Classical Music on the Web

Here are some great sites you can use when you are studying classical music, or you just want some music for your mp3 player!

One of the best is Classic Cat. It is a frequently updated database with links to other websites where the MP3's are stored. Look up a composers name, and you will find all the works that are available for download. Then there is free music from the US Air Force Bands here. They have a lot of great marches and patriotic songs, classical, jazz, and ceremonial music.

If you need some help teaching your classical music units, turn to Classics for Kids. You can read and listen to stories about the composers, and hear streaming audio of some of their great works. Dallas Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony have good websites with games and activities for kids.

Podcasts for teachers

As a homeschooling mom and a Sunday School teacher, Karyn Henley resources have been very helpful to me.

The other day I visited her website, and she is offering free podcasts of her ChildTalk seminars. Each podcast is about 25 minutes long, and they are divided into categories. The original seminar handouts are included on the website.

I have listened to four of them so far. They are very helpful, and full of practical information that you can use this week. She goes developmentally through the different ages, and includes faith development. I believe they are geared toward teachers, but they would be very helpful for parents as well.

For more Web-link Wednesday, visit Homeschooling With Encouragement.

Burgess Books Online

Here is a list I have compiled of all the Thornton Burgess books I could find that are available for free online.

If you have read any of the Burgess stories, I know you have fallen in love with the little characters. We always look forward to hearing about nosy Peter Cottontail, mischievous Sammy Jay, and wise Grandfather Frog. For me, the best thing about them is reading them aloud. The dialog is charming, and I love doing the different voices.

I know that Ambleside Online curriculum recommends some of them, as do other homeschool curricula. They are wonderful stories which teach morals and values while exploring the world of wildlife.

The majority of the Burgess books that you can find online are at Gutenberg.org. There are a few more out there, however, that are not included on Gutenberg. Most of these are not available in text format, because they are scanned images. They do include the color illustrations by Harrison Cady.

Burgess books on Gutenberg.org
Bugess Bedtime Stories from an old calendar.
The Adventures of Peter Rabbit
Bobby Coon’s Mistake
A Great Joke on Jimmy Skunk
The Neatness of Bobby Coon
A Merry Coasting Pary
Paddy’s Surprise Visitor
The Three Bears
Reddy Fox’s Sudden Engagement
Grandfather Frog Stays in the Smiling Pool
A Robber Meets His Match
Peter Rabbit Proves a Friend
Young Flash the Deer

Additional Link: Podcast of Old Mother West Wind by Lori K. Brooke. There are audio versions of some of the Burgess books available at Gutenberg.org and Librivox.org, but I wanted to share these because they are different, and not as easy to find. The woman reading them has a grandmotherly, sweet voice, and there is background music added which gaves them a relaxing, bedtime feel.

Web-link Wednesday - BBC History for Kids

BBC History for Kids has some really interesting games and animations for elementary ages, if you are studying any history from that part of the world, such as the Vikings, Celts, or Anglo-Saxons.



If American History is on your menu for the next year, Our Los Banos provides a free curriculum for grades 2-6.



For more great links, visit Web Link Wednesday.

Weblink Wednesday - Teacher Tube

Teacher Tube is a free site for educational videos. They have short videos for teachers and for students. It is in no way as large as YouTube, but it is also very specific for educational videos, and is a safer environment for kids.



There is one other site like this that I have seen, but you do have to view an ad for a few seconds before watching those videos. On Teacher Tube, the ads are separate from the video screen.



I had a positive experience with Teacher Tube. The first time I visited, there was a Google Ad on the site that I didn't like. It was not obscene, but it was for a fiction book and the picture on the front of the book was not really appropriate for students. I wrote a polite complaint, and in about an hour, I had a very nice reply from the staff telling me how to report such a thing if I saw it again (copy the ad image and email it to them.) That just left me with a good feeling about the site, that they are concerned with keeping it friendly.



Visit SoCalVal for more Weblink Wednesday

(Reposted from my HomeschoolBlogger page 6/13/08)

Web-link Wednesday - Topical Bible Site

This is my first time to participate in Web-link Wednesday. I have checked out everyone else's stuff, it seems like a great idea!

This site is so interesting! I have seen a few things like this online, but I think this is the most complete. An index of Bible topics that is very thorough. Here is how thorough it is: I was writing a science lesson about Big Cats. I knew there were some scriptures about lions in the Bible, above and beyond the Daniel story. So I looked under “Lion” in this index. There are over 70 entries! Wow. Just wow. Now, they are using the same scripture for a few of them, so it's not exactly 70 different scriptures, but I still would have had no idea!

Here is more Web-link Wednesday.

(Reposted from my HomeschoolBlogger page 6/13/08)