Not every parent looks forward to the day when their child goes off to school. In fact some parents are not sending their children to school at all. Instead they are choosing to teach their children at home. This is called homeschooling. Parents, caregivers, or private tutors educate children individually at home instead of sending them off to be formally educated in public or private schools. In the U.S. only about three percent of children are homeschooled.

    There are many reasons why some parents choose to homeschool. One reason is that some parents do not feel their children are safe in school because of bullying (恃强凌弱). It is said that bullying is very common in the school. Other parents want their children's education to be based on their religion or moral beliefs. Yet other parents think the education in school is not good enough. Homeschooling is also seen as a choice for families that live in rural areas, and families that move frequently.

    There are many different ways to homeschool, and homeschooling allows parents to design lessons based on their children's needs. Families can purchase textbooks to use or create their own materials. Some parents follow a philosophy called unschooling, which allows a child to determine when and how they want to learn based on their natural ability. Some worry that homeschooling means students won't have opportunities to communicate with others.

    To solve this problem, some families have created activities, where a group of homeschooled students will learn and play together and participate in activities that would normally happen in school like field trips.

    Besides, being homeschooled doesn't mean a student cannot go to college. Most colleges accept homeschooled students. And the homeschooled students can get the same degrees, too.

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    Food serves as a form of communication in two fundamental ways. Sharing bread or other foods is a common human tradition that can promote unity and trust. Food can also have a specific meaning, and play a significant role in a family or culture's celebrations or traditions. The foods we eat—and when and how we eat them—are often unique to a particular culture or may even differ between rural (农村的) and urban areas within one country.

    Sharing bread, whether during a special occasion (时刻) or at the family dinner table, is a common symbol of togetherness. Many cultures also celebrate birthdays and marriages with cakes that are cut and shared among the guests. Early forms of cake were simply a kind of bread, so this tradition hits its roots in the custom of sharing bread.

    Food also plays an important role in many New Year celebrations. In the southern United States, pieces of corn bread represent blocks of gold for prosperity (兴旺) in the New Year. In Greece, people share a special cake called vasilopita. A coin is put into the cake, which signifies (预示) success in the New Year for the person who receives it.

    Many cultures have ceremonies to celebrate the birth of a child, and food can play a significant role. In China, when a baby is one month old, families name and welcome their child in a celebration that includes giving red-colored eggs to guests. In many cultures, round foods such as grapes, bread, and moon cakes are eaten at welcome celebrations to represent family unity.

    Nutrition is necessary for life, so it is not surprising that food is such an important part of different cultures around the world.

    The arts, especially music, should be part of every school's lessons at every grade level. Students would be much smarter if they had musical experience. They could improve their classroom skills, like paying attention and following directions. People develop all these skills when they learn music. Making music also lets children use their imagination. It provides students with a chance to try out their own ideas.

    Music not only makes children better students, but also gives them something positive to do. In a music program, children can be part of a band instead of joining a gang(团伙). Parents can enjoy listening to their children's music instead of seeing them glued to a computer or TV screen. In a school band, students get to be part of a team. They can get along well with old friends and make new friends through music.

    Music builds self-confidence, too. It gives children a sense of achievement and success. Making music is something for them to be proud of. And it lets kids practice performing in front of an audience. Music gives children an opportunity for self-expression, and that helps develop their self-confidence.

    Once again, music is important because it can make children better students, give them something positive to do, and build their character. That is why music should be offered in every single grade in every school.

    Something's happening at the lowest point on our planet, some 1,388 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea, a salt lake close to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, is shrinking at an alarming rate—about 3.3 feet per year, according to the environmentalist group EcoPeace Middle East.

    “It's not just like one country is punishing the Dead Sea; it's more like the whole region,” said photographer Moritz Küstner, who visited the area in February to work on his series “The Dying Dead Sea”.

    The Dead Sea needs water from the other natural sources surrounding it, such as the Jordan River basin. But around the 1960s, the courses of some water sources it relied upon were diverted. Israel, for instance, built a pipeline during that time so it could supply water throughout the country.

