Homeschooling

• 
  Sprittibee

• The To-Do List Failure Continues...

  Sprittibee

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:12 pm

  You know me by now. I make long lists. I beat myself up over them. But I just can't let go of the urge to list-it-all-up. And writing things down on here for the world to see makes me feel guilty when I'm not working hard to get it checked off; even though you, and your busy self could probably care less what I have to get done around here in the Land Of All Chaos.So without further ado, here is the WAY belated update on my annual to-do list since I haven't had an update for July, August, September, or October. I know I did a LOT of something in those months. It all just seems to be running…

• Almost Wordless Wednesday: Fuzzy

  Sprittibee

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:10 pm

  Orange bulbine makes me happy. It's the little things, you know.It makes the bees happy, too. I like to see them happy.

• Feeling Understood

  Sprittibee

  2 Nov 2009 | 11:46 am

  Being a blogger allows me to do more than daipers, give more than grades on homeschooled papers, and bless not only myself, but others. Sharing your life online, however, is a strange experience. You sometimes have no idea where your words will end up... or who's heart you'll be touching.That's why I light up with joy when I read another homeschool blogging mom's posts and see a tiny part of myself in her life.Enter AnnQuiet, humble, honest, genuine, Ann. Her busy farm life, so interesting... her love for Jesus, her husband and children radiating off of every line she writes. I am not sure I…

• Texas Constitutional Amendments on the Ballot for Nov 3

  Sprittibee

  1 Nov 2009 | 1:01 pm

  Here's your token political post for the 'semester'. You all know by now that I get on a political soap box every six months or so when something crosses my radar. Other than that, I like to live and let live - and feel that our government should do the same. As long as we aren't breaking the laws, they should leave us all alone and go after those who are... instead of coming up with new laws and taxes to suck the life out of everyone who's just trying to survive and thrive in this great land. The less government there is, the better.If you 'ain't a Texan, you might wanna just mosey on along.

• October Give-Away Winners!

  Sprittibee

  31 Oct 2009 | 8:16 pm

  I know you have been losing sleep over my give-away posts. Biting your nails. Wondering if it was YOU who was the winner of such wonderful prizes. Well, now you can rest easy. And a few of you can jump up and down in excitement.The winner of the Organic Cookbook Giveaway is:Robin at Heart of WisdomThe winner of the Pirate's Booty Giveaway is:Jen at the Happy Little HomemakerThe winner of the Smart Girl's Guide to Twitter E-Book Giveaway is:Penney Douglas of A Penney With Some SenseAnd the red dress goes to.... Martha Rogers.Just email me your addresses and I'll get you in touch with your…

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  Melissa Wiley

• Then Again, Perhaps She’d Be Offended by that “Cowrin, Tim’rous” Business

  Melissa Wiley

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:53 pm

  “It’s rather an unusual case,” said Madam Chairwoman blandly. “The prisoner is a poet. You will all, I know, cast your minds back to the many poets who have written favorably of our race—’Her feet beneath her petticoat, like little mice stole in and out’—Suckling, the Englishman—what a charming compliment! Thus do not poets deserve specially well of us?” —from The Rescuers by Margery Sharp The esteemed and sleek-whiskered Mouse Chairwoman is quoting from “Ballad Upon a Wedding” by Sir John Suckling, one of the English…

• Knight of the Kitchen Table

  Melissa Wiley

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:55 pm

  Once upon a time, there was a very tidy cupboard. Then along came young Sir Destructalot. Having wreaked maximum havoc, he paused, well pleased with his efforts… …and looked around for new frontiers. Enticing prospects beckoned at the far corners of his world, but first he would have to figure out how to bridge a perilous gap. Triumph! And now bravely through the tunnel he strode, scoffing at those who would take the more conventional route around the table. Eagerly he made for the row of tempting treasures on the shelf, their bright colors practically begging him to pull them…

• Catch Me If You Can

  Melissa Wiley

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:32 pm

  What I should probably try to chronicle tonight is how Jane, Beanie, and I came to the conclusion this morning that Plutarch is garlic. (That’s a compliment.) But it’s late, and I only have a few minutes here, and the pieces of today that might disappear if I don’t write them down are small moments, not big conversations. Teenagers playing Rock Band in my living room with abandon and zest; I loved that. Rilla screaming, squealing, shrieking, scurrying the loop of kitchen and living room, daring (begging) one of our visitors—a tender-hearted eleven-year-old who is wise in…

• High Roads, Low Roads, and Very Long Roads

  Melissa Wiley

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:15 am

  Well, my day went something like this: Drove to children’s hospital for Wonderboy’s appointment with our favorite specialist, the esteemed yet down-to-earth doctor of genetics. Only one of my boy’s many many physical anomalies seems to be genetic—the albinism—but Dr. J is also a dysmorphologist, which means she takes an interest any kind of birth defect or abnormality, whether its origins are chromosomal or developmental-in-utero. She’s the doctor who laughed at my possibly insulting analogy two years ago, when I said that dealing with specialists in so many…

• One More Picture

  Melissa Wiley

  1 Nov 2009 | 8:22 pm

  Because I sliced my thumb and forefinger while washing a knife this afternoon (nothing serious) and don’t feel like doing much typing. And because you can’t ever go wrong, can you, posting pictures of scrumptiousness like this? Yesterday he managed to snag a bottle of barbecue sauce out of the fridge and I thought Ohhhh, baby, you don’t want to put ideas in people’s heads…I already want to eat you all up.

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  SpunkyHomeSchool

• Reaching Homeschoolers

  Spunky

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:17 am

  At a homeschool convention last year, another vendor and I struck up a conversation. He had a lot of energy but seemed a bit uptight; however, he readily admitted that he felt totally out of place because he didn't homeschool and this was definitely not his "typical convention." Not really interested in finding out what his "typical convention" was like, I smiled and assured him that we

• The real epidemic in our schools

  Spunky

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:24 am

  Obama declared H1N1 a national emergency but there's another virus that is threatening our children's minds that could prove more widespread than once believed. Big Hollywood has posted 11 more videos of children in various schools around the country singing praises to Obama and quoting his speeches. This is about brainwashing our children into Leftist identity politics. Sure, the schools

• Hardball on Homeschooling

  Spunky

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:44 pm

  Last night, MSNBC's Chris Mathew's announced his litmus test for Republican candidates and wrongly stereotyped homeschoolers in the process. In a post election round-up he posed this question to Club for Growth President, Chris Chocola, after Chocola talked about the limited role of government: MATTHEWS: Last question—here‘s my litmus test—are you pushing home schooling? CHOCOLA: We don‘

• Courtship in the 24/7 Era

  Spunky

  4 Nov 2009 | 4:13 am

  My friend, Kim, has a saying on her Facebook, "A woman's heart should be so lost in God, that a man has to seek Him in order to find her." But this generation seems to be lost to Facebook and their cellphone making it way too easy not only to find her but everything about her too. The combination has made any rules of engagement (pun intended) obsolete.David Brooks examines how cell phones

• Rules For Radicals

  Spunky

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:46 am

  If the maxim is true, we are what we read, then the NEA's book recommendation tells us much about what they want their teachers to become. The National Education Association recommends its teachers read Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals and Reveille for Radicals as "An inspiration to anyone contemplating action in their community!" Here's a quote from the book, Rules for Radicals, "There's

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  Guilt-Free Homeschooling

• Teaching the Satisfaction of a Job Well Done

  CarolynM

  3 Nov 2009 | 1:16 pm

  Have you ever noticed that cooking is much easier to do if the counters are clear, and the dishwasher and dish drainer are empty? I think a clean kitchen is a pleasure to be in and to work in. A sparkling clean bathroom makes me feel more like I'm vacationing in a nice hotel room than enduring yet another ordinary day at home. When my family all pitched in, and we cleaned the house super-fast for short-notice visitors, I always marveled aloud at how nice it looked! I wanted my helpers to feel appreciated, but I also wanted them to focus on what they had accomplished and enjoy the fruits of…

• Why Does Math Class Take SO LONG?

