Cyber-Security Month!

October is Cyber-Security Month, and while we are covering a lot on this on our other blogs, I thought it might be appropriate for our homeschool families to share this Google Video on Child Internet Safety.

Fire Prevention Month

(Image to the left is from "Learning at Home". You can visit this website for Fire Prevention Month ideas HERE)

It really is not that cold yet, but some of the recent nights have been a great excuse to throw a small log in that wood burner and sit in front of the television enjoying that wonderful smell of a fire. Chimneys will soon all be in use throughout the homes across our country shortly, fire wood piles we have worked on all summer will soon be utilized, and fire in general will become a part of everyday life for the next few months. Personally I cannot wait.

I love the sound of crackling logs and the smell of a wood fire, but with all of this comes risk and danger.

October is Fire Prevention Month, and now is the time to begin thinking through evacuation plans, fire safety, smoke alarm maintenance and maybe the process of having a fire drill in your home.

Don't let your family become a statistic this year. A fire drill in your home with your children can save lives. Take a few minutes this month to fire-proof your home and get your family prepared.

I found a website with some pretty easy activities and coloring pages for all our homeschoolers to use while making fire prevention part of their curriculum. You can visit the site HERE.

Here's some facts from the NFPA:

Smoke alarms

• Smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a reported fire in half.
• Most homes (96%) have at least one smoke alarm (according to a 2008 telephone survey.)
• Overall, three-quarters of all U.S. homes have at least one working smoke alarm.
• Each year, nearly 3,000 people die in U.S. home fires.
• In 2003-2006, roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from home fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
  - No smoke alarms were present in 40% of the home fire deaths.
  - In 23% of the home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present but did not sound.
• In more than half of the reported home fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate even though the fire was large enough, batteries were missing or disconnected. Nuisance alarms were the leading reason for disconnected alarms.
• More than half of the smoke alarms found in reported fires and two-thirds of the alarms found in homes with fire deaths were powered by battery only.
• Most homes still have smoke alarms powered by battery only. In a 2007 American Housing Survey (AHS), 67% of the respondents who reported having smoke alarms said they were powered by battery only.
• In a 2008 telephone survey, only 12% knew that smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.
• In fires considered large enough to activate a smoke alarm, hard-wired alarms operated 91% of the time; battery-powered smoke alarms operated 75% of the time.
• Interconnected smoke alarms on all floors increase safety.
  - In a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) survey of households with any fires, interconnected smoke alarms were more likely to operate and alert occupants to a fire. (This includes fires in which the fire department was not called.)

Fire

• Cooking is the #1 cause of home fires and injuries.
• Smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths.
• Heating is the second leading cause of home fires, fire deaths and fire injuries.
• Electrical failures or malfunctions are factors in roughly 50,000 reported fires each year.
• Roughly 30, 000 intentionally set home structure fires are reported each year.

In 2008

• U.S. fire departments responded to 386,500 home fires.
• Home fires killed 2,755 people and injured 13,160.
• Someone was injured in a reported home fire every 40 minutes.
• Roughly eight people died in home fires every day.
• A fire department responded to a home fire every 82 seconds.
• 83% of all fire deaths and 79% of fire injuries resulted from home fires.

Keep A Kid Creative

With Farm Safety Week over, we have entered another special week: Did you know that this week is NATIONAL KEEP KIDS CREATIVE WEEK?

I believe all kids are creative. Each child has an imagination and a curiosity that adds to life each and every day, but so often we allow that creative spirit and ability to be sucked out of their heads by television shows, video games, and most recently, the IPOD.

I remember following my uncle around the farm listening as he talked about how it used to be. he showed me our old saw mill and took me into the barn and talked about how it was built. I spent long hours enjoying his stories, but more importantly, I enjoyed long DAYS of pretending I was living in the mid-1800's. My uncle had ignited curiosity and imagination in his educational talks!

This week, find something around the farm, around your house, around the community or even just in your State that will spark that imagination in a young child. encourage them to write or draw, encourage them to play outside in the autumn air. If only for a moment, unplug, disconnect or hide that ONE THING that is killing the creativity and imagination in YOUR home.

