestyle. Always living with parents who care about a person and solve all problems that arise along the way is not always good it terms of their contribution to personal development of a child. Life is difficult and the best way to learn effective strategies and techniques of dealing with future problems and difficulties is to face them with an open mind and open eyes. I am not advocating lack of parental care and support. By no means should you get that impression. On the contrary, a child must be assured that parents are always there to help in case he or she encounters a problem that is too difficult to solve on one’s own. College experience provides that environment where young people can face the realities of life and see if they can deal with their personal problems themselves. I am sure that college education will give me a chance to become an independent and self-sufficient person capable of dealing with everyday life situations. I consider that to be a very important component of college education. Also, I believe that college education will give me an ample opportunity to improve most of my skills and shape my inner world in the sense that I will be able to critically comprehend what goes on in the present-day society and have my personal opinion about various issues. I hope to meet new people from various cultural and social backgrounds who surely have valuable experience to share and different ideas to communicate. I believe that it is through communication with other human-beings that people are able to learn new things and generate original ideas. Those are the things that I expect to get out of college education besides the information that I will learn from the textbooks and informative lectures delivered by experienced professors.

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By Tim Johnson

Tim Johnson Junior is a freelance writer, CRWA certified resume writer and career coach. Has written over 2000 articles and essays on the subject of Social Issues. Has worked for Essaymart's custom writing department from 2003 to 2005. Currently, Tim is busy helping professionals and executives optimize their careers at a certified Resume Writing firm, ResumeAid.

Choosing a College Right For You

College, College, College. The ongoing debate on whether you need a degree or not to succeed in today’s world. Let me digress a bit here and fill you in on my career decision. I was a so-so student in High school, graduated basically a "C" student and almost repeated my junior hear for failing Algebra. I hated school, couldn't stand it. When the Navy recruiter called me, I jumped at the chance to get right into the work force with no college. College was the last thing on my mind. Even with a free ride from the folks, I still didn't want anything to do with it. After being in the Navy for about 6 years or so, I decided I needed a degree to further my professional development. I enrolled at Columbia College of Missouri as a part time student at a distance Ed. branch in Washington State. The Navy through Tuition Assistance paid for 75% of the class tuition. I covered the other 25%, that's all changed now and the Navy now pays 100%. Through many night classes, CLEP tests and online classes I graduated Cum Laude from Columbia in 2002. I chose to major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Education.
Now the Navy has implemented that in order to promote to certain ranks, you will be required to have a degree of varying levels. Currently I'm working on my Master's Degree in Theology. I know your thinking; I go from criminal justice and education major to theology. Just goes to show you that a person’s interests change over the years. I'm attending Andersonville Seminary right now, still on active duty and 60% complete. Now I've had plenty of experience in various types of school efforts. Here's what I've learned.
First-Go to college when someone else will pay for it. Whether it's a scholarship, parents, grant, military etc. If someone else will foot the bill, take them up on it.
Second-Internet and online courses are convenient, but with that convenience comes increased difficulty. It's much harder to collaborate with schoolmates; you must set specific time aside each day to dedicate to your class. It's really easy to put things off till the end of the week, then you produce lackluster work.
Third-Correspondence classes are even more difficult, mainly because you spend so much time waiting for work to come in or go out via mail. Many now use and accept email submissions, but some still use the old tear-out workbooks.
Fourth-Pick a reputable school. Many degree farms churn out a worthless piece of paper with your name on it for about $1,000 dollars. You're only cheating yourself. Any employer will be able to determine quickly if your degree is accredited or not. There are College Recruiters out there that can make your school search easier.
Lastly-Don't wait till someone requires you to get a degree for some reason before you start working on it. By that time it's too late, someone already has your promotion. Bottom line is with only about 28% of America with College degrees, there is definitely room for more college grads.

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By Casey Eaves

Provided by Casey of http://www.TheCheevesFactor.com.

Are You Too Old To Go Back To School?