  CarolynM

  24 Sep 2009 | 1:39 pm

  Homeschooling families often have this lament: My child takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to do math each day! Can anything be done??? Let's consider for a moment exactly what the student is being asked to do, to see if we can understand why it takes so much time. (Please note: I will use he/him/his as generic pronouns; all of this applies equally to girls and boys.)Beginning students are learning the fine art of manipulating numbers to learn the processes of adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, and learning new number-languages called fractions, decimals, percentages, measurements, and on and on.

• Meet a Homeschooling Family

  CarolynM

  17 Sep 2009 | 11:58 am

  The Frugal Homeschooling Mom, Deana Hipwell, is tackling the daunting task of introducing homeschooling families to each other -- lots of families. Her blog feature, A Common Bond: Meet a Homeschooling Family, offers a quick look into the motivations and methods of various homeschoolers. This is a great way to get to know a little bit about how and why others are homeschooling, and Deana invites all readers to share their own stories through her blog. C'mon and introduce yourself! The currently featured family is... mine!

• 10 Ways to Improve a Lesson

  CarolynM

  10 Sep 2009 | 2:00 pm

  Sometimes we all need help teaching a lesson. The lesson may be too confusing, too short, or just plain boring. Your student may need a more complete explanation or just want to delve more deeply into the subject. You may need to expand the lesson to include an activity to fit your student's learning style. No matter what the reason, here are a few suggestions for how to improve a lesson.Make it bigger. -- Suppose your child is learning fractions, and the book's diagrams are rather small. Draw similar diagrams using an entire sheet of paper for each one -- sometimes bigger IS better! Simple…

• It's Carnival Time!

  CarolynM

  18 Aug 2009 | 7:37 am

  This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted by the delightful Juggling Paynes of Home Spun Juggling. The very appropriate theme they have chosen is The Juggling Workshop. Drop by the Carnival and pick up some great homeschooling tips along with their tips on juggling. (I've always wanted to learn how to juggle -- I wonder if they can help me?)

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  Why Homeschool

• Yesterday was one of those days

  Janine Cate

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:59 am

  My day started around 6 am with the patter of little feet. (Unfortunately, Baby Bop has not yet adjusted to the time change.) Baby Bop climbed in bed with me and I successful stalled him for 15 minutes before I had to get up. First I got Baby Bop dressed and then got dressed myself. Normally, I'm not so quick to get either of us dressed, but yesterday was Baby Bop's turn to go out for breakfast with Dad and Mom. By 7 am we were out the door on our way to IHOP.We got back to the house around 8:15 am. I quickly did our "smells and sounds" therapy routine with Baby Bop and the girls before…

• The Carnival of Homeschooling is up!

  Henry Cate

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:28 pm

  Mary is hosting this week's Carnival of Homeschooling at The Informed Parent.She starts off with a quote from John Holt:"What children need is not new and better curricula but access to more and more of the real world; plenty of time and space to think over their experiences, and to use fantasy and play to make meaning out of them; and advice, road maps, guidebooks, to make it easier for them to get where they want to go (not where we think they ought to go), and to find out what they want to find out."and rotates the carnival around how we spend time with our children. ----------Technorati…

• 10 things Google has taught us

  Henry Cate

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:08 pm

  My mother sent me a link to 10 things Google has taught us. It is an interesting article.----------Technorati tagsGoogle

• Another beautiful picture from APOD - Starburst Galaxy IC 10

  Henry Cate

  2 Nov 2009 | 1:25 pm

  Mike Siniscalchi gave me permision to post his beautiful picture of Starburst Galaxy IC 10:If you like this astronomy pictures, you can check out the Astronomy Picture of the Day, every day!----------Technorati tagsAstronomyAstronomy Picture of the dayStarburstGalaxyIC 10

• Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling

  Henry Cate

  2 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pm

  You have just five and a half hours to send in your entry for the next Carnival of Homeschooling.The Carnival of Homeschooling at be hosted by Mary at The Informed Parent.As always, entries to the Carnival of Homeschooling are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.Here are the instructions for sending in a submission. ----------Technorati tagshomeschoolinghomeschoolhomeschoolhomeeducationparentingchildreneducationCarnival of Homeschooling

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  AtypicaLife dot net

• My new BFF

  admin

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:46 am

  Every so often I poke fun at myself. Where, I wail, where can you find another woman, close enough to my age, with a kid somewhat near one of mine, who also: - unschools - is crafty - is crunchy in the AP sense (meaning, breastfed, gentle parenting etc..) - is a low-key Christian who doesn’t go to church - is near enough to get together face to face occasionally - is ADD or at least semi-disorganized ;P so won’t mind if I am - works at home like I do - works as a WORDPRESS consultant like I do. Pretty specific list, huh? Found one. Seriously, you’d think with all this in…

• Oh hey look

  admin

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:14 am

  Since Sarah is off to college and has a thousand tales to tell, one of the reasons to move this domain to a multi-blog platform was to give her space under this umbrella. The college years She squeezed out an intro post between school, homework and work. So there ya go. Personally, I can’t wait for the post she writes while hopped up on chocolate covered coffee beans. Related Posts:Using technology in your home(school)Post updatesOrientation for collegebeing a smart alec won't get *me* into collegeblog-aversary - 2005

• Dairy

  admin

  3 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  Anyone who has known me for years knows I don’t like milk. Anyone who has known me for a LOT of years will tell you stories of how I refused to drink milk as a small child. By the time I had Emma and she refused to drink cow’s milk, I had already realized that if I drank milk, she would be fussy. Lactose cannot pass through breast milk, but milk proteins can. It is quite possible she has a milk allergy. It’s only since last year that she’s tried ice cream. And still her older sisters will eat much more ice cream than she will. A couple of weeks ago I decided to stop…

• Drive

  admin

  2 Nov 2009 | 12:42 pm

  Taking a stab at posting more often. Apparently my legions of fans* are appeased if I post more, even if they are shorter posts. It’s also NaBloPo Month, which means instead of writing a novel all month, post to yer blog once a day. By “legions of fans”, you know I mean family plus the dozen or so regulars, right? We went to Fredericton today, so Meaghan could see her older siblings for her birthday, and to see Addison for his birthday. (whew! yes, it’s an all birthday extravaganza. But not really.) Sarah showed up more art and we went to Deluxe to share a fish &…

• Happy! Days!

  admin

  31 Oct 2009 | 1:57 pm

  First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADDISON! I cannot believe he is twenty two. Man. When I go to WordCamp New York, I fully expect half the people there to be the ages of my oldest child. Sheesh. In other news, I moved this domain to a new server, and rolled it in as a second Site on my wordpress mu installation. Doesn’t matter if you get that, mostly it means NEW BLOGS really easy. Because we all know I need more blogs, amirite? Seriously, if you’re family and want a blog to pay with in the form of atypicalife.net/yourname/ just let me know. I have a ton of ideas. We’re working on a…

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  Notes From A Homeschooling Mom

• My recent homeschool and education articles

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:11 am

  Here are a few of my articles I have written in the last few weeks regarding homeschooling and education. Newsflash! All Homeschoolers are Not Conservative Proof that all homeschoolers are not conservative... I watch Hardball with Chris Matthews. While Chris Matthews would not characterize himself as liberal (which I also do not) he is certainly far from conservative. Homeschoolers Are Not

• Second edition of Carnival of Educators is out

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:58 pm

  Check out this week's Carnival of Educators entitled Here's to Teacher.  It is chock full of posts relevant to teachers and educators. Enjoy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com Check out FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE for free homeschool links

• Carnival of Educators, A Week of Firsts

  27 Oct 2009 | 8:59 am

  Welcome to the October 27, 2009 edition of Carnival of Educators. The absence of the Carnival of Education left a hole in my life.  I didn't know about Educarnival v2 but that one is silent right now too.  Anyway, I decided it was time to get another carnival going.  I am however looking for volunteer hosts.  I can't do it alone.   More info here.  I should also point out that I did not

• I am a Kreativ Blogger!