Go keep a kid creative.

For more info on the week and for more ideas, hit the following address:

http://www.brucevanpatter.com/keepkidscreative.html

The first leg of the Girl Scout Tour is almost over and to be honest, it is hard to believe. We have been so fortunate to have the very best girls in the world show up at our events and we are enjoying the energy and willingness to learn.
If you have not stayed on top of Chasing4Life news, the team has partnered with the Girl Scouts to povide programming that focuses on disaster preparedness. Each tour focuses on a special theme and has been designed for the different age groups. Right now we are on our weather watching tour. Following tours include Home Disaster Kits, Climate Change and Animals in Disasters!
Stay tuned for an "End of Tour" Update!

NATIONAL FARM SAFETY AND HEALTH WEEK

If you have been following the Chasing4Life blogs, you know we are still out on the road touring the country and presenting educational programs to every age group in every corner of the country. Ithas been a busy year and while we have had the pleasure of meeting a lot of great people, we have also had the opportunity to see a lot of tragedy. Amidst the things we have seen on tour, perhaps the most horrific have been the ATV accidents.

We are excited that this week is finally here...

It is National Farm Safety and Health Week!

Each year, the National Center For Educational Safety determines a theme for this special week and the 2010 theme is "ATV's: Work Smart, Ride Safe."

Each year, about 800 deaths are reported nationally associated with ATV accidents. In Missouri, 68 deaths were recorded from 2006 through 2008, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. According to government statistics, four out of 10 people treated in emergency rooms for ATV injuries are under the age of 16. The exact number is not known because many ATV injuries are treated at home and not reported.

We have been so encouraged by the response and the results of this year's tour and we know that there is power in communicating. Make this week the week you and your family sit down and discuss new guidelines for ATV use and make sure that you check your ATV for excessive wear and the warning signs of a breakdown.

As always, we want you to have a safe and prosperous harvest season, so Work Smart. (and Ride Safe!)

For more information about Farm Safety and Health Week, see www.necasag.org/nfsnhw.php.

September 11

photo by Robert Pears
www.robertpears.com

September is National Preparedness Month

The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reminding everyone that September is National Preparedness Month. Throughout National Preparedness Month, which is sponsored by FEMA's Ready Campaign, FEMA is encouraging all Americans to visit Ready.gov to learn how they can better prepare themselves and their families for the next emergency or disaster.

"Disaster can strike any time, anywhere. By taking a few simple steps now, you can ensure that your family and your community are prepared before the next emergency arises," said FEMA's Acting Regional Administrator Doug Gore. "We urge everyone to take steps necessary to keep their family safe, which includes getting a kit, making a plan, being informed and getting involved."

National Preparedness Month focuses on changing perceptions about emergency preparedness and helping Americans understand what it means to "Be Ready." National Preparedness Month coalition members have agreed to distribute emergency preparedness information and sponsor activities across the country that will promote emergency preparedness. Membership is open to all public and private sector organizations.

FEMA's Citizen Corps is also an important partner in this campaign. Citizen Corps is FEMA's grassroots strategy to bring together government and community leaders to involve citizens in all-hazards emergency preparedness and resilience.

Chasing4Life has been a pledging part of National Preparedness Month for several years. We are presently on the road beginning a 4-state National Preparedness Month Tour featuring 36 preparedness events during September from Nebraska to Indiana.

To see a list of national, regional, tribal, state, local businesses and organizations that have pledged their support and joined the 2009 National Preparedness Month Coalition, please visit www.ready.gov

Teaching Disaster Response to your Children

THE MAN FROM NEVERGO

By E. Weiss, Copyright 2006

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe,

a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his

thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest,

a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion

is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires

and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task

must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our

circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures

and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Albert Einstein

A religious man is a person who holds God and man in

one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm

done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose

greatest strength is love and defiance of despair.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

An individual has not started living until he can rise above

the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the

broader concerns of all humanity.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Beware...

The concept for the story of the man from Nevergo is not

a new story, but it is unfortunately one that is seldom

heard, told, revisted, or re-lived. Written as I returned

from the ravaged area of Louisiana following Hurricane

Katrina, this story dripped from my pen with ease as I had

just undergone the most drastic change in my life.

