Get Ready for Co-op!

 Let me share a few organizational tools we use to get ready for Co-op.  We use several Google apps.  Why?  They are all free.  I like the convenience to merge their apps into Google Classroom. One app we use, which isn’t shown is a spreadsheet listing all of the students.  My husband also maintains a spreadsheet to track grades and attendance.  It’s not too late to get organized.  You need to be ready for the first day of class; details about the class can wait a little longer.

1. Create a slide deck.  I organized the overview into Google Slides.

2. Use the slides, labs, homework, etc. to make a lesson plan. My lesson plans are just lists.  Yes, I know there are many, many lesson plan templates and notebooks.  I just need a list to jar my memory and cross off activities as completed.

3. Create a dedicated calendar for class.

4. Put all the resources together into Google Classroom.  Classroom allows students and parent s to see all the lesson, assignments, slide decks, articles, and videos.  Students can upload their work directly into Classroom.

Maker Camp 2026

 Here is the spreadsheet with plans for the Maker Camp 2026.  I just bid and bought water rockets from Good Will.  I have another set in the basement.  The shipping was $16.  However, the retail for one is about $21.  We can make it a contest.  Always, always, always check the shipping before you bid!  I’ll update the spreadsheet with plans as they change.

Dissection Specimens for Anatomy

 Buying the dissection specimens for an anatomy class is trickier than for a biology class. Ideally, the kids should dissect the heart, brain, eyeball, and fetal pig.  I want the kids to dissect a kidney, too.  I found some specimens in lab kits on eBay.  Colleges often have online, introductory, anatomy classes.  Professors design their own lab kits which are part of the course. Too often the college student decides he or she can get any answers needed to fulfill the class requirements without doing any of the assigned labs.  Many, many students sell these expensive kits o eBay.  I have  found a few on Good Will online, too.  However, finding a good deal on eBay isn’t an efficient method to order anatomy, dissection specimens.  I just ordered a set from Amazon which included histology slides.  The screenshots are the two kits I bought on eBay, my Amazon order, and a selection at Home Science Tools.

Advanced Biology (Anatomy): Modules 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16

Module 12, Module 13, Module 14, and Module 15 are roughed in.  Yes, they need notes and more ideas.  But it’s a huge weight off my shoulders to get to this stage with a course I haven’t taught in a long time.  Module 16  is abbreviated.  We are NOT discussing sexual reproduction.  We will go over fetal development and meiosis.   Am confident the kids will read this module independently.  I do want to go over bioethics and talk about fun topics, such as multiple births.  Yeah! At least I have something to edit.

Advanced Biology (Anatomy): Modules 10 and 11

 Yeah!  This week I am plowing ahead to rough in 14 modules for Advanced Biology before classes begin in a week.  Module 10 and Module 11 are very rough.  I’ll need to add notes.  I’m considering a note guide.  We might just start with an overview and then tackle each section.  I have to see what works best with the kids.  If you look over the modules, you’ll see I’m using many Amoeba Sisters clips.  Today, a random thought occurred: what if the kids loathe these videos?  If I get negative feedback-back I’ll hunt for videos which don’t annoy the kids and edit most of my slide shows.  I already have several  Bozeman videos, too.  We are going to rely on POGIL; I bought textbooks for class.  I’m going to try and rough in three more modules today.  I still have a literature class to prep.

Advanced Biology (Anatomy): Module 9

 Still slogging away on presentations.  Is Module 9 finished?  Not at all.  I’m adding material and modifying these modules as I go.  My goal is to rough in all of the modules before class starts, with an emphasis on the word rough.  I also need to make up note sheets, prep labs, and locate my cell models.  In any case, it feels great to give each module at least a cursory glance.

Advanced Biology (Anatomy) Module 8

 Am I completely happy and confident  about Module 8?  Hardly.  This slide show is full of links.  I am pretty sure we’ll need to spend three weeks on the brain.  We’ll dissect a sheep brain and Build a Brain from clay.  But, we’ll really need to work through a boat load of terms.  BTW, I just found Free Resources from Anatomy in Clay.

Vintage Human Anatomy Paper Doll

 I don’t know why this link is so hard to locate.  However, it is.  Here is a vintage paper doll with all sorts of layers: muscle, bones, nerves, and organs.  It reminds me of the personal person in Apologia’s Young Explorers Human Anatomy.  It may not be useful for an advanced anatomy course.  I haven’t decided.  I think middle schoolers will like the detail.  

Anatomy in Clay: Body System (Free Download!)