  22 Oct 2009 | 9:54 pm

  I can't tell you how much it blows me away when someone tells someone tells me that I have been an inspiration to them.  Well it happened again to day.  Thank you so much  justlocs for thinking about me today and for allowing my journey to inspire yours.  I was given a Kreativ Blogger award by Justlocs and feel very honored.  Now this isn't just any blogger award, it isn't meant to be held onto

• Let's get a new Education Carnival Going!

  21 Oct 2009 | 9:48 am

  I was flabbergasted to find that the Carnival of Education was discontinued. While I greatly enjoy the carnival of education, I learned alot from school teachers and other educators. So, I decided to start a Carnival of Educators.I will start the first post next Tuesday at noon. If you want to host a carnival please email me at ahermitt@ gmail.com.I will update this page as I get all of the

• 
  PHAT Mommy

• Halloween, Whrrl’d

  Shannon

  31 Oct 2009 | 6:58 pm

  Check out how we spent Halloween in my first successful Whrrl story. Powered by Whrrl Similar Posts: Halloween Math Printables My Twitter Updates for 2007-09-09 PHAT Fall Fun ©2009 PHAT Mommy. All Rights Reserved..Similar Posts:Halloween Math Printables Cash for Candy My Twitter Updates for 2007-09-09

• Vegas Needs A New Tag Line

  Shannon

  31 Oct 2009 | 10:15 am

  They say “What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas.” Well, I know some guys that have perhaps taken that to an extreme. I twittered a few times about my wonderful trip to Las Vegas for SITScation, Blog World Expo, and a much-needed get-away with my husband. The vacation was fantastic, except for the plane ride. We arrived at the airport in Providence, RI for our 7 am flight. We made a stop at Starbucks and I noticed a man asking every flight crew staff member if they were on the flight to Vegas. He was explaining that he and his friends wanted to buy all of them coffee. It was a nice…

• Little Bird Tales: Scrapbook With A Voice

  Shannon

  22 Oct 2009 | 9:11 am

  A couple months ago I heard about Little Bird Tales, a service that lets kids create and share personalized books online. Given my love of scrapbooking, I immediately started thinking of the many ways my family could use this service. Little Bird Tales is easy to use. Have your child draw some pictures (with an online paint program or on paper which you can scan), upload the picture to the site, add text if you want, and record your child’s voice telling the story. The interface is clean and simple. My 5 year old and I created this book in about 15 minutes. If drawing pictures, creating…

• Defining Twilight

  Shannon

  7 Oct 2009 | 9:16 am

  Defining Twilight is a nifty little workbook that uses the Twilight saga to teach vocabulary for standardized tests. I received a review copy from author Brian Leaf and was impressed with the fun, simplistic way the book is laid out. Defining Twilight has 40 groups of vocabulary words (about eight words in each group) selected from the book Twilight, many of which will show up on the SAT, ACT, GED or SSAT. You are told what page in Twilight the word appears so you can read it in context. The workbook asks you to suggest a definition, then turn the page and read a complete definition. The…

• Apparently I Blog More When I Have 1,452,779 Things To Do

  Shannon

  23 Sep 2009 | 9:24 pm

  So, yeah, I’ve been updating my blog an average of twice per month, but today you get two posts in one day! I have a lot of random thoughts to get down, so I am making a list (copied from inspired by my cool friend Jenny on the Spot). My blog is in desperate need of housekeeping. Plugins to be updated, sidebars to be cleaned up, wonky stuff to be de-bugged. But it’s most likely that I will spend my time creating an entirely new theme design before I clean any of the other stuff up. That’s just me. I am starting a new part time job (details forthcoming, like after I finish…

• 
  Misty's Musings

• Oh Lush, how I love you!

  Misty

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am

  Thanks to my friend, Zoe, in England, I love Lush Products. The Karma scent is so hippy; so ME! I visited a Lush Store in Soho when I was there in August and bought the Ultra Bland Cream to take off my eye make up. ::swoons:: It works so well and is go gentle. And you see that spray bottle of Rose Water? After you wipe off your eye make up, you spray that rose water on a cotton round and

• Is it possible to have a twin?

  Misty

  20 Oct 2009 | 12:53 pm

  Because Molly is mine. She wrote this post and it is ME! So pretend I wrote it and just read:How does a person know that he/she is walking in truth? I was considering this today, considering the various “truths” I once held versus those beliefs from the past that are actually still with me today. What is a key difference between the not-actually-truths and the things that turned out, as far

• Caleb school update

  Misty

  17 Oct 2009 | 10:23 am

  I totally forgot to tell everyone that Caleb's absences have been "excused." Why you ask? It seems when the Superintendent of a certain county in Georgia is confronted with "Caleb's absences have been pre-approved with the principal and you don't need to fill any paperwork out" in writing, from his teacher, a month before we left for Orlando, helps...a lot! Up until we faxed him that little

• H1N1 and other bloggy thoughts

  Misty

  14 Oct 2009 | 7:23 pm

  I am praying, hoping, and crossing my fingers that the flu or H1N1 doesn't come home with Caleb. It could kill Olaf and I certainly do not want it at home. Another little girl died today in Georgia from H1N1 and several people I know are infected with it. It really sucks to have a person in our home with zero immune system. Wash your hands people and if you are sick, STAY HOME! I don't

• Goodness gracious....

  Misty

  5 Oct 2009 | 5:24 pm

  Me and my lack of blogging!! My family just got back from a two week vacation to Disney World. It was fabulous, but hot! September is not the best month to visit Florida unless you like temperatures in the mid 90's with so much humidity that sweat is pouring off you as soon as you step outside. We stayed at Saratoga Springs in a two bedroom suite that had a kitchen and washer/dryer. The

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  Homeschool Blogger

• Start of a new week.

  2 Nov 2009 | 11:35 am

  Hey, I'm doing better! I haven't posted in a week, but that's better than two weeks, right? I feel like I need some routine, so that I actually post, and don't just spend my time, worrying about posting, since I don't have anything to post about. I'm going to try to make it routine that I post once a week, even if I don't have much to post about. If I seem to forget, leave me a comment, and tell me I'd better post! :)  My 16th birthday is in 13 days- I'm really excited about that. We're having a small party at my house, with family and some wonderful friends. I can't wait to see some…

• I am middle-brain dominant

  26 Oct 2009 | 11:41 am

  I took this quiz, to see whether I was right-brain dominant, left-brain dominent, or middle-brain dominent. I got middle-brain. Here's my results: You are a middle brain dominant student! You are open minded but not gullible about things or people. You may run into trouble making decisions sometimes, while your logical brain plays tug-of-war with your gut instinct. You enjoy the arts, but you could also do well in science and math. You appreciate the beauty of all things in life, and are well-rounded. Middle brain students would do well on The Apprentice, since they can have a strong mix of…

• Grr....