While our hero is found in a land far from here, his home

may be the same that we call home; an apathetic world of

self-indulgence and inward focus.

This is not a children’s story, yet the simplicity of it all

compels us to perhaps take on a new childlike innocense

and see the world with a new perspective.

Read on, but be aware; while devoid of what our world

deems requirements for a good story such as violence, sex

and intrigue, this story holds far more than you can imagine

such a short story could...

Within the lines lurks a challenge that may perhaps grip

your heart and cause you to desire change.

____________

There once was a man of heart.

He lived in the village of Nevergo, a small, uncelebrated

village in the heart of a poverty-stricken

area near the desert.

One day, the man heard news of a large city by the sea. The city was

called Ignorance, and was known to be the richest and most beautiful

city in the world. According to the news, the city of Ignorance had been

attacked by a terrorists from a far-a-way land called Apathy.

The man went to his village leaders and told them of Ignorance’s plight,

but the leaders of Nevergo told the man that it was not the worry of a

small poverty-stricken village to care about those in Ignorance.

The man set out to rescue the city under siege with nothing but a bicycle

and a backpack of supplies. It was to be a long haul, for the only way

to the city of Ignorance was to ride over a very tall mountain covered

with obstacles.

The man had never ridden his bicycle over a mountain before, in fact,

his only rides had been on flat ground or over small hills. While it was a

very beautiful and well-built bicycle, it was not really even meant for

such an arduous journey.

The man’s health had failed him many years before, and the bicycle had

been given to him by his father as a means of getting back into good

health. The plan had worked, for the man had ridden faithfully, actually

creating a small business where he would run errands on his bicycle for

the people in his village that had no bicycles.

After telling his closest friends of the city under siege, he had packed his

backpack with a few days of food, some water, bandages and a tire

patch kit.

As the man rode up the mountain, he got stronger, his legs became like

tree trunks! Despite the pain and aches, the man continued, over rocks,

through small crevices, and even through snow and severe thunderstorms.

Along the way, the man encountered others on the mountain; they were

on their own quests, and had never heard of the city under siege. The

other travelers listened to his vision to rescue them, and, as they could,

gave to him from their own supplies. Some gave food, some water.

Others even shared weapons, ammunition and building materials.

The man was grateful, but the backpack had now become an immense

pile upon his back, and travel was more difficult. The air was thinner up

on the mountain, and the man found that he had to stop more often.

“I wonder if I should throw all of these gifts away?” wondered the man.

“Surely my trip would be easier if I did not have this burden upon my

back!”

It was a thought that only lasted moments, for he realized that the gifts

he had received would be needed when he reached the city under siege.

And so he continued.

It was more than halfway up the mountain that the man stopped to catch

his breath when he noticed a small road running up the side of the

mountain. The man had never seen the road before as it had been

obscured by bushes and branches. Here, on the higher side of the

mountain, the scraggly brush barely covered the road, and it was quite

visible. This road had been there all along! He could have been on it!

As he walked over to investigate, a voice called from the thickest of the

brush.

“What are you looking at?” said the voice.

Startled, the man answered, “This small road running up the mountain

appears to run parallel to my own path, yet is much smoother than my

own path!”

A large, powerful-looking figure stepped from the brush. He was quite

But the work tired the weary traveler, and he had to stop even more

often under the weight of his pack and the workload of peddling his

bicycle and clearing the road.

It seemed like years, but was only a few months when the man could

see the summit. Excited, the man re-packed his load, but when he went

to lift it, found that he had no strength to place it on his back where it

had been all these long miles.

“I am tired,” said the man, “But I cannot leave this all here. I am close

enough now, if I can get to the summit, I can coast all the way to the

city.”

But when the man went to lift the pack, he could not. His legs no longer

worked! Fatigue had finally taken its toll…

“What will I do?” cried the man. “I will never get to the city, they will

never get my supplies, and they will never find the road of escape!”

And the man cried.

