Voices

RAHL members have many ideas, opinions and special talents to share. This page is devoted to their "voices". Feel free to send your expression, whether it be a short story, poem, book report, artwork, essay, etc. to info@rahl.org for publication on this page. Also, this is a terrific place to post field trip ideas, community service projects or any upcoming activities.

Annual HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR

On Novemer 29 we held our Second Annual Holiday Craft Fair, which proved to be an even bigger success than the one we had in '04! We had a fantastic turnout, with much "oohing and aahing" heard amongst the gentle sales pitches and lip smacking. We'd like to thank Linda for taking the time to capture the excitement in the following pictures of our budding entrepreneurs (click on the picture below or the highlighted link to see the entire photo album):

ADV Holiday wish list

RAHL has been involved with Alternatives to Domestic Violence's Holiday Donation Program for several years now. Click here to view their Holiday Wish List and read the letter about their Annual Holiday Store. If you would like to donate any new items, please bring them to the November 21st or December 5th park day. One of our park day attendees will then gather the donations and drop them off at the collection site. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

The Living Desert adopt! program

Due to RAHL's generosity we were able to participate in The Living Desert's Adopt! Program again this year. We raised enough to adopt TWO animals, and decided on a Burrowing Owl and an Indian Star Tortoise. If you'd like to take a look at the adoption materials we received, please click on the following links:

To see the Adoption Certificate and a picture of the Indian Star Tortoise, click here

To see the Adoption Certificate and a picture of the Burrowing Owl, click here

If you happen to be at the Living Desert, look for our name on the plaques located by the Animal Hospital. Our adoption runs from May 2006 to May 2007.

Recent RAHL Discussion Group Notes

Here is the recipe of the stuffed jalapenos - so easy to make!
about 10 jalapenos sliced lengthwise in half seeds removed
8 oz cream cheese softened
4 bacon slices cooked crispy and crumbled
Mix cream cheese and bacon. Stuff into jalapeno halves and put in baking pan. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. Eat! Yum!

Book we talked about:
Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire by Rafe Esquith (This teacher works in LAUSD. His classroom is registered non-profit and are known as the Hobart Shakespeareans. Great book!)

Below is a list of the "learning" materials we shared at our lively Discussion Group "The Many Facets of Homeschooling". (Thanks to Linda for taking such thorough notes!)

Leslie: SET (a game of sequencing and sets), Material World - a book that introduces us to many, many different cultures and lifestyles with wonderful pictures, available from
Chinaberry Books. This was a very popular recommendation.

Gretchen: All Through The Ages, a list of Literature for History by Christine Miller
A Series of Books - The World of ...., by Genevieve Foster
The Elementary Spelling Book by Noah Webster, M.D.

Kari: AlphaPhonics - A Primer for Beginning Readers by Samuel Blumenfeld. Kari says she's used this with all her children and even though she no longer uses it she can't part with it.

Marieli and Rick: Making the Grade (available for all the different grade levels). Available at Costco. Details all the subjects and topics required for a particular grade. Marieli said it's so detailed it took her 3 days to get through one topic.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/ for current events and related unit studies

Michelle (Shirley): www.enchantedlearning.com for lots of interesting printable books, worksheets, games, etc. (small cost)

Michelle (Palmer): Learning Through History magazine - monthly publication available through subscription - 1 year $29.99, 2 years $54.99
www.learningthroughhistory.com will get you to the correct site to check this out

Erin: Talked about several books. Holling Clancy Holling - Tree in the Trail, Paddle-To-The-Sea, and others.
Another author was mentioned - in my notes I have G A Harty and Beautiful Feet study guide. Maybe Erin can expound on this for clarification.

Paige: Boomerang Tapes - www.boomkids.com . Monthly 70 minutes tapes designed for kids 6-12. Check out their website and get a sample tape for just $5.

Kathy: Daughter Jessie really enjoys her Franklin Homework Helper - of course she doesn't use it for Homework (ughhhh!). Cartoon books are great for reading fun.

Linda: www.pbs.org - for unit studies
www.school.discovery.com/lessonplans for lesson plans
www.discoveryschool.com

Marge: A series of magazines from Cobblestone - covering the areas of American history (COBBLESTONE), geography and world cultures, (FACES), world history (CALLIOPE), science and space (ODYSSEY), African American heritage (FOOTSTEPS), general social
studies / reading (APPLESEEDS), and archaeology (DIG). I believe Marge also mentioned a series of monthly magazines that started for the very young child and progressed through the ages.

Sandra: Numberquest - math game from DK can be played at several levels to practice + - X %, Gizmos & Gadgets - PC game for elementary level. Uses a variety of subject puzzles (math, science, social studies, languages etc) to obtain parts to build a car or aircraft, solve more puzzles get better parts, more likely to win the race. Dungeons & Dragons - any version of the books, games, online games. Tons of vocabulary, stategy, math, reading and a much improved understanding of historical time periods.Typing Through Time - PC typing practice program. Principals of Alchemy hypertext book. And one of my favorites for learning the elements http://www.privatehand.com/flash/elements.html
(warning - it's addictive to learn)

RAHL members recommend the following websites. Click, explore, have fun!

http://www.besthomeschooling.org/wes_beach.html - An excellent article written by Wes Beach, the teen adviser for HSC, and author of “Opportunities After “High School”: Thoughts, Documents, Resources

http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov - Science website providing interesting facts and fun activities.

www.roadsideamerica.com – A wacky website for planning vacations.

www.allmath.com - For all your math related questions.

www.space.com - For fun, accessible science news.

http://www.scitechdaily.com – News on science, technology, future developments, innovations, etc.

http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/index.php - Dedicated to teaching about the Bill of Rights and exploring the philosophy which informs that document.

http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html - Developed by Vancouverite Andreas Nothiger, HyperHistory uses graphics, timelines, and maps to present the last 3000 years of world history.