  24 Oct 2009 | 11:08 am

  Whooeee..I can't believe that I did it again. It just doesn't seem like it's been 14 days since I've written on my blog. I meant to do a post every week, and keep myself at it, so that I actually have a post up, every now and then, and you all don't get bored with me! Well, I guess that that didn't work out for me as well as I would've liked. I'm a horrible blogger! I guess since I can't find anything 'cool' to post about- being that I'm not one of the coolest people in the world- I'll just post about my life. I've been doing a ton of writing lately. I get on these schedules, where I'll write…

• I feel horrible

  11 Oct 2009 | 12:15 pm

  Wow, has it sure ever been a long time since I've posted on my blog. I hate to say it, but I don't think that there's anything interesting in my life to post about- so I just feel like I don't want to bore you all to death, when I post something totally random. But I feel that I should post, because I don't want you all to think that I'm not around anymore, and that I don't want to blog. I really enjoy blogging, when there's something to post about. But I hope that I'll have something to post about more often~ so it doesn't seem like I've dropped off the face of the earth. If you have a…

• Something to think on....

  21 Sep 2009 | 9:04 am

  It's been over a year, since I've decided to be unobsessed with the Jonas Brothers. That was a HUGE step in my life. No one really knows how bad my obsession was, and everyone's obsessions are a little different. My friend, SeaChel, posted something that made me think, and I wanted to post about my obsession. When I was first introduced to the Jonas Brothers, I didn't think they were anything too special. They were just guys who had good voices, and liked to sing. Big deal. I didn't even think they were cute. It didn't take me long, before I decided that I was going to change my mind on them.

• 
  Home Where They Belong

• Holiday Idea Book--No Charge

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:49 am

  Free Holiday Idea Book for Thankgiving and Christmas. Unwrap our beautiful holiday gift  for you! The staff and friends of The Old Schoolhouse® have come together to share their favorite family traditions, recipes, and more with you. It's your FREE gift . . .   Get ready to . . . Wrap your family in a ribbon of thankfulness and joy and season your holiday with laughter, love, and togetherness. Start planning now for a wondrous holiday season with . . .   The TOS 2009 Digital Holiday Supplement WOW . . . a gorgeous Holiday/Christmas Digital Magazine filled with a fabulous…

• A Truly Divine Appointment

  26 Oct 2009 | 9:27 am

  I wish I had been a fly on the course when this event took place. Let me explain . . . I have a very dear friend who lives and homeschools in the city of Detroit. Her neighborhood is rough and her circumstances are difficult; yet through it all she manages to smile and trust the Lord to help her do the work necessary to raise five children without the support of her husband. Her children range from 12 to 19 in age. The oldest two young men are both homeschool graduates and attend a local college. To help pay for their studies they tirelessly work as caddies at an exclusive golf course. My…

• Who is a "true" homeschooler?

  19 Oct 2009 | 8:23 am

  When a mother at church asked me about homeschooling our six children and I mentioned our involvement in a co-op, she said, "That sounds good, but it doesn't sound like true homeschooling to me." So, who is a "true" homeschooler? A recent Wall Street Journal article referenced a 2007 statistic by the National Center for Education Statistics where online schoolers were included among the 1.5 million children who were homeschooled. But some homeschool advocates would say, "Using virtual academies is not true homeschooling." (Annette explains why here.) All of the various choices available to…

• David and Kim on Issues in Education

  15 Oct 2009 | 8:57 am

  David and Kim back on the radio! Ok, but this time we were honored to be interviewed by Bob and Geri Boyd on their excellent nationally radio broadcast show "Issues in Education". Click here to see if there is a station near you (or copy and paste link below into your web browser): http://issuesineducation.org/radio_stations.asp Please make note that it will broadcast Nov. 14th but if you miss it you can click here or copy/paste link below. The name of the Nov. 14th show is "Freedom to Learn". http://issuesineducation.org/programs.asp Please feel free to pass this info on to others whom you…

• The Pros and Cons of Co-ops

  13 Oct 2009 | 8:10 am

  Are you in a homeschool co-op? I joined one last year so my son, a high school junior, could take a Physics class; we enjoyed the experience and signed up again this year. There are quite a few co-ops in our area and they appear to be a growing trend among homeschoolers around the nation. As home schooling continues to grow, parents expect to see even more co-ops and organizations formed. Home-schooling parents tend to be creative and motivated: If they feel a need for another organization, most likely they'll create it. Some parents are afraid that the explosion of co-ops, clubs and…

• 
  By Sun and Candlelight

• ~*Happy November* ~

  Dawn

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:37 am

  Small jars of candles and a garland of marigolds sit upon the mantel, along with pictures of loved ones who have passed away. Today is the Feast of All Souls, and if I were feeling up to it, we'd be visiting a local graveyard today. Well, that trip will have to wait for another day but there are some simple homey things we can do to honor this day. As it is also known as the Mexican Day of the Dead, we'll be having tacos for supper tonight and this afternoon we'll be reading a couple of favorite books from our November basket:Day of the Dead by Tony JohnstonCalavera Abecedario: A…

• Home Again :)

  Dawn

  24 Oct 2009 | 6:02 am

  Well this has been quite a few days for me! As most of you know, I went in for gallbladder surgery yesterday ~ and as some of you know, it was also my 16th wedding anniversary! Bill and I joked that at least we got to spend the day together and it will certainly be one of our more memorable "celebrations" lol.Actually, sweet guy that he is, he surprised me Thursday night with a bouquet of gorgeous fall flowers: And then Friday morning, just before we left for the hospital he surprised me with some post-surgery treats:Godiva truffles (my favorite!) and a box of Ina's brownie mix…

• Well, hello there!

  Dawn

  19 Oct 2009 | 2:29 pm

  Look what I just found in - or should I say on - today's mail! We see lots of grasshoppers around the house in early to mid-autumn. These are the last warm(ish) days of the year so I try to appreciate each little critter sighting when it occurs. Not too sorry to see the wasps, mosquitos and ticks pass on, but I'll miss the butterflies, bumblebees and dragonflies. And the grasshhoppers, of course. Thank you all, so very much, for your kind and supportive messages about my upcoming surgery. I take every message to heart and appreciate your prayers more than you know. :)Hope…

• Pictures and Notes from the Past Couple of Weeks ...

  Dawn

  18 Oct 2009 | 1:36 pm

  So, what have we been up to lately? :)Well, we spent a (cold, gray) morning at the Topsfield Fair: Made friends with a donkey ... ... and a sheep. Got fall gardening ideas. Spied the giant pumpkin (all 1,471.6 lbs)! Marveled over the giant sand sculpture. Enjoyed fried dough with my boys.We took a bike ride through the autumn woods: Watched a gray heron come in from flight ...... and make his way to his nest.  Spotted a beautiful turtle by the path ... But look what was on his shell (a leech)! We removed the leech and sent the…

• When the frost is on the pumpkin ...