It could have been minutes and it could have been hours. The man cried

so hard, time stood still on the side of the mountain… just one mile from

the summit. Suddenly, the man felt a hand on his shoulder, and he raised

his tired head to see the silhouette of small elf-like man standing next to

him.

“My name is Hearten,” said the little man. “I come from a small tribe of

little people that live here near the summit of the mountain. Why do you

weep?”

The bicyclist shared his story, his vision, and the tale of the road of

escape.

“I wish I had met you before you left” said the Hearten. “I care about

such things, and will assist you in your journey.

Tired, hungry and depressed, the bicyclist almost laughed. Surely this

little man could never hoist his load nor carry him on the rest of his

journey, but even as this thought entered his mind, Hearten put two

fingers in his mouth and the loudest shrill whistle came out and echoed

across the mountainside.

Suddenly, the tired rescuer was surrounded by no less than 50 of these

little people, all chattering loudly. Hearten, in a language the man had

never heard, explained the story to his friends and family, and no sooner

had they all nodded in understanding, did they pick up the man, the

large pack, and his bicycle.

The city of Ignorance was in ruins when the band of rescuers arrived,

but with the help of Hearten and his tribe, the city was evacuated and

the road of escape was used to bring those in Ignorance to safety. Over

a period of time, the refugees from Ignorance settled in a lush valley

near Nevergo and with the help of Hearten and his people built a new

city and named it Neveragain.

Often times, especially times of disaster, we see a problem so large that we think we cannot help because we are too small. Use this story as a discussion starter with your children.

The man was from what town? What do we know of the town from its name?

What do we know of the city he was heading to from its name?

Is there a lesson in this story? Perhaps more than one?

How could we be the man on the bicycle when the next disaster strikes?

Could it be that we are supposed to be Hearten?

It's SMORE heat than I can take!

Okay, we have been spending a lot of time camping outdoors on this tour and I gotta say one thing...IT IS TOO HOT TO MAKE S'MORES!
I refuse to light a campfire in 100 degree weather, and so I looked for a way to teach kids, beat the heat (or at least take advantage of it), and enjoy a S'more before October.

Well, in today's homeschool lesson, we can learn that Solar Energy is the energy given off by the sun. When light energy is absorbed by something, it becomes HEAT energy. Remember that DARK objects absorb more light energy than lighter objects. This is a good way to open a discussion on how we should dress when outdoors to prevent heat exhaustion or heat stroke. (I just posted a new blog at my KRVN site on heat stroke- see www.chasing4life.org).

Ready to do this?

Okay, go get the following ingredients:

1. 4 graham crackers
2. 16 mini marshmallows
3. 2 plain milk chocolate candy bars
4. 8-by-11-inch glass baking pan
5. a clear glass lid for the baking pan
6. 1 thermometer

This is an outdoor experiment and you need to have a place in direct sunlight (no shade) and where animals won’t come by to eat the ingredients or disturb the pan! Use your thermometer to see what temperature it is outside. You need to do this experiment when it is at least 85° F. this should NOT be a problem!

Now, let's learn and then eat...

1. Put four graham crackers side by side in the bottom of the glass baking pan.
2. Place a chocolate bar on top of two of the graham crackers.
3. Put 8 mini-marshmallows on top of the other two graham crackers.
4. Cover the baking pan with the clear glass lid.
5. Put the pan out in an area where it will get full sunlight—no shade!
6. Let the pan just sit there until the chocolate bars and marshmallows melt.
7. To make a S’More, put one chocolate and one marshmallow graham cracker together to make a sandwich.

While you are eating your campfire-free S'mores, CLICK HERE and check out another cool solar experiment I found!

HOT HOT HOT

Yuk. Last week we were near the New Mexico border and could not believe how warm it was. It was hard to believe that after spending a week near the mountains that there was such a temperature difference. Heat is definitely a large part of the summer months, and now is the time to educate your homeschoolers about heat and safety. you can visit our KRVN blog today for tips on summer heat safety or visit www.cdc.gov

Meanwhile, I found a cool little experiment on Solar heating you can do at home! CLICK HERE

The "cool" thing about this experiment is that you get to use ICE CUBES!!!