You want to go back to school and continue your education. Perhaps you'd like to earn your first degree or ou'd like to earn a new degree in a different field. You've been dreaming of that degree but haven't dared believe your dream can come true because you think you are too old.
You aren't. It really is that simple. I don't care what your age is, as an experienced college-level educator I can assure you that you are not too old, because there are many nontraditional students on college campuses today (and likely some of those are older than you are), your life experience gives you many advantages over more traditional students, and with the growing nontraditional population many colleges have programs and services especially tailored for the nontraditional student.
I went back to school in my 30s and today I teach college. Yes, I have many traditional students in my classroom but every semester I have a large percentage of nontraditional students as well. I have studens in their late 20s as well as 30s, 40s, 50s, and up. I have students who have retired from one career and are looking to move into another. I have students whose children (or grandchildren) have left the nest so they are looking to enter a new stage in their life.
I also have many students balancing school with work and family. I have students who are the traditional age but are in nontraditional circumstances including children and family, work and military service, as well as sports and other activities. You are a unique person, but your situation is not as unique as you might think.
In many ways, your age, or rather your life experience, will be a tremendous asset for your return to school. Nontraditional students understand much better than traditional students how to manage their time and prioritize tasks. In addition, nontraditional students are often much more motivated and goal-oriented than their more traditional counterparts. Finally, your life experience also gives you a great deal of knowledge and experience to fall back on or pull from when it comes to understanding, applying, or adapting the new knowledge you gain through college. I regularly see my nontraditional students outperform traditional students in many ways, but it ultimately comes down to a maturity of thinking and reasoning that can only come with growing up. I know when I returned to college as a student after working for a number of years that I did much better in the classroom and also handled my work load much better than I did when I was a more traditional student.
Today colleges recognize they have a changing student population and offer classes in a variety of formats including on campus, off campus, televised, and internet as well as a range of schedules including days, nights, weekends, and accelerated. In addition, there are now support services available for students who fall outside the traditional student role. Many financial aid and scholarship programs also exist specifically for the nontraditional student.
In the end, it really comes down to your own gut feeling. Do you really want that degree? Are you ready to change your life? You can do it and there will be help and support available for you. Don't use your age as an excuse not to pursue your dream.

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By Deanna Mascle

Deanna Mascle has spent decades as an educator. You can read more about adult education at Answers About Education and Adults Learn More.

Paying For it on Your Own?

So your sister was awarded a full ride to her first choice school with the intent to double major in bio-molecular chemistry and electro-physics and your brother (who was actually getting paid to go to school) just finished his last football season. Cursing your parents for giving away all the really good genes before you had a chance to nab your fair share isn’t going to help but with a little creativity, you too can find a way to put yourself through college. Aside from the traditional scholarships offered to those who are blessed with the diligence to live life with their faces in books, or the grace and athleticism of a gazelle, there is also a plethora of scholarships for those of us who are darn proud of what we do but don’t quite make it too the coveted over-achiever status.
Many of us have heard the stories of the friend of a friend who didn’t have to pay a dime for their education simply because they were left handed or happened to measure in over 6’ 2”. And though these tales seem too good to be true, rest assured there is nothing fabricated about it (honestly, who could make this stuff up?) and these types of financial backing may be more available than you realize. Whether you pride yourself on your duck call or you think your um, unique fashion sense combined with your passion for duck tape merits a little assistance from a third party, look around and it’s likely to be out there. Some of the more strange scholarships we found include everything from an apple pie baking contest (first prize gets $25,000 to the Culinary Institute of America’s) to one that encourages young minds to study the Klingon language; naturally this one is given by the Klingon Language Institute.
Certain celebrities can also at times be counted on to share their own wealth such as the interest David Letterman is known for displaying through his scholarship fund awarded for outstanding creativity. Search far and wide and you’re sure to find a group that wants to support you just for being you, or maybe even just because they had supported your grandmother through school! But a word to the wise, before counting all your eggs or putting all your chickens in one basket take the time to make sure your benefactor is legitimate. Be aware of groups who request to remain anonymous (even from you) or are making outlandish requests from you in return for their so-called generosity. And finally, when it comes to applying to scholarships don’t be afraid to be greedy. Apply for as many as you are interested in and you may be surprised as to how much money your future is worth to other people.
If the scholarship route isn’t for you there are other ways of paying for school on your own (and I don’t mean that in a creepy meet-me-behind-the-student-union-next-Thursday-at-3-a.m. kind of way). There are plenty of financial institutions out there that are more than happy to help the struggling fledglings out there with enticingly low interest rates, long repayment terms, and flexible application deadlines. Student loans can be taken out for as little as $1,000 or as much as $50.000 with the option to defer payments on the principal for up to six months after graduation. And better yet they can usually be obtained from any banking establishment where you are a current account holder as well as any number of organizations which exist specifically for the purpose of helping you get through this (expensive) phase of life. Some of the top name student loan companies include Sallie Mae, Nellie Mae, and Educaid each having several different payment plans for both graduate and undergrad students.
The morale of the story kids, being asked to pay for your own education is a huge obstacle but it doesn’t have to be an insurmountable one. Just remember: ask and ye shall receive; help can come in the most unlikely forms, just ask.
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By Kelly Kennedy

