Google Earth

At risk of sounding a bit redundant, I encourage you all to check out SchoolhouseTeachers.com. No, I'm not getting paid for promoting this site...it's just a site I really foresee having a huge role in our homeschool as it's practical, useful, and easy to access & use.

The technology assignment this month is having the kids explore and learn Google Earth.  This can be done by going to the website via a Windows computer or getting the free app on a Mac (which I love!). While my husband has used this site for a couple of years, I've never even got on it until a few days ago when I saw the assignment for this month.  I needed to see if this was something that, indeed, my children could do and would be interested in.

I never knew all the cool features on Google Earth!  The technology teacher mentioned that you could go to the "layer" section, click on "oceans" and "animal tracking" and you can discover various fish in the oceans.  My 8 year old son, especially, LOVED this feature.  He "discovered" leatherback turtles, a blue whale, tuna, & various other fish that he's learned about in his science this year and was able to "swim" with them.

My 12 year old daughter had fun finding our house and church along with other interesting places in the United States.  Seeing things from the air gives her a whole new perspective of how things are laid out, especially in local areas that she's familiar with.

My older son enjoyed viewing photos of Iwo Jima and Civil War battlefields and checking out where a missionary to whom he writes in Germany lives.  My favorite thing today was hearing him say, "I have to get my Geography book," and seeing him run to his school shelf and get it.  So cool to see him running to get a book he normally dislikes and putting it to use!!

While we could have learned all of these things on our own, I probably would never have taken the time if it weren't for the simple and fun assignment on my new favorite site!

My only complaint is that I now have to share my computer even more with my kids!  But, that's ok...I love that they are learning more about our world!