FAST FOOD FREE

Oh yeah, we are still on the road so updates are hard to get up here for you, but in the meantime, we have found something well worth your time and incredibly inspiring! A real home-schooled hero!
At an event in Centennial, Colorado, front row center sat Koa Halpern and his mother. As conversation began, we found out that Koa was the President of an organization called Fast Food Free. Now, while that is not really all that incredible, what WAS incredible, is that Koa is 12 YEARS OLD!
In October of 2008, Koa started Fast Food Free, a powerful organization focusing on health, animal welfare and more!
Make this a website you visit with your kids TODAY!
We'll admit, we eat a lot of fast food on tour, so our initial reaction to Koa's work was a bit mixed, but after visiting his website, our habits on this tour are starting to change. Maybe yours will too...

www.fastfoodfree.org

THE FIRST WEEK OF THE TOUR

It has been a busy week of touring and weather monitoring for the team! We are doing our very best to update everything including the blogs, but as you will see, time has been a hard thing to find! Please CLICK HERE to see the almost 2 full pages of the latest pictures and updates from the 2010 Summer Tour!

A "MUST HAVE" BOOK FOR YOUR FAMILY

Over the course of the last several weeks, we have been working on some pretty big things here at Chasing4Life. As the team members have changed some, Chasing4Life has narrowed its focus more than ever and we are looking at a year of more powerful educational events than our fans and followers have ever seen before.

In a partnership with Fedhealth, Chasing4Life is now a part of a fantastic program featuring the "It's A Disaster" books (see previous blog entry). Chasing4Life members will be presenting special programs with this partnership across the country and will be assisting communities in acquiring these comprehensive books for entire populations. We are working with more EMA's, chambers, libraries, health departments, churches and non-profits than ever before!

The opportunity for YOUR homeschool association to use these books as a fundraiser is here! Email us directly and one of our staff members will explain to you how easy it is to raise funds while passing along incredibly valuable disaster preparedness education.

We have found this book to so comprehensive, yet so easy to read! This is the PERFECT BOOK for any homeschooling family! Use chapters as lessons and prepare your family starting now! Don't wait until it happens in your community...take education to the next level and let us help!

In a partnership with several Girl Scout Councils, Eddy and Alannah will be touring the United States beginning in September of 2010 for 12 months presenting new programs on animals in disaster, severe weather science, severe weather safety, earthquakes, disaster preparedness and more as Girl Scouts are now being given the opportunity to actually earn a CHASING4LIFE merit badge! This is huge for us and we want to thank Courtney in Vernon Hills, Illinois for her efforts in making all this possible! Watch our online calendar for Girl Scout dates and make sure if your GS Council has not booked yet, that they do it soon! Dates have filled into mid 2011 pretty quick!

The Vollmer Family

Congratulations to the Vollmer family in New Lenox on the installation of their new weather station. Check out the pictures below!
There it sits, proudly on top of the family's playset with Emma (in the picture), who is learning how to track weather and monitor severe weather conditions right from the family's computer! Brandi got to visit with the kids at the Vollmer house and showed the family some weather games while we prepared to go to an event at a local school.
Read on to the previous blog to learn more on how to get a weather station for YOUR FAMILY...

Weather Stations and Homeschooling

For years and years, families stood on the porches of their homes looking across the plains at darkening skies anticipating the worst. In front of our KRVN Radio Station office is a statue of a family huddled around an old radio listening intently for a snippet of news.

I am glad those days are over. Technology and education has advanced so much in the last several decades that we no longer have to be ignorant of severe weather simply relying on grandpa’s trick knee or a scratchy voice on an old radio.

Understanding your local weather (even global weather) can be relatively easy and information abounds if you care to look for it.

If you are homeschooling, there is no reason why weather cannot become a part of your everyday curriculum, in fact it should be!

You do not have to be a meteorologist in order to teach your kids about weather! If you have been homeschooling for any length of time, you know that often times, our teaching occurs while we learn ourselves! From traditional thermometers and barometers to state of the art multi-sensor wireless weather stations, observing, interpreting and forecasting local weather patterns has never been simpler.