Kelly Kennedy is the Communications Specialist for MindComet Corporation, a full service marketing agency for Fortune 500 companies and international conglomerates. Kelly specializes in public relations strategies focused on personal finance. Kelly has been author to hundreds of articles focusing on finance. She also acts as a contributing author for a wide variety of websites and newsletters. Kelly holds a Bachelors degree in Marketing from the University of Central Florida.
For more information pertaining to student financial advice please visit http://www.studentfinancialguide.com.

7 Steps to Guide Your Graduate School Search

The Graduate School Search Process
Once you are close to achieving your undergraduate degree, it’s time to begin a graduate school search to lead you to the next level of your education. Of course, with degree completion activities taking most of your time, you may find it difficult to launch a comprehensive graduate school search that will net you the best options for pursuing your career. Knowing how to establish your parameters and search efficiently can make the process easier and will lead to better results in a shorter period of time.
Graduate School Search Made Easy:Know your objectives – The first step to finding the right program through a graduate school search is to write down exactly what you want from a graduate program. Location, internship eligibilities, highly regarded instructors – decide which factors are most important and create a list of priorities.
Consult an online graduate school search guide – Before you can narrow down your selection, you’ll want to get as much information as possible on many diverse graduate programs. Using an online search program can help you to get a lot of information in a short amount of time. Request information packages from at least 10 different programs to provide a variety of options. Further research may provide some portunities that you wouldn’t have been aware of prior to your graduate school search.
Narrow your options – Once you have obtained the information from the various schools you contacted via the graduate school search guide, you can perform a comparison based on your initial objectives. Select the top three or four programs that best match your graduate school preferences.
Contact existing students – Now that you have a smaller pool of options, consider contacting current students participating in the program you wish to join. Most schools will be happy to put you in contact with a student who can answer your questions about the program’s courses, instructors and overall value.
Visit the campus – Along with making telephone or internet contact with the schools you are considering, your graduate school search should include a trip to the campus itself. Unless you are considering the prospect of online or distance learning, getting a feel for the physical environment can play an important role in your final decision.
Re-evaluate your choices – Once your have a more personal view of each graduate program, take a minute to compare your field of choices once more.
Now that you have additional information, it may be possible to eliminate some of the programs from your graduate school search. If you have a clear front-runner, it may be that you have already found the school of your choice.
Sleep on it awhile – Whether or not you believe you have found the right graduate school program, take a little time before making your final decision.
Choosing a school will affect your life significantly and you don’t want to be impulsive about it. If, after a week or so, you still feel confident in your choice, your graduate school search has ended! If you still need more time, or more information, go back to the programs you most prefer or start over with step one.