    Mineral extraction(提取)industries are another main reason why the water levels are declining, experts say. The Dead Sea's minerals have been popular for their medical power and can often be found in cosmetics(化妆品)and other consumer products.

    And then, of course, there's the Middle East's hot, dry climate, which makes it difficult for the lake to refill itself. Last year, Israel and Jordan signed a $ 900 million deal in an effort to stabilize the Dead Sea's water levels. It involves building a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea which would be able to not only supply water to Israel and Jordan but also to pump much needed water—some 300 million cubic meters annually—into the Dead Sea.

    “This is the most important and significant agreement since the peace treaty with Jordan (in 1994),” said Silvan Shalom, Israel's energy and water resources minister at the time. Whether the canal—estimated to take three years to complete—will work out positively and as planned remains to be seen.

    For now, Küstner shows us that the Dead Sea remains very much a place of interest, with people from all over the world going there to swim in its salty waters.

    I've never been the kind of person to say, “it's the thought that counts” when it comes to gifts. That was until a couple of weeks ago, when my kids gave me a present that blew me away.

    For years now, I've been wanting to sell our home, the place where my husband and I raised our kids. But to me, this house is much more than just a building. In the front room, there's a wall that has hundreds of pencil lines, marking the progress of my children's growth. Every growth stage is marked in grey, with each child's name and the date they were measured. Most people I know have been featured on a wall like this, or at least had a wall like it in their home.

    Of all the objects and all the memories, it's this one thing in a home that's the hardest to leave behind. Friends I know have returned home after work only to discover their wall of heights has been freshly painted over. A new paint job wouldn't normally be greeted by tears, but erasing that evidence of motherhood hurts more than it should. Our kids grow in so many ways, but the wall is physical evidence of their progress, right there for everyone to see.

    Over the years, I've talked about how much I would hate leaving that wall behind when I moved, even though the last marks were made 10 years ago when my kids stopped growing. So one day, while I was at work, my children decided to do something about it.

    They hired Jacquie Manning, a professional photographer whose work is about capturing (捕捉) the beautiful things in life, from clear lakes and skies to diamonds and ballgowns. She came to our house while I was at work, and over several hours, took photos of the hundreds of drawings and lines, little grey fingerprints (手印), and old marks. Somehow, she managed to photograph all those years of memories perfectly. Afterwards, she put all the photos together into one image, transforming them into a beautiful history of my family.

    Three weeks later, my children's wonderful gift made its way to me – a life-size photo of the pencil lines and fingerprints that represents entire lifetimes of love and growth.

    Naturalist John Muir called the Marin County woods named for him "the best tree-lover's monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world."

    Located only 11 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge near San Francisco, California, USA. Muir Woods puts some of nature's most huge creations within reach of little feet, hands, and imaginations.

    "Muir Woods is home to a small forest of redwood trees that reach to the sky," says David Shaw of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. "Redwoods grow taller than any other tree species in the world. The average age of the redwoods here ranges from 400 to 800 years old and many ancient specimens have been around for more than a thousand years."

    William Kent, the man who donated the 295 acres to create the Muir monument, grew up in Marin and played in similar redwood forests. That childhood experience inspired him to save the redwoods as an adult.

    "Young people can learn about young William Kent when they visit here," says ranger(护林员) Timothy Jordan. "Kent's early connection with nature developed his love of the outdoors. As an adult, he witnessed the destruction of many Bay Area redwood forests. This, with the writings of John Muir, inspired Kent's conservationism."

    Walking (and playing)in, on, and around the redwoods will help kids understand why young Kent was so fascinated(深深吸引) by the trees. Ranger Jordan encourages children to lie down and look up at the treetops, hug a redwood tree, and start a nature journal like John Muir.

    "Have kids find a redwood spray(小树枝)the same age as them, count the rings in trees, and sit inside of a hollow redwood tree on Fern Creek." he advises.

    After all the interaction, the kids just may be ready to rest. Take this time to "be quiet and listen to the sounds of the forest," says Shaw. "Encourage kids to think about how these trees have stood quietly through year after year of rain, sun, and sometimes even snow."