Homeschool Edition

Why Today is a Great Day

By Guest Blogger on November 11th, 2015

Veterans Day? I am not much of a blogger – in fact, counting this blog, I have written one blog.

That being said, I could not pass up the opportunity to blog about Veterans Day. It’s a different sort of holiday for me, one that I never paid much attention to growing up. It seemed like almost everyone I knew had served in some capacity or another. Veterans Day was just another holiday in which everyone participated. To that end, I never thought twice when I graduated high school and headed off to serve. Of course while I was in the Army, almost everyone I knew either had served or was still serving. Veterans Day was just another day.

But Veterans Day is not just another day – it is a great day!
Continue reading

Got Notes? (Part 2)

By Florida Virtual School on November 5th, 2015

sketch – note
/skeCH nōt/

Noun
1. A substantially awesome method for taking notes that is easy, fun, and does not require drawing ability (stick figures welcome!)

Verb
2. Combining doodles and notes and increasing your memory retention by transferring an idea from your head to the paper!

This definition summarizes some of what we learned in part one of this series. Continue reading

Seven Survival Skills for Careers

By Guest Blogger on November 3rd, 2015

In his critically acclaimed book, “The Global Achievement Gap,” author Tony Wagner explores what he considers to be “Seven Survival Skills for Careers, College and Citizenship.”

After spending time with the most successful executives and professional people in the world, Wagner came to the conclusion that there is a gap between what our students need to be successful when they enter the real world and what we are teaching them in the classroom.

As a result, he created a list of essential 21st Century skills that all people need in order to be successful in college, in their career, and for their overall citizenship. Continue reading

National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month

By Amy LaGrasta on October 30th, 2015

At one point, bullying was simply considered a rite of passage in childhood.

Today, research shows that bullying has a significant impact on one’s education, health, and safety.

Bullying can negatively impact a child’s education. It is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. Research shows 15 percent of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.

One out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying. Continue reading

Student Researches Sunscreen’s Effects on Oysters

By Guest Blogger on October 28th, 2015

Hi! I’m Madison, a student at FLVS.

While attending a Busch Gardens camp in the summer of 2014, I learned that the park utilizes oysters to naturally filter their lakes. I soon became fascinated with oysters, and after some research, I discovered oysters are dying globally due to pollution.

After this discovery, I formulated an experiment focusing on the effect of micronized chemical sunscreen (as used in spray sunscreen) and nanosized zinc oxide sunblock (as found in thicker, clear sunblock) on the ability of a bivalve mollusk (or oyster) to filter bay water. Continue reading

Red Ribbon Week 2015

By Amy LaGrasta on October 26th, 2015

Don’t Wait to Talk to Your Child About Drugs!

While it may seem difficult or feel awkward, it is important that parents have these conversations and keep the lines of communication open. Research shows that talking to your child early and often is key.

According to the National Family Partnership, children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those who don’t, yet only a quarter of teens report having these conversations.

Almost 90 percent of youth reported that their parents would strongly disapprove of their trying marijuana once or twice. Among these youths, only 5.1 percent had used marijuana in the past month. However, Continue reading

Writing Clicks as a Means to Express Oneself

By Guest Blogger on October 22nd, 2015

I’m happy when I’m writing or thinking of ideas about what to write. I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember. How lucky I was to find this out about myself while still in school!

You see, after reading a poem I wrote, my second grade teacher, Mrs. Kast, said to me “Suzan, you’re a writer.”

I still remember those words of encouragement, although that is now thirty-something years ago. That praise not only boosted my spirit, it stuck with me my whole life. I began to create, theme, and express myself in many different styles of writing. My friends knew I would always carry paper and pen wherever I went, because you never know when creativity will strike! Continue reading

Writing: A Family Affair

By Florida Virtual School on October 20th, 2015

This is one of several posts celebrating Connected Educator Month during the month of October. October 20th is National Day on Writing and we are joining The National Council of Teachers of English to celebrate how writing helps us connect. Join the #WhyIWrite and #CE15 discussions on Twitter to share your thoughts!

As we celebrate the National Day on Writing today, what better way to encourage our younger writers than by getting them involved in daily family routines that involve writing!

When my daughter was younger, she helped me write our grocery list every week. She loved using the “special” checklist notepaper I kept on the fridge and writing the words she already knew (milk, juice, apples, cereal). For new words, I encouraged her to “sound it out” and write it the way she heard it.

Now that she’s older, we take it a step further and have her be in charge of the list – checking off each item as we pick them from the shelves at the store. Continue reading

#WhyIWrite – National Day on Writing

By Guest Blogger on October 17th, 2015

I taught Language Arts and English for many years.

As far back as I can remember, I have loved the English language. Having the opportunity to teach my passion was truly such a gift. Part of teaching English was teaching writing. And that by far was one of my greatest joys. Passing on a passion for writing to my students has always been an important goal for me. So dedicating an entire day to the celebration that is writing, well, that’s pretty special to me. This year we will celebrate “National Day on Writing,” on October 20th. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Why I Write.”

I write for so many reasons. I write to tether intangible emotions to something as concrete as words. I write to inspire, to grow, to change. I believe that language is a powerful tool and shaping it into phrases to share my story makes a difference. Continue reading

What Travel Has Meant to My Career

By Guest Blogger on October 12th, 2015

This is the sixth post in a series by the Cooney family about their world travels, made possible by the flexible learning offered at FLVS.

Traveling has been such an amazing opportunity for me in so many ways.

It’s taught me more than I ever could have learned from solely reading books. It’s showed me how to relate with people and find ways to communicate with others, even if we don’t speak the same language. You begin to realize deep down we’re not all that different.

Traveling has been an extremely liberating experience, though it wasn’t always easy. It pushes you and constantly forces you out of your comfort zone. Early on I had to find a way to be able to continue school while traveling. FLVS was such a great way to be able to do that. There were times when I was in the middle of the jungle in Central America, monkeys were swinging above my head and I was still able to take a test online. Continue reading