Thursday, May 25, 2006

The Observer: Banana Drama

Banana Drama

Only lottery tickets and petrol outsell Britain's favourite fruit - and now a deadly fungus is threatening its existence. Science editor Robin McKie reports on a natural disaster that could change our eating habits, wipe out eco-systems and end a worldwide industry
Robin McKie
Sunday May 21 2006
Click here for the full story: The Observer

Friday, May 12, 2006

STAA and Unity of Truth

St. Thomas Aquinas Academy provides a link to this blog: Homeschool Resource Center. Welcome STAA families!

New from Dover Publications

Dover Publications has been a long time friend of homeschool families, offering reasonably priced titles of excellent historical content. Today Dover has announced four new titles related to the upcoming movie based on Dan Brown's book. Discovering and studying the real Leonardo Da Vinci through Dover publications is indeed a very effective way to bring truth into this contemporary wave of fiction disguised as fact.


From Dover:

This summer's most talked about movie, "The Da Vinci Code," hits theaters on May 19, 2006. If you are interested in learning more about the life and art of the great Leonardo da Vinci, Dover offers a complete selection of eclectic works on the Renaissance master, from clip art collections and postcards to stained glass coloring books. I am happy to present you with an opportunity to sample some of our most popular Leonardo da Vinci titles with a brilliant selection of reproductions, illustrations, and book excerpts.

You'll find free samples from the following four da Vinci releases:

Leonardo da Vinci Treasury CD-ROM and Book

New! Your samples from this dazzling new release feature full-color reproductions of "The Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper," plus anatomical drawings, and more.

The Mind of Leonardo da Vinci by Edward McCurdy

You can sample 8 complete pages from this landmark account of the master's achievements not only in sculpture and painting but also in music, engineering, and even experimental aviation.

Leonardo da Vinci Stained Glass Coloring Book by Marty Noble

New! Print out the sample from this fine collection of renderings and you can color your very own version of the immortal "Mona Lisa."

Leonardo Paintings and Drawings: 24 Cards

Ready to print, your samples include 4 full-color cards from this magnificent collection: "Self-Portrait," "The Mona Lisa," "Portrait of a Musician," and "Antique Warrior."

Use this link to see your Leonardo da Vinci samples from Dover Publications.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

On the Periodic Table and other interesting Chemistry websites

This past Friday, our homeschool Co-op met for the last time this school year. The children studied the Periodic Table in Science class (under the creative guidance of Mary Daly), and I compiled some of the websites they were encouraged to investigate for homework:

A step by step process to explain what an atom is: here.

This site gently walks a student through the periodic table and explains in very easy terms.

This is a great site to get information on chemical elements.

The Chemistry of Fireworks, because kids love explosives...

Find out how much of the world is silicates.

There are some nice things on this general site, such as a good image of what seven miles is compared to the diameter of the earth.

To learn what a mole is, here is a nice piece--the video shows other creatures too, but it takes a bit of time to load.

Here's a cartoon about acid-base reactions. And here's another.

Here's one about uranium-lead decay.

For the more advanced students, here is an interesting website about uranium/lead decay.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Cool Beetle Photos

http://www.living-jewels.com/photo.htm

These are really amazing. You should take a peek even if you don't think bugs are interesting. It might just change your mind. :)

Hat tip, Mousey Trails