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By Paolo Basauri

P. Basauri is an expert author who writes for Graduate School Search

Choosing an International School

Choosing a School Abroad
A major cause of concern for families moving abroad is the provision of education for their children. Many worry that schools in the destination country may not be able to offer the same standard of education that has previously been available in the country of citizenship. Research is vital prior to any move abroad in order to make the best decision for your family.
Many countries around the world, particularly those with a high proportion of expatriates, have a number of international schools which use familiar models of education such as American, British or other systems. These schools generally follow the curriculum of their chosen model and teach in their native language. A growing number of international schools follow the International Baccalaureate which is accepted as an entrance for university around the world. International Schools tend to be located in the major cities of the world, although a few are located in green spaces and these tend to offer boarding as an alternative to a long journey from home to school. Most good international schools offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities that broaden your child’s education as well as providing new interests and hobbies.
As well as the international school option, it may also be possible to enroll your child into a local bilingual school. The advantages of this would be that your child will quickly develop new language skills and would better assimilate into the local community. A downside however would be that the bilingual school would most probably follow a different system than your child is used to and there may be problems reintegrating back into schools at home or universities. An international school would be a safer choice, although these do tend to be more expensive than bilingual schools. Whilst a school may describe itself as an International School, it is important to check out the nationalities of the students on role as some international schools can have a student population comprising almost entirely of local students. In these situations overseas students can often feel isolated and unable to join in with the rest of the school community.
Careful Planning
Before enrolling your child in any school abroad, make a visit to the school and determine if the school offers the best for your child. Take your child with you on each visit so they also get a feel for the school. Some international schools will be selective and others may have long waiting lists. Make sure that the school you select is within traveling distance from home and there is adequate provision for transport to and from school. It is often quite beneficial to decide on a school first and then look for housing after.

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By James Miller

Schools.ac - View details of International Schools around the world at http://www.schools.ac

2006 Digital Library Trends

In 2005 we saw a huge push for digital libraries and noticed Google and Microsoft both scanning books and putting them into digital format for the world to see. We saw many writers get aggressive and threaten lawsuits for copyright infringement. We watched the big companies explain to the world that they were first going to do all the books which were out of print and produce them for all the world to see. In 2005 we also saw a continuation of a trend to make white papers, research reports and University manuscripts, dissertations and documentation online for all. These systems used hybrid search features which could cross reference photos, videos, sketches, paper, reports a number of different ways using the latest and greatest artificial intelligence searching software. Many Universities are now teaming up together to make this a reality and partnering with major search engines to see that all of it is readily available to the world.
In 2006 we will see a uniting of all the worlds knowledge and works from as far back as the books which were in the Alexandria Library all online and at your finger tips. Imagine the amount of knowledge available to the world without the barriers of time, location or language. Able to read information, see videos and pictures and learn anything you want to learn literally at your finger tips; like an add on memory to the human race. Of course this project will take years, but the first half million books will be completely online and ready to go in 2006 and this trend will continue and accelerate in the coming years. Think on this.

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By Lance Winslow

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

College Degrees

College degrees may allow you to earn more money upon graduation, but for some potential students the high cost of paying for college keeps them out of the classroom. Many students are unaware of how to save money on the tuition for college degrees. This lack of knowledge about tuition assistance means that a significant number of students end up paying more for their college degrees than they should have to pay.
Many students are aware of scholarship, grants, and student loans as methods for reducing the cost of college degrees. Student loans are effective, as long as you understand that you have to pay back the loan and you find a well-paying job to help you make your student loan payments each month. Scholarships and grants can be more useful, as you usually do not have to pay them back. However, there can be difficulties if you obtain partial scholarships for your tuition. Some schools offering college degrees will set aside how much in financial aid you can receive in total. If you receive scholarships, they will take that amount out of your total. So your financial aid amount will not go up unless you obtain more in scholarship money. If this is the case, there are other options still available to pay for college degrees.
If you are young and willing, the military is a great way to pay for college degrees. The Reserve Officers Training Corp, or ROTC, offers scholarships that pay for college education. The ROTC scholarships will pay for a significant portion of your college education a long as you serve on active duty in the military upon graduation. If you are willing to serve, college degrees qualify participants for officer status. Veterans are also eligible to pay for their college education via the G.I. Bill. Military Academies also allow you to obtain college degrees for free while earning a monthly stipend.
Besides the military, another way of paying for college degrees involves taking certain exams to earn credits. CLEP exams and the GRE test will enable you to test out of taking specific classes. If you do not have to take the classes, then the cost of college degrees goes down. Besides the cost of college degrees going down, it will also allow you to obtain your education faster. The small cost of taking each test will save you significant amounts of money on college degrees.
A third option in paying for college degrees involves taking less expensive classes at one school and transferring them to another university. Since the tuition for college degrees varies from school to school, you can easily take basic or pre-requisite courses at one school for less money. Many students find that taking the basic courses required for college degrees at a community college saves them significantly in the end. However, check with the universities offering you college degrees to be sure that the classes are fully transferable.
Read the rest of the article here: College Degrees.