I believe monitoring in your home, the activity will generate interests in other areas of not only science, but world news, geology, geography, math, reading, history and more!

Let’s not forget that as you become a weather-monitoring family, you will also become a more prepared and safer family as you become more able to predict and monitor threats!

Home weather stations, whether simple or sophisticated, provide information that is often not covered by weather forecasting or reporting services . To get the most enjoyment from your weather equipment, three major questions will need to be answered.

1. Which type of weather recording equipment will let you achieve your aims? - traditional; constantly recording but without a memory; or top of the range digital weather stations.

2. How to identify the best instruments to match your plans, at the best value.

3. How to make the most of your weather station by increasing your understanding of weather, including the relationship between weather and climate, and the causes of extreme weather events, such as tornadoes, blizzards, hurricanes or severe electrical storms.

I have found that a simple home weather station can be extremely affordable. Now, at your local WalMart you can purchase a simple console-style weather station for as little as $20. Most of these little monitors will tell you barometric pressure, humidity, temperature and winds. The problem with these smaller stations is that they are limited. The weather stations I recommend to homeschooling families require sensors and an anemometer with a rain guage that can be mounted outside the house while sending information to the family’s computer.
Sounds expensive, right?

Think about this: A Gameboy game will run you $70. A weather station like what I am talking about can sell for as little as $90.

Ready to turn your home into a weather tracking center?

Not only do you have a choice of many stations but the accuracy, ease of use and general flexibility of fully automatic, continuously monitoring, wireless weather stations has recently set new standards.

Your first move should be to decide what you require from your home weather station. Do you just wish to know how cold it is outside, or are you looking for a full blown system which records temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed and direction, and rainfall?

Today's weather stations can do all this and more.

Once you have decided just what information you want, the next decision is whether to use traditional instruments which must be read manually, or whether to select one of the many wireless weather stations which continuously transmit data from outside sensors to an inside receiver/display. This is the way I would go.

Many manufacturers have both cable and wireless versions of their weather systems, including Davis Instruments, while the 1-Wire Weather Station from Texas Weather Instruments is a relatively uncomplicated system.

If you are seriously interested in local weather, the options available with modern wireless weather stations are almost beyond imagination.

Below is some links to sources for weather stations. Choose the one that best fits your family and get ready to open up a whole new world of discovery and safety! We’ll talk more about weather monitoring in the months to come, but don’t be afraid to contact me, if for no other reason but to tell me your family has their new weather station up and running!

Davis Weather Stations
Oregon Scientific
Ambient Weather

Back home

What a tour! We just arrived back home and have already spent HOURS on new stuff!
Faith World Outreach in Bartlett, Illinois hosted one of the best days we have had in a long time and we got to meet a lot of new friends from area homeschool groups!
Guess what? Looks like we are going to have a 2 day homeschool event in September!
Many of the folks that were there at FWO came out to the Sci-Tech Museum in Aurora on Friday to see Dorothy and we had a blast!
We will be keeping you all updated on the new stuff, the new hands-on stuff and hopefully we will be sending out a pdf update.
Thanks to ALL of the homeschoolers for a great time and MANY thanks to Erica who put it all together and was the perfect host!
Check out the TEAM blog on the website for some pics from the tour and we'll try to get some up here as well.

Update for you all

Between playing catch up after last week's work in Haiti and the demands of preparing for the launch of our upcoming tours, the blog will be a little quiet this week. Please make sure you visit the website at www.chasing4life.org and follow us on Twitter and become a fan on our new FaceBook page! This will keep you in the loop and will help pass some time until we get to you here in the blog with an update about all the changes, new sponsors and new tour dates!

if you have a good homeschool-focused article, an experiment you'd like to share or maybe a lesson plan for everyone, we'd welcome the chance to publish it here for you! While we unpack, pack, fix, modify and plan, just send us what you have using the email contact on the website!

Earthquake in Haiti

Our prayers are with those affected by this earthquake in Haiti. We are attempting to reach several families in Haiti and passing along what we find on our Twitter (visit www.chasing4life.org).

Ps 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble... tho the earth give way and the mtns fall into the sea.