 First, what is Anatomy in Clay?  It’s a program in which students build and model different anatomical systems. The Anatomy in Clay Free Workbook is a 62 page overview of the basic body system.  Once you enter your name, email and school the workbook opens immediately in a new page.  I used our home- school name.  I ordered 10 inch skeletons and a bunch of polymer clay for my Advanced Biology (anatomy) class.  Are we going to invest hundreds of hours?  Nope.  But, along with microscope slides, labs, paper models, coloring, Quizlet, and videos, the kids are going to make clay models.  Why?  The more kids manipulate materials, the more they learn.

Anatomy: Candy Neuron

 Hey!  I am so relieved!  There are candy anatomy labs!  Here is a candy neuron model.

Advanced Biology: Anatomy: Module 7

 Okay, I am consumed with terror.  Here is my rough introduction to Module 7.  Yes, there are several videos.  By several, I mean loads.  Why am I frozen with fright?  At least three of the kids in Advanced Biology have profound learning differences.  My husband, Rob, and my friend, Jen, are both experiencing the same degree of terror.  They are teaching Geometry and American History.  I should feel some level of anxiety in American Literature, too.  I’m too consumed with anxiety over Advanced Biology.  Can we reach the kids?  Will they shut down?  How can we convey this degree of detail?  Arrrgggghhhhh!  Guess what?  Some of this level of detail in anatomy didn’t exist when I got my undergrad in Bio.  I’m learning and relearning a lot.  But, I made a commitment and rely on the Lord.  Wish me luck.

Different names for Pyrex

 If you are buying glassware for your chemistry class, the terms can be confusing.  Pyrex and Kimex are brand names.  The generic name is borosilicate glass.  Yes, by all means buy borosilicate test tubes and a 250- mL beaker for your labs.  They are heat tempered and much safer.  BTW you are unlikely to need glass, graduated cylinders or volumetric flasks for a high school level chemistry class.  

More things you never knew you needed…..

Update: More temptation…

I have to remind myself that I don’t really need a planetarium projector.  Actually, I loathe teaching Earth Science; I would rather have a root canal. I am, however, sorely tempted by several interesting listing at Good Will, especially the nursing clipboard lot.  I could have eight nursing clipboards I don’t need!  Take a look!

More educational sites…

  Try to do as I say.  We toured the Museum of Industry and the Alexander Graham Bell site.  Both are fun!  Like many museums, both have scavenger hunts for kiddos.  You should go!

Diffraction Glasses Light Lesson

 Teach an introduction to light with Rainbow or Diffraction glasses.  Here is Flinn’s lesson.  Purdue has a lesson appropriate for a physics lesson.  Try the rainbow glasses at the library where they have different light bulbs.  Here is a bit of information about diffraction lenses.  I love inexpensive lab equipment!  Paper diffraction glasses fit the bill!

Take your kids to educational sites!

 We’re visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia.  My parents dragged our family all over; my dad is a history buff, but interested in nearly everything.  My husband’s mom disliked educational stops; he, his siblings, and mom outvoted his dad.  Our little family is open to new experiences.  Peggy’s Cove has enormous rocks as a result of plate tectonics.  Peggy’s Cove has gigantic rocks.  It’s fun to visit.  There were both accordion and bagpipe buskers.  This summer, make the stop!  Go picnic somewhere educational before you hit the playground!

Visit the Fair!

 We went to the Topsham Fair.  What a delight!  It’s authentic: farm animals, carnival rides, and loads of traditional entries, such as quilts and jam.  Do you want inspiration for next year’s family project?  Visit the local fair!  When we lived in Winchester we could tour Clarke County Fair, Frederick County Fair, Berkeley County, Jefferson County, and Warren County Fair. (The fair in Spotsylvania has loads of rides and nearly no animals.   Booooooo!)  Topsham had a booth about Bee Keeping.  Often there are educational booths.  (Usually, there are commercial booths offering free water tests to sell conditioner units, too.)  The fair is an opportunity to discuss animal husbandry with experts.  Look for inspiration inside pavilions displaying jams, garden vegetable, flowers, quilts, etc.  Topsham had a pickled goods category with infused oils and all sorts of pickled veggies.  Go the fair, have a blast, and get inspired.

You should teach a Co-op Science class.

 Do you have a four-year college degree?  You’re qualified to teach.  Yes, I have certification credentials and my master’s.  I’m not convinced you need them to teach.  Right now, public schools are slapping provisional licenses on many, many teachers without credentials to fill slots in the classroom.  Many private schools do not require professional teaching credentials, just a bachelor’s degree.  

