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Meet Me at the Corner for Virtual Field Trips for Home Schoolers
Now home-schooled children have a unique home advantage over traditionally schooled children - the virtual fieldtrip. MeetMeAtTheCorner.org provides 3 to 4 minute virtual field trips and educational "tours" of various landmarks from a child's point of view via video podcast technology.
Aimed at more than 1.9 million American
home-schooled children ages 8-12, each episode also offers suggested reading and follow-up activities. Kids can
even submit their own complementary videos while parents can download lesson plans.
Kids can take virtual trips of New York City's historic and cultural landmarks, visit Broadway, explore the
Forbes Museum, and enjoy a bird watching expedition in Central Park. But MeetMeAtTheCorner.org entices kids beyond the virtual world. An Empire State Building episode encourages its viewers to research and report on the tallest building within their own neighborhood.
Home-schoolers and parents can also watch interviews with children's illustrator Jeff Hopkins, author Dan Gutman,
and Danne Love. These episodes help kids get excited about interviewing cool members of their own communities and are given detailed instructions on how to create and submit their own videos. Home-schoolers' videos come to life after the site's creative staff edits and uploads the segments for public viewing, making it a Video For Kids By Kids community.
MeetMeAtTheCorner.org was created by award-winning children's author Donna Guthrie to fulfill a need within the home school curriculum that was not being met. "With MeetMeAtTheCorner.org, I am providing a forum for children across the country to share their journeys with their peers via the Internet. I really see MeetMeAtTheCorner.org as being the educational You Tube..."
Kim Hennessy, the home school liaison to more than 850 families in Colorado Springs School District #11, says that MeetMeAtTheCorner.org provides a new resource that is both visual and exciting. "Many home school Web sites offer ideas and resources, but MeetMeAtTheCorner.org actually provides something to work with. I haven't seen
anything like this before," says Hennessy.
To take your own virtual field trip or to get more information, visit MeetMeAtTheCorner.org.
by Susan Finch