  Dawn

  16 Oct 2009 | 7:45 am

   Nevermind frost! We had our first SNOW here this morning!I honestly can't remember the last time we had snow this early in the year!It's been a while since I posted and I have lots to tell you about, so I will carve some time out this weekend to write. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the weather ... whatever the weather ... wherever you are. :)"Oh it sets my heart a-clickin like the tickin of a clock, when the frost is on the pumpkin and the fodder's in the shock ..." John Whitcomb Riley

• 
  Dewey's Treehouse

• Thankful Alphabet: F

  Mama Squirrel

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:21 am

  Sorry for copycatting the DHM's "E is for Eggs"--she did a better job on it anyway.F: Furnace.Do I need to say more?

• ABCs of thankfulness

  Mama Squirrel

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:23 pm

  The Deputy Headmistress is counting through the days of November by naming something to be thankful for every day--starting with each letter of the alphabet.I like that idea, too. So here are some to start with:A: All About Spelling. One of the TOS Review products that I'm very happy we got to try out. (Look for a review in December.)B: Blue skies. In between the bursts of snow and grayness we got today.C: Cider vinegar. I'm drinking it in warm water as per Lynn's anti-flu suggestions.D: Daughters.E: Eggs. Our daughters' Sunday School teacher just got more chickens and they're laying. So we…

• Trust and Okay (Slightly Edited Repost from 2007)

  Mama Squirrel

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:33 am

  (I'm having trouble reposting the hyperlinks, so the original post is here if you want to check back.)One blog leads to another: the always-thoughtworthy Wittingshire posted a quote from George Wiegel, and Wittingshire was linked to by The Paragraph Farmer, which I got to by following the Deputy Headmistress's Sunday Hymn Post. Okay, those are the credits: this is the bit of the quote I liked:"A thoroughly secularized world is a world without windows, doors, or skylights: a claustrophobic, ultimately suffocating world."Imagine never hearing the soaring words of Holy, Holy, Holy--Reginald…

• Barb's sad squirrel story

  Mama Squirrel

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:22 am

  "Farmer Flint dashed for the closet. 'When I went to bed,' he cried, 'this heap of nuts was high as my head. It has shrunk to my shoulders. Now it has shrunk to my waist. Now to my knees! Madam, this heap of nuts is shrinking before my very eyes, or I am growing rapidly taller.' 'You have not grown rapidly taller,' shrilled Madam Flint. ''Tis the squirrels! There goes one, with his face full of our nuts.'"--A Nutty Business, by Ida ChittumBarb and family had a similar experience recently.Dewey Squirrel sends his apologies.

• AVKO Website Membership (TOS Review)

  Mama Squirrel

  4 Nov 2009 | 4:19 pm

  AVKO Educational Research FoundationIndividual Website Membership: $25/year Benefits of Membership: Discounts on AVKO printed materials; Hundreds of dollars worth of FREE e-books (PDF), including The Patterns of English Spelling (All 10 Volumes) with Word Families in Sentence Context; Access to the Member Only section; AVKO Newsletter with freebies, discounts, resources, and promotions; Access to Don McCabe's most popular workshop recordings in MP3 format; Supplemental Curriculum Materials and more.Some publishers are better recognized by the name of their best-selling books than they are by…

• 
  Eclectic Education

• Swine Flu!

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:59 pm

  Ugh!  I've had a rough month!  My 2 sons came down with the Swine Flu on Oct. 7th and I followed on Oct. 8th.  My kids are doing ok.   I am still fighting to get well.  That is why I haven't written at all for so long.  I've been very sick.  I've seen the doctor's 4 times and had to get chest X-rays.  They say if my cough is not better by the end of the week, I may be getting more X-rays.  *sigh*   I was having trouble eating and couldn't keep my food down.  I lost a total of 12- 14 pounds and I was getting dehydrated.  If I…

• Make Homeschooling Fun

  3 Oct 2009 | 8:00 pm

  School does not have to be a drag!  There are many ways to jazz up your homeschool, allowing your child to have fun and get a good education.  Here are some tips: 1. Use living books instead of textbooks when possible.  Children can get into stories much easier than they can a dry textbook.  Use the living books as a jumping off point to learn more about the subject.  You can build an entire study around the book. 2. Make lapbooks or an interactive notebook to go along with your studies.  Most children love colored paper, stickers, colorful markers, cutting and…

• Mummies, Flowers and Blue Dolphins

  28 Sep 2009 | 11:12 am

  Ok, it's been a few weeks since I have posted about our school work.  We've had some unorganized weeks, but I finally feel like I'm on track again.  Here is a sampling of what we have done.  In the School House: I finished the Magic Tree House book Mummies in the Morning with Little One.  Then we made an interactive notebook page for the story.  I am really liking the format of an interactive notebook for the Magic Tree House series.  We basically just do enough minibooks to fit in a two page spread (or a two page spread with flap) and when we are done, I glue…

• Here Comes Autumn!

  22 Sep 2009 | 7:42 pm

  It's hard to believe that autumn is here!!! It's funny it felt more like autumn during the summer, than it does now. lol!!! I for one am looking forward to the cooler weather.  I just wish we would have had a better (warmer, dryer) summer.  Well, I have been busy on fall stuff.  I have put together fall resources for lapbooking if you are interested.  You can get them here: Fall Lapbook. I have also been busy designing Autumn products for my store.  Here are a few of what I have done. Barn Sticker by lynnhsmomof2 Design custom stickers using zazzle.com Autumn Bag by…

• Yummy Recipes!

  20 Sep 2009 | 3:03 pm

  One of my friends has some yummy recipes that I wanted to share! Here they are: (Just click the title) Caramel S'mores Chocolate Almond Butter Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Vitamin Rich Soup (ok, the recipe sounds better that the title! lol!!!) Enjoy!

• 
  Heart of Wisdom Blog

• Have You Sown Seed Today?

  admin

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:40 am

  Yes, I’m blogging about sowing, again. Seed sowing is my  my passion! I want fruit in my life and fruit in my children’s life. . I want to sow seeds and encourage others to sow seeds. Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart. Psalm 97:11a Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.  Psalms 126:5-6 He Who has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear As they went from town to town, a lot of people joined in and…

• Breaking the Jewish Code

  admin

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:08 pm

  “Breaking the Jewish Code” is Perrry Stone’s best work. I was thrilled to find out about it. If you want to know about Christian’s Hebrew roots this is a great read. Jewish culture and the Jewish people have succeeded–thrived even–for more than four thousand years under both good and unthinkable circumstances. Breaking the Jewish Code helps readers unlock the amazing secrets to this success. From the Inside Flap “You too can discover the hidden secrets that have molded Jewish thinking and lifestyles and made the Jews an undefeatable people, a blessed…

• A Peek into Our Homeschool Day: Workboxes

  admin

  28 Oct 2009 | 2:52 pm

  We are using the Workbox System designed by Sue Patrick. I’ve modified the system to use with our family and the Heart of Wisdom Approach (Bible first/Charlotte Mason/unit study) In the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach I suggest families use my approach  like a recipe- adapting to their family’s taste. I think the same workes for the Workbox System. My favorite part is how the Workbox System works is how it helps the children understand where we are in the school day and how much time is left. No more frustrating “Are we done yet?” I never realized how…

• Homeschooling Develops Perseverance

  admin

  28 Oct 2009 | 12:15 pm

  When my youngest son was five he brought me a story book about a boy learning how to play baseball. It was cute devotional on perseverance. I read it to him, even though I felt it was a bit over his head. Several weeks later he was sitting on a kitchen stool watching me cook dinner. “Mommy, can I have some juice?” I said, “Yes, just a minute.” and continued my cooking. He asked again. I said “Just a minute.” He asked again. I said sternly, “Christopher, you are too impatient!” He said, “I’m not being impatient, I’m being…

• Need to Get Organized? Check Out Homeschool Workboxes

  admin

  22 Oct 2009 | 12:14 pm

  I recently started using homeschool workboxes for my boys based on the ideas in Sue Patrick’s Workbox System. WOW!  My children have stopped complaining about school and we are getting twice the amount of work accomplished. This system is a godsend.  I love it! This exciting organization system structures your homeschool day in bite size chunks. My favorite part is how this setup  helps the children understand where we are in the school day and how much time is left.  No more frustrating  ”Are we done yet?” I never realized how frustrating it must be form them…

• 
  Suite101: Homeschooling Articles

• Home Schoolers -- Win and Earn Money Now

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:07 am

  Home Schoolers love fund-raising and contests. Check out the 2010 K'NEX Challenge and then see what AOP is up to - win an entire year of Switched-On Schoolhouse DVDs.