If you have a college degree, you took a number of classes.  You can teach science.  My undergraduate degree was in Biology with a concentration in Chemistry.  None of the classes in college really resemble high school Biology or Chemistry.  They were helpful, not critical.  Instead, do you have a desire to learn? You might be one chapter or module ahead of the kids.  The first time you teach, you may be married to the textbook.  Plan on a few panic attacks when you first cross an unfamiliar topic.  Guess what?  Even with a degree in Bio, my first classes, especially in Chemistry, were daunting and full of panicky moments of self-doubt.  

Here are a few tips.  Pick a science class you like.  Start with elementary topics from Apologia’s Young Explorers, which have loads of hands-on activities.  At least the first time, follow the textbook.  Go ahead and supplement—but stick to the modules.  Stay one chapter or module ahead.  Tell the kids, ‘I don’t know’ when you don’t.  Go ahead and look up a question right there with the kids.  This still happens to me.  I give the kid my best guess as an answer and tell the child, ‘I’m not 100% certain.  Let me check.’  Don’t try to fake it.  What happens when a lesson is just terrible?  Start over.  Every so often, a lab or activity just bombs.  Start again the next class and move on.  Tell the kids that the lab was an unmitigated disaster which we won’t repeat.  We’ll go on and make new mistakes.  In other words, be fearless.  Expect both victories and defeats.  Science is probably outside your comfort area.  Good!  This will be an adventure for all of you!

Apologia Advanced Anatomy: Modules 5 and 6

I just added two more modules.  These are rough.  I’ll add as I go.  I’m not monetizing any slide deck and am an educator.  As as educator, I have greater license when I copy an image to use in class, if it isn’t being sold or represented as my own work.  Neither apply.  I’m trying to outline the module to present in class.

Module 5

Module 6.

What is POGIL?

 What is POGIL.  POGIL is a type of inquiry learning.  Yes, that is rather vague.  I first encountered POGIL at a College Chemistry workshop promoting the program.  The idea is that groups of four student work together on exercises, such as Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes to learn the topic.  There are different levels for high school and college.  I don’t think I would love to teach exclusively with this approach.  However, I have use individual activities with students for years.  Do students love these exercises?  Not really.  However, they make kids think.  I know they will be invaluable for Anatomy.

Advanced Biology (Anatomy): First Four Modules

Update: I added POGIL Anatomy and Physiology content.  One example is The Sliding Filament Theory and answer key.  POGIL activities are life-savers when it comes to clarifying complicated concepts.  Yes, we’ll use our textbooks to complete these POGILS.  

Let me share the slides I made for the first four modules in Apologia’s Advanced Biology, or Anatomy.  Are these complete?  Probably not.  However, I am following the text book.  (I’m surprised, too.) The teens are using a coloring book (below), doing the slides and labs in the textbook (in class), and working on study guide questions and tests at home.  We’re supplementing with videos and online histology slides.  I posted links with the slides; my plan is to use 20 minutes at the beginning of class for direct instruction before we launch into labs, activities, or questions.  Here are the links.  I hope this helps!

Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Module 4

Types of Co-ops

 Update: I completely forgot one important Co-op function: social events.  Local Co-ops in our area schedule dances, swimming lessons, locate discounts, etc.  Home-school families have huge networks and pass along discounts to the bowling alley or roller skating.  See about art classes.  Home-schoolers can do events in off-hours; consequently, many small businesses offer discounts to attract home-schoolers.

Co-ops vary enormously.  Our Co-op originally met Fridays at space rented from a local church.  The space had enough rooms for several classes, including a nursery.  The Co-op families met after Mass, at 10 am; classes were held until around 2 pm.  Moms taught different subjects based on demand.  This model worked well for kiddos 6-12 years old.  Older teens in the same Co-op met Tuesdays and Thursdays at the library.  Subjects taught varies from Economics to Chemistry.

Another friend attends Classical Conversations, which meets for 24 weeks, one day a week.  (This program can run over $1000.  Other Co-ops divide insurance and lease fees among the members.) Another example is Classical Cottage, a consortium.  This group runs more like a private school, but is oriented to home-school families.   Locally, the scope for each Co-op varies.  Younger groups might run play dates, LEGO clubs, or park days.  Other groups focus almost exclusively on field trips.  

Different Co-ops even teach the same subjects differently.  For example, I teach science classes twice a week.  Class is 1 1/2 hours and includes instruction, labs, projects,  and activities.  Tests and reading are done at home.  Another local instructor teaches using only the textbook.  Still another Co-op nearby meets once a week to do the labs, exclusively. All of the instruction, questions, and tests are completed apart from Co-op.

Ask some questions before you join a Co-op.  What does the Co-op offer? Classes?  Field trips? Performing arts?  Debate?   How often does the group meet? Where do they meet?   What are the parent responsibilities?  What are the fees?  How does your family hope to benefit from a Co-op?  Ask all manner of questions before you join.