20 Kids * 20 Kites * 20 Minutes
Can a classroom of twenty students make twenty kites, and be outside flying them in twenty minutes? You betcha! Uncle Jonathan from the Big Wind Kite Factory on the Hawaiian island of Molokai shares the kid-tested instructions he's been using with tour groups for fifteen years. The kites are folded from 8 ½ x 11 inch paper, so they are smaller than the usual kite, but the simple directions are easy enough for kindergartners, yet fun enough for big kids too!
http://www.molokai.com/kites/20kidskites.html

How Does a Kite Fly?
This eye-pleasing site, created for a Physics course, starts with a short explanation of drag and lift, then quickly moves on to other disciplines. Don't miss the folk tales from China, Bali and Hawaii (found on History of Kites page) or the interviews with kiters Michael Graves and Peter Peters. Instructions for building a simple diamond kite and a large list of kite links complete this site.
http://www.skratch-pad.com/kites/fly.html

NASA: Kites
"An excellent way for students to gain a feel for aerodynamic forces is to fly a kite. " This NASA site starts with a short history of kites, and then introduces the forces that act on kites. "In fact, with the exception of thrust, the forces acting on a kite are also the same forces which act on an airliner or a fighter plane. Like an aircraft, kites are heavier than air and rely on aerodynamic forces to fly. " To progress through the Guided Tour about Forces on a Kite, use the blue next arrow at the bottom of each page.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/kite1.html

Professor Kite and the Secrets of Kites
Professor Kite teaches us how to pick the right kite for different days. "Deltas, Diamonds and Dragon kites fly well in light to medium winds (approximately 6-15 mph) while Box Kites and stickless Parafoil kites fly better when the winds get a little stronger (approximately 8-25 mph)." Flying is most fun in a medium wind, when you can do more than just hold on for dear life. Look for movement in the leaves and bushes, but not blowing or shaking. The Professor also explains how to get your kite to fly and lists important safety rules.
http://www.gombergkites.com/howgen.html

Virtual Kite Zoo
"Come in and see my sketches and descriptions of kites of every shape and size, many of them also including historical, anecdotal, allegorical or aeronautical snippets of information." The Virtual Kite Zoo categorizes more than fifty types of kites. Start with the terminology page (unless you already know your longerons from your spreaders) and then take the guided tour. You can finish with the JavaScript kite quiz.
http://www.blueskylark.org/zoo/

Aplus Math Flashcard Creator
In addition to oodles of interactive math flashcards, Aplus Math hosts two flashcard creators for designing and printing custom cards. The first, Flashcard Creator, prints a set of twelve cards (four cards per page) for any operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) and any set of operands (one through twelve). The second tool, called Custom Flashcards, lets you design math flashcards individually by inputting each problem (two operands and an operator). Each tool also lets you choose between four print sizes, from small to extra large.
http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/Flashcard_Creator.html

ESL Flashcards
There are thousands of printable color flashcards in PDF format for learning English (or any other language) here at ESL Flashcards. The cards come in a variety of sizes, but they all have an image on one side, and are blank on the flip side. Topics include adjectives, alphabet, body parts, clothes, colors, emotions, occupations, sports and more. The large size is perfect for showing an entire class, and the smaller sizes can be used for games such as Go Fish.
http://www.eslflashcards.com/

ProProfs Flashcards
ProProfs is another community site, where you can create your own deck of flashcards, or use a deck created by someone else. Flashcards can include images and color (woo hoo!), but before you begin you will need to create a free account. Flashcards can be studied online, downloaded as a text file, or printed in your choice of text size (small, medium or large.) When browsing existing subjects, try using the "Most Liked" tab to view the listings, instead of the default "Most Recent."
http://www.proprofs.com/flashcards/

Missouri Botanical Gardens: Biology of Plants: Pollination
With a pollination song (sung to the tune of "This Land is Your Land") and a printable handout for classroom use, this plant biology site from Missouri Botanical Gardens is a great resource for middle-school students and their teachers. "When animals such as bees, butterflies, moths, flies, and hummingbirds pollinate plants, it's accidental. They are not trying to pollinate the plant. Usually they are at the plant to get food, the sticky pollen or a sweet nectar made at the base of the petals."
http://www.mbgnet.net/bioplants/pollination.html

Pollinator Partnership
The Pollinator Partnership is a non-profit dedicated to protecting pollinators such as bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and geckos. Visit their site to download a regional planting guide, which lists plants needed in your specific area to support pollinator populations. "By adding plants to your landscape that provide food and shelter for pollinators throughout their active seasons and by adopting pollinator friendly landscape practices, you can make a difference to both the pollinators and the people that rely on them."
http://www.pollinator.org/

University of Illinois Extension: Great Plant Escape: Pollination
Help Dectective La Plant discover how one plant can create many plants. Start with the Case Brief, and then read the Facts of the Case (flower biology, pollination, and nonflowering plants.) Now you have enough background information to solve the two mysteries: "What Are the Parts of the Plants?" and "Do Plants Use Seeds to Reproduce?" and complete the three online activities. Great for upper elementary and middle-school students. The site is also available in Spanish.
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/case4/

US Forest Service: Celebrating Wildflowers: Pollinators
"Pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bits of food you eat!" This is my pollination pick-of-the-week site because of the depth of information presented and the friendly layout. Topics covered (for middle and high school students) include What is Pollination, Animal Pollination, Environmental Benefits, and Cultural Importance. "Native peoples were the first to recognize the role of pollination and to plant corn in such a way that they could hybridize certain types of corn for particular characteristics and purposes. Native Americans are known as the "first hybridizers" for their scientific talents in cross-pollination and hybridization."
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/

Amazing Space
At the core of Amazing Space is a set of eleven interactive educational activities (such as The Truth About Black Holes and Galaxies Galore) created by the educational team at Space Telescope Science Institute (the Hubble Telescope people.) Also visit for news about Hubble's twentieth anniversary, and to explore astronomy in the Capture the Cosmos feature. Teachers and homeschooling parents will find teaching tools and astronomy resources under the Educators/Developers tab.
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/

Space.com
Space.com is a news aggregator, calling itself "the world's No. 1 source for news of astronomy, skywatching, space exploration, commercial spaceflight and related technologies." The front page displays Top Stories and Recent Headlines, while section tabs feature stories in Space Flight, Science, Technology, NightSky, SpaceViews (image galleries) and Entertainment (such a voting for your favorite space movie!)
http://www.space.com/