Photoshop & Design Tips

Helpful Tips & Links from Multi-Media Workshop

This was created by Jessica, Cosette, & Sydney during the first class last week in photoshop!  Ages 11 & 12.

Click on flyer to enlarge:

Copyright Image usage & Graphic Design Tips for Flyers & Posters

Copyrighted Images:

Ask permission to use them, upload the images yourself, or buy the images.

Royalty Free Images Websites:

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

All images are free.  Pay for larger sizes.  Login required.  

www.istockphoto.com

Some free images, or pay as you go images from .95 on up.  Login required.

http://www.dreamstime.com

Some free images, or pay as you go images from .20 on up.  Login required.

Free Background images

http://www.shabbyprincess.com/downloads.asp  No login required.

http://www.backgroundlabs.com/   No login required.

Great for Powerpoint presentations.

When using Free Images:

Acknowledge the artist, as well as the website you got the image as a courtesy.

Church Images:

http://classic.lds.org

Gospel Library, Images Library,

New Gospel Art Book, Download

Direct Link:  http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,1-1-4779-2,00.html

Web Searching:

Google images (google.com)

Advanced Search,  Size:  Larger than 640x480.

Use caution when using this tool.  Do not allow children to use.  Also, many of these images are not royalty free.  Email to ask permission to use them, especially if printing many copies.  Depends on what it is, but I have many give permission.

*Tip, search with the words “Royalty Free” included in your search.

Paint.net Online Tutorials:

They kept picking the wrong foreground/primary color, but it's still a good one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSQ8hpLbu0Q

This one makes brushed metal effects on text, something good because at least they write words on screen to describe what to do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ogzDetANH0

Poster Maps of Israel, Old Testament & New Testament

So, I made these posters from the back of my scriptures.  They're very useful, and very cheap to make.  The images are high quality, and you can make a tabloid size print very easily.  Tabloid size is 11x17.  I laminated mine too, and for less than $10 I had a great teaching tool for the Ancient Times, as well as all Old and New Testament Studies.


Bible Maps Link
Terms & Use: You may view, download, and print material from this site only for your personal, noncommercial use unless otherwise indicated.

IEW Posters

Free IEW Posters Link
They've mocked up a set of posters to go along with Institute for Excellence in Writing's "Teaching Writing with Structure and Style" syllabus. Sized to print out on 8.5" x 11" card stock, they're bigger than his examples but smaller than the classroom-sized ones commercially available... perfect for your kitchen or reading nook!.


(However, Page 5 had a spelling mistake... Use this one instead.) Click to enlarge, and then print.

The following 11x17 Tabloid prints are for motivating your IEW Class.

We are following also the Classical Conversations Essentials for the English Language also,

and that is why it is listed as 24 weeks for classes.  The grammar rules & punctuation rules coordinate with that program, but you could easily make up your own list of rules you would like memorized, and add a sticker when completed.

Click on the image to enlarge.  Choose Tabloid setting to print.

This is a sample of doing IEW over a 24 week period.

Click on image to enlarge.

Print on 8 1/2 x 11 paper.

This poster I found helpful.  Especially for younger students who are struggling.  They don't need to complete everything.  Have them focus on grade level items listed.  8 1/2 x 11.

Below, is an example of what I wrote on the poster also.

(Texting Words are banned)

(Verbs & Adjectives)

I wrote it in marker on the original poster printed above.

(Sorry this is such a poor example below.)

The Homeschool Planner

Every year it seems I re-invent the Weekly Planner for our Homeschooling adventure.  This year's invention is going to be for each child to keep track of their own schedule, by marking off what they did each day.  They circle the day of the week at the top, and then put a check mark by the things they've done.  For our Portfolio Review, we need to show what we've done each day in each subject, so this is how we are going to accomplish it this year. 

We follow the Accountable Kids program... (see other post).  The Morning, and Evening Routines come from this.  We reward the kids after 10 days of getting everything done with a Special Date with a parent.

Click on each image to see full size:  8 1/2 x 11

Print the first page back to back.

The second page is the title page.

Place in a Mead, 3 Prong folder.  It's designed to fit perfectly inside one of these.

Also, it can be taken easily with you if needed.

Books I Recommend Frequently

These books are typically viewed as homeschool books, but I recommend them to everyone.  My job as a mother is to educate my child.  Whether or not they go to school somewhere else, it is still my responsibility to make sure they get a good education.  A lot of these books have inspired me to use time while driving, or while preparing meals to educate myself, and my children.

The importance of reading classics, and of viewing life as school, rather than a set period of time in a building.

This one I think is the "Bible" of Homeschooling, well, at least it was to me when I was first starting.  It was daunting to get through at first.  I felt like I would never measure up, but now 6 years later, I see that her suggestions have stayed with me, and I pick more and more of them as time goes on to implement into my routine.

  

(Audio CD's All 4 volumes)

We use our car to homeschool, as well audio books for quiet time during the afternoon.  Especially with a non-reader in our home still, these are full of interesting information.  Good for any age, and targeted for children. 

Made me think more about what kinds of music I expose my children to on a regular basis.  We have Suzuki piano & flute CD's, Beginning piano classics like Beethoven and Bach on CD, and concerts of Andre Rieu, as well as the 3 Tenors that we watch frequently.  My sister in law loves the Yanni concerts.  She's the one who inspired me to open the door to the classics during "down time".  Also, the kids can see people performing in an orchestra, and loving it.  Makes it more attainable as a goal to be good at it one day.

For Pre-schoolers.  Has great suggestions of classic children's books to read, and mini-lessons that are fun to do together.  These are the books that my little ones love, because they remember us doing things together with them.

Poetry Memorization Audio CD and Book from IEW (The Institute for Excellence in Writing).

These poems are great.  They are classic ones, that you wished you had available on CD.  The more you listen to them, the better your language skills increase.  Reciting a poem has become easy when we listen to them daily.  I pick a couple and play them until we get them.

This last one is not a book...

it's a favorite talk from church on being a woman.

I love it so much.  I've referred to it many times, so I find it appropriate to list it here.

"One Thing Needful" Becoming Women of God

4 R's Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Righteousness

Binder Covers & Spines for Classical Education Notebook Binders.

Click on the image to enlarge it. On spines, it works better if you print it on cardstock and fold in half to insert into binder. The dashed line is to write your child's name on it.

3 R's, & 4 R's of education & homeschool.

Liber-ty Quote inspired by Thomas Jefferson Education, by Oliver DeMille. Liber & Public Virtue

Accountable Kids Program Variation

We've been using the Accountable Kids program for about 3 years now. After the first year of turning cards for everything, we adjusted the cards to look something like this.

I put all morning, afternoon, and evening items on a single card. I laminated it with packing tape for durability. I added post-it tabs that can be changed easily to specify what the individual goal is for that specific area.

Also Bonus Bucks... my little ones always seemed to knock them down, or change them, and they would be wrong more than right. I laminated the top part of this card, and the bottom is able to be written on with pencil. A tally mark is a bonus buck. Each child earns a different amount for a bonus buck, depending on age... so I wrote what they make and when they were promoted on the card also.

I still love this program. Actually, I love the Special Dates with my kids. It motivates them, and it motivates me to look for the good they do. We also got rid of earning tickets for everything... however, they know that they can't watch tv, or go play with friends, etc. without having their morning or afternoon stuff done, and cleaning up. So, technically, we still are doing it. I'm just not handing them a ticket. I have 5 kids 10 and under, and that was way too much work to stay on top of. This way, we check at the end of the day. If they did it, they earn a sticker, and the rest is history!

Just wanted to share my variation... because, it would have been helpful to me to see this working in other families when we started off.