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By Charles Fuchs

Download the Home Based Business Manual (Free $97 Value!) and receive valuable tips, strategies and techniques designed to grow a very successful Home Based Business.
Copyright © Charles Fuchs is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own Home Based Business. He specializes in showing people how MLM Business Leads can help your business.

College in the Fifties

In the country side where I grew up, a high school student's greatest goal was to work the farm like his dad, get married and have lots of little farmers. Sixteen of us graduated from high school, not including two boys that had to leave in April for spring planting and one girl who got married. One girl and one boy (myself) succeeded in going to college.
My grandparents were (relatively) rich but my parents had little money, certainly not enough to send me to college. I loved science and after winning the Bauch and Lomb Science Award, I wanted to be a physicist. My mother read in the newspaper that the S.A.T.s were to be held in a movie theater in the next town, the three top scorers in the state qualifying for State Scholarships. Our high school was perhaps one of the smallest in the state, borrowing most of their teachers from nearby Pennsylvania. In spite of lacking courses in calculus, logic, and higher mathematics, I braved the test anyway. Three weeks later the announcement arrived that I had won the third place spot in the state and would be able to attend Rutgers University, tuition free! After all the jumping and celebrating, we planned how I could afford the room, board, and books.
A spot opened on the cafeteria staff of the sister college, Douglas University for Women, providing me with room and board money. I was to serve the college girls coffee and hot chocolate from six thirty until eight AM every week day. Used books were available from the local book store in town. The only fly in the ointment was the Physics class, my major. At the end of the year, I was called into the Dean's office and informed that my grade in Physics was too low (though passing) to retain my scholarship and I would have to pay tuition the second year. I pleaded that since the physics building was located a mile away, the classes were shortened to forty minutes. I just didn't have enough time to complete the two semester theory tests in time. My professor asked us to solve three theories. I solved one and completed the second but ran out of time for the third theory. I was just too slow. Calculators would have helped, but they weren't invented yet. These sixty six per cent grades brought down my fours in the rest of the tests. I was successful in ROTC training, entering a weapons handling contest and winning first place handily. I also joined the track team and went on field trips with the Rutgers Photographic Club.
Well, the Dean gave me another chance, if I would agree to go to summer school for advanced mathematics. I also changed my major to Geology, but Physics was still a requirement. The summer school was held in some old World War II Quansett huts, the temperature rising to one hundred degrees in the afternoon. I also found time for photographing children which insured the cost of my books for my Sophomore year. My worst fears were realized when I read my courses the next year. They duplicated my Freshman year courses: Scientific German II, American History II and Physics II. All featured the same professors. The physics classes were held in the same temporary building as last year (the new one was being built) and the same interview with the Dean resulted. But this time it was final. No scholarship.
Back at home, a talk with my dad revealed that my education was last on his list (his words) and grandma would not donate one penny much less four thousand dollars. And this for her oldest grandson who was named (middle names of Charles Virgil) after her husband and great grandfather. She said that they wouldn't dare touch the principle, since they still had two homes to support and the country club and all. Now don't get the idea that I am at all bitter about this fiasco, just disappointed that I didn't get to finish. Plan B, which was to be a professional photographer worked out fine.
A retired portrait photographer living with my wife and a cat in New Jersey.

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By Kenneth Hoffman