• Financial Planning for Teens-Uncle Eric Books

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:22 am

  Before your wealth-motivated teens start investing their savings, share Uncle Eric books to teach financial planning for teens and understand economics and politics.

• Homeschooling Resource -- a Creative Writing Idea

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:56 am

  Good writing skills are essential for children to handle all aspects of a home school curriculum. Creative writing exercises help kids hone skills while having fun.

• The Best Reason to Homeschool Kids -- The Teacher

  29 Oct 2009 | 4:21 pm

  All over the country, people are asking, "what are the best reasons to homeschool my own kids?" There must be some pretty compelling arguments for homeschooling.

• Activities for Homeschooling Preschool Skills

  28 Oct 2009 | 5:35 pm

  Find preschool learning activities to teach homeschool preschool skills. Games and activities help preschoolers learn everything they need to know for homeschooling.

• 
  Camp Creek Blog

• open thread

  Lori

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:30 pm

  Education is about developing human beings, and human development is not mechanical or linear. It is organic and dynamic. — Sir Ken Robinson, How Schools Stifle Creativity, writing on CNN about reaction to his famous TED talk and his new book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything Special thank you to Deirdre, who wants to know: How do we start the revolution?

• open thread

  Lori

  26 Sep 2009 | 8:35 am

  From our first years in the educational system, society has ways of discouraging the expansive, questing mode of attention that’s essential to creativity and personal rebirth. In one poignant indication of what happens when young children learn to switch off active focusing and just go through the motions, second-graders from different schools were given a problem to solve: “There are twenty-six sheep and ten goats on a ship. How old is the captain?” Nearly 90 percent of students from traditional classrooms answered “Thirty-six”. Not one pointed out that the…

• keeping the cart behind the horse

  Lori

  21 Sep 2009 | 10:21 am

  A question from Jess: Your blog has answered lots of questions, but I definitely will have more … for example, my daughter absolutely loves rock collecting. Should I not mention the Museum of Natural History that has a rock collection? If your goal is to have your child experience the entire arc of learning, from initial interest to knowing enough to teach someone else, they need adequate time to explore outward from that beginning point. Your mind will leap ahead to great possibilities, like visiting the museum. Write them down in your journal. But keep them to yourself for now.

• open thread

  Lori

  19 Sep 2009 | 4:38 am

  There is a rabbinical teaching that says if the world is ending and the Messiah arrives, first plant a tree, and then see if the story is true. Inspiration is not garnered from the litanies of what may befall us; it resides in humanity’s willingness to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, reimagine, and reconsider. “One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice,” is Mary Oliver’s description of moving away from the profane toward a deep sense of connectedness to the living world. — Paul…

• open thread

  Lori

  5 Sep 2009 | 8:25 am

  In an attempt to circle the wagons for an open thread this weekend, I followed the example of my nine-year-old (renowned for his work ethic), who carries around a little soft-cover notebook in his pocket to note ideas for his comics. I carried around my own little soft-cover notebook and jotted down various ideas for posts and possible open-thread discussions. These normally come to me when I am doing dishes, luxuriating in the peaceful alone time, as everyone leaves the vicinity when I begin cleaning up, in case I want them to help. I tend to write entire, brilliant posts in my head at these…

• 
  Principled Discovery

• Why I am not a “crunchy con”

  Dana Hanley

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:11 am

  A commenter recently pointed me to Rod Dreher’s book (and blog)  Crunchy Cons in response to my thoughts on the politicization of choosing an agrarian lifestyle. Truth be told, I’ve always had an uneasy feeling reading about this idea of “crunchy” conservatism. What does a political philosophy have to do with your choice of breakfast cereal and how do entire movements get identified with a brand of shoe? How have values connected to returning to the land, living more simply, considering where your food comes from and what happens to the waste that leaves your home…

• Taking time for the present

  Dana Hanley

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:59 am

  Dreams are curious things.  They provide a certain sense of purpose and drive, pulling my thoughts ever into the future.  My thoughts have been racing along this path since we decided to make this move.  Now that we have actually taken the first major step toward those dreams, they are faltering.  Hesitating.  My thoughts are slowing down and giving way to the present. Carrying a load of cleaning supplies into the house, I pause on the porch and look out over the land.  The same wind is blowing, though nippier than it was a month ago.  The same sounds rise out of the drying feed corn…

• Choosing the agrarian life

  Dana Hanley

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:36 am

  When we bought our four little chickens, I inadvertently stumbled into the curious world of the backyard chicken.  One of the most active forums I have ever participated in is about keeping chickens, especially in suburbia.  I guess farmers in rural Nebraska are probably not looking for a support system for their chicken habits, nor tips on dealing with authorities like the renegades I have met online.  One woman lives in a suburban area where the city limits her to three chickens.  She has thirty.  She keeps them in the garage, letting them out in groups of three throughout the day so…

• On socialization and learning where we fit in the world

  Dana Hanley

  29 Oct 2009 | 1:54 am

  Hey, did you know we’re Mexican? says the little girl at craft table at the library.  She couldn’t have been older than six.  Her little friend across from her dropped her scissors, mouth agape. Don’t you call me that! She was clearly insulted and the table fell silent, all eyes on the offender.  She averted her eyes, but there was no place to go.  She and her two friends had been told to stay there and color and stay she did.  Just before hurling this horrendous insult, she had been happily counting and singing . . . in Spanish.  Clearly, neither she nor anyone at the…

• Blog Move

  Dana Hanley

  21 Oct 2009 | 6:13 pm

  This blog should be moving servers over the weekend.  For once, it will be down because it needs to be down rather than just some problem with the host! The only real problem is that the person doing this all for me has a life, so I’m not exactly sure how long it will take.  Hopefully not long, but if you miss me, you can visit me over at A Very Nearly Tea where my blog design prowess has given me two titles.  Maybe I’ll fix that, but my eyes are going blurry from staring at this screen for so long this evening. Hopefully the blog will be back Monday, and I’ll be full of…

• 
  Camp Creek Blog

• open thread

  Lori

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:30 pm

  Education is about developing human beings, and human development is not mechanical or linear. It is organic and dynamic. — Sir Ken Robinson, How Schools Stifle Creativity, writing on CNN about reaction to his famous TED talk and his new book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything Special thank you to Deirdre, who wants to know: How do we start the revolution?

• open thread

  Lori

  26 Sep 2009 | 8:35 am

  From our first years in the educational system, society has ways of discouraging the expansive, questing mode of attention that’s essential to creativity and personal rebirth. In one poignant indication of what happens when young children learn to switch off active focusing and just go through the motions, second-graders from different schools were given a problem to solve: “There are twenty-six sheep and ten goats on a ship. How old is the captain?” Nearly 90 percent of students from traditional classrooms answered “Thirty-six”. Not one pointed out that the…

• keeping the cart behind the horse

  Lori

  21 Sep 2009 | 10:21 am

  A question from Jess: Your blog has answered lots of questions, but I definitely will have more … for example, my daughter absolutely loves rock collecting. Should I not mention the Museum of Natural History that has a rock collection? If your goal is to have your child experience the entire arc of learning, from initial interest to knowing enough to teach someone else, they need adequate time to explore outward from that beginning point. Your mind will leap ahead to great possibilities, like visiting the museum. Write them down in your journal. But keep them to yourself for now.

• open thread

  Lori

  19 Sep 2009 | 4:38 am

  There is a rabbinical teaching that says if the world is ending and the Messiah arrives, first plant a tree, and then see if the story is true. Inspiration is not garnered from the litanies of what may befall us; it resides in humanity’s willingness to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, reimagine, and reconsider. “One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice,” is Mary Oliver’s description of moving away from the profane toward a deep sense of connectedness to the living world. — Paul…

• open thread

  Lori

  5 Sep 2009 | 8:25 am

  In an attempt to circle the wagons for an open thread this weekend, I followed the example of my nine-year-old (renowned for his work ethic), who carries around a little soft-cover notebook in his pocket to note ideas for his comics. I carried around my own little soft-cover notebook and jotted down various ideas for posts and possible open-thread discussions. These normally come to me when I am doing dishes, luxuriating in the peaceful alone time, as everyone leaves the vicinity when I begin cleaning up, in case I want them to help. I tend to write entire, brilliant posts in my head at these…

• 
  The Common Room

• Book Review

  Headmistress, zookeeper

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:19 pm

  I do book reviews for Amazon, Thomas Nelson, and Library Thing in exchange for free books, or at least- I did this regularly up until the beginning of this year when I went through a rough patch and didn't follow through. Now I am working through my commitments and lightening my conscience as well.Max Lucado's Through the Tough Times is a small gift book- the sort of thing you might find in somebody's bathroom, or sitting on a table in a guest-room. It isn't very deep, and it shouldn't take very long to read. For those reviewing this book in a time where life is stable, the shallowness may…

• Nancy Kerr and James Fagan Sing Dance to your Daddy

  Headmistress, zookeeper

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:16 pm

  The song comes under other titles, as well. I've seen it as "When the Boat Comes In" fairly regularly, less often as "Dance to Your Daddy-O" and only discovered that it's also known as "Come Here, Me Little Jacky" while googling around for more information on the tune. The Annotated Horslips , it's a 'dandling or mouth music song from Northumbria.'(Horslips were a 1970s Irish Celtic rock band that composed, arranged and performed their music based on traditional Irish jigs and reels, according to Wikipedia, and their site seems to be sort of like Mudcat, a great resource for background music…

• Unemployment tops 10%. About that Stimulus...

  Headmistress, zookeeper

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Unemployment tops 10%, 10.2% to be precise. There's a graph and everything (look long and hard at this) from Geoff at Innocent Bystanders, and also this:A Side Note on the Administration’s Defense of the Stimulus. The President and his economic team have claimed that the plan is working as intended, that they’re on track to save the original goal of 3.6 million jobs, but somehow, despite practically drowning in success, we’re going to have to live with high unemployment for years to come. Oh, and that everything is still Bush’s fault. These claims have been debunked by a variety of…

• The Ft Hood Shooting

  Headmistress, zookeeper

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:35 pm

  Kimberly Munley is the civilian police officer who stopped the carnage yesterday at Ft. Hood, racing to the scene and engaging Hasan, disabling him and ending up wounded herself. Early reports were that she was also dead at the scene, but happily, this mother of one two is recovering. Incidentally conspiracy theorists on the left have all kinds of unlikely sneaky reasons why the shooter was first reported dead, but none of them mention that Munley was, too. The real cause of the confused and contradictory reports really needn't have been anything more sinister than the sort of chaos that…

• Wedding Pictures

  Headmistress, zookeeper

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  Daddy walks the bride down the stairs to the groom at the historical house where pictures were taken before the wedding.Instead of a guest book, an online friend of ours offered to make a guest quilt. She mailed us muslin squares, we set out a batch of permanent markers in an antique crystal spoon holder from the Rattery and a couple of surplus tiles from building this house (the silver-gray tiles were to protect the tablecloths from the pens bleeding through the muslin fabric). We decorated the baskets with ribbons and silk flowers. One basket was to hold finished squares, and one held the…

• 
  A Family Runs Through It

• Where's The Fire?

  Idaho Dad

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am

  I still enjoy seeing the little Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars spread all over the house.It means they're being played with and loved.And my kids' imaginations are being stoked by a little piece of plastic and metal, like this yellow firetruck I found on the living room window sill.It does a father's heart good to see evidence of the magical wonderment of childhood play.Of course, I take it all back when I step on one in the middle of the night on my way to the bathroom.Then I curse the devilish things to hell where they belong.

• Life-Changing Music

  Idaho Dad

  4 Nov 2009 | 12:42 am

  Another fun post from the archives. Back in 2005, in response to a challenge by Shotgun Daddy, I made a list of my ten "life-changing" albums:1. The Banana SplitsThe first album that I can remember owning. I still have it somewhere. There was nothing better than sitting my 5-year-old self down in front of the TV on Saturday morning and watching hour upon hour of mindless entertainment. Fleegle, Drooper, Bingo and Snorky were my favorites. The music was pure bubblegum pop.2. An Evening With John DenverThis was the only cassette tape my mom seemed to own, and we listened to it endlessly in her…

• Origins of Homeschooling

  Idaho Dad

  2 Nov 2009 | 12:57 am

  Browsing back through my blog archives, I found a post from 2005 that reminded me why we started thinking about homeschooling in the first place.It was a conversation I had with my son, who was in the second grade at the time:Me: "Did you go to the library today?"Him: "Yes, I found a Bailey School Kids book!"Me: "Cool. You can read it tonight."Him: "No, I already read it."Me: "What? When?"Him: "Today, during my free time."Me: "Exactly how much free time do you have that you could read an 80-page chapter book in one afternoon?"Him: "Lots."Me: "And what is the teacher doing during all this free…

• Zombies In The Mist

  Idaho Dad

  30 Oct 2009 | 2:25 am

  The zombies were out and about at Silverwood Theme Park. Or, Scarywood, as they've been calling it this month.Zombies gotta eat!There were evil scarecrows as well.The only escape was on the Midfright Express!You all have a safe and happy Halloween. Remember that kids are smarter than you think, so be very careful when raiding their candy bags later that night.

• Boarded Up

  Idaho Dad

  28 Oct 2009 | 1:39 am

  My 8-year-old daughter announced that she wants a skateboard for Christmas.My response: "Absolutely not, never in a million years, just get over it."She already has a bike, a scooter, and a pair of roller skates.Enough is enough.Am I wrong?

• 
  Blessed Among Men

• Nail Pops

  Suzanne Temple

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:04 pm

  We're getting the living room and foyer walls ready for painting this weekend. I gave the job of digging out nail pops and removing the offending drywall screws to Alex. He loved it and did a fantastic job."Mom," he said, "This is the best job you ever given me because it allows me to be destructive and helpful at the same time. I can't believe I get to pop holes in all the walls and I won't even get in trouble."

• Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

  Suzanne Temple

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:52 am

  or: In Defense of Procrastination.I never adjusted the clock on my cell phone for Daylight Savings last spring. Thanks to fall back, that clock is once again accurate and I didn't do a thing.

• Future in Marketing?

  Suzanne Temple

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:16 am

  Found in the margins of somebody's schoolwork.

• All Souls

  Suzanne Temple

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:16 pm

  May the souls of the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.

• Happy All Saints Day!

  Suzanne Temple

  1 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  Almighty and Everlasting God, who dost enkindle the flame of Thy love in the hearts of the saints, grant unto us the same faith and power of love; that, as we rejoice in their triumphs we may profit by their examples, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Gothic Missal

• 
  Karen Edmisten

• They just don't have the same ring

  Karen E.

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:14 am

  I was working on a piece of writing in which I refer to Mary as "Our Lady." I hit the "proofread" option in Pages and it kindly offered the following possible alternatives:Our WomanOur PersonOur Individual Huh.Somehow, Our Individual of Guadalupe just doesn't do it for me.

• Poetry Friday: The Blue Robe

  Karen E.

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:49 am

  This is a sweetly captivating poem by Wendell Berry, a man who clearly knows what true marital love is.Have a lovely Friday! The Blue Robe by Wendell BerryHow joyful to be together, alone as when we first were joined in our little house by the river long ago, except that now we know each other, as we did not then; and now instead of two stories fumbling to meet, we belong to one story that the two, joining, made. And now Read the rest here.

• Don't Panic, But Advent is 24 Days Away

  Karen E.

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:13 am

  Yup.I'm still wiping Halloween chocolate from my chin, but the season of preparation approaches.Amazing, isn't it, how time just keeps happening? Sometimes I wish it would cut that out, but since we can't fight it we might as well plan for it.Here's a link to my No-Panic Advent series (the posts are in reverse order.)Start not panicking now.You've got it all under control. You're the Donna Reed of the liturgical year, right? So, go grab that file you started last Advent.

• A Homeschooler's Peer Pressure

  Karen E.

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am

  From my now-16-year-oldAnnewithane:"Hey, Betsy! Homeschooling peer pressure: I dare you to use the word 'indigenous' in a sentence."

• The Feast of All Souls

  Karen E.

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:05 am

  Why do we bother? Why do we pray for the dead? First of all, because they are not really "gone." They're elsewhere, certainly, but their souls have not ceased to exist. They can benefit from our prayers.But they've gone to heaven or to hell, haven't they?Some have gone to hell, yes, sadly. Some -- martyrs, and those who in some other way have been thoroughly cleansed on this earth, and babies and young children  -- have gone straight to heaven.  But the rest of us need a bath.That's how I've always explained purgatory to my children. It's the bath we take -- the bath we'll want to…

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  Mental multivitamin

• On the nightstand

  Mental multivitamin (M-mv)

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:33 pm

  He is home again, so this is a hasty entry.Recently completed■ Hamlet (John Marsden)SFP at Pages Turned recommended this excellent retelling.■ Await Your Reply (Don Chaon)Recommended to those M-mv readers who appreciated Seven Types of Ambiguity (Elliot Perlman) as much as I did.■ The Writing Class (Jincy Willett)Perfectly entertaining. Equal parts well-paced mystery and cunningly written commentary. Willett wittily skewers the stereotypical cast of wannabes (including instructors) found in writing seminars -- found, in fact, in most continuing ed courses.Currently reading■ Secrets of…

• Fine Art Friday

  Mental multivitamin (M-mv)

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:16 am

  Alma Mahler (1913)Charcoal, with stumping, laid down on cream wove paperOskar Kokoschka, English, born Austria (1886-1980)Portrait of a Peasant Woman (1898-1899)Charcoal on cream wove paperPaula Modersohn-Becker, German (1876-1907)We hadn't thought we would be able to find a spot in our schedule for an art class this fall, but we did, and this semester we're studying the art of portraiture at the local college. After spending the summer with watercolors (related entries here and here), we're working primarily in pencil and charcoal again (related entries here and here).I'll share some of our…

• From the archives:Just borrowing?

  Mental multivitamin (M-mv)

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:37 am

  The following entry was posted six years ago today. I've updated some of the links.Here's a compelling sliver of news — an article that, toward the end, manages to make (potential) plagiarists seem somewhat sympathetic. You see, once submitted to the site, the students' papers remain stored on the web as a further deterent against plagiarism, which, as one source in the article notes, "[A]nd that's a big worry I think."Really? A worry? Which part? The part about our centers for higher learning being so rife with academic misconduct and dishonesty that professors are compelled to check every…

• "Narrative these days competes against incrementalized information -- data, chatter, noise."

  Mental multivitamin (M-mv)

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:21 am

  From "The vestigial tale" (Washington Post, October 29):Story-loving isn't just culture; it's biology. The human brain has evolved in such a way as to enable the construction and comprehension of narratives."We experience our lives in narrative form," says novelist Jonathan Franzen. "If you can't order things in a narrative fashion, your life is a chaotic bowl of mush."[...]Steven Pinker, Harvard's guru of evolutionary psychology, says our interest in stories comes in part from a "thirst for gossip" -- we need insider information about our social world. Narratives give gossip shape and…

• Fall behind

  Mental multivitamin (M-mv)

  31 Oct 2009 | 1:10 pm

  Did you know daylight saving time ends this Sunday at 2 a.m.? More information here: "Fall back -- time change is this weekend."Related bookSpring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time (Michael Downing)

• 
  Heart of the Matter Online - bridging the gap between child and parent

• Eight Frugal Family Gifts

  Guest

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  One of my favorite gift-giving strategies is to focus on family gifts rather than individual gifts. This approach is an effective means of saving both time and money, two very important resources, especially this time of year!  Deciding on one large present is much quicker than choosing several individual gifts. In fact, I can often find an appropriate family gift to fit several families on my gift list. One large gift is often less expensive and of better quality than several smaller, individual gifts. The fact that a family-oriented gift encourages families to take time to have some fun…

• The Long Season of Parenting

  Tammy

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Late summer we were blessed to receive a gardening gift from a neighbor who has a farming business where his main home is located. He handed me a container filled with large bulbs of garlic and explained how they would need to be planted in the fall in order to produce a wonderful crop a year later. Having never planted garlic before, I was very excited! This treasure – yes, we LOVE garlic! – was placed in a cool dry place as we enjoyed an unusually warm and sunny September which extended our gardening season. Finally October arrived with snow to remind us the fall was quickly…

• Netflix, Frugality and Charlotte Mason: At the Forum – Nov 6

  AmyF

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Thank Goodness it is Friday. It has been a busy week in my household and the busyness has stretched its way to the Forum. I am sure I am not the only one who has benefited from the questions and advice that has been posted. We would like to extend an invitation to you if you have not been to the forum yet. Come on by and register. And check these discussions out while you are there: Do you use Netflix? Have you viewed these great videos for schooling? Do you have your own list you would like to add too? Do you have some fun ways to keep school going when the focus is not there? We can’t…

• Once a Homeschool Kid, Now a Homeschool Mom

  Elizabeth

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  I have been asked many times to compare what it was like being a homeschool student to what it is like now being a homeschool mother – what I do the same, what I do differently, and how my experiences as a child have helped me now that I am homeschooling my own children. When I first sat down to write about it, the first thought I had looking back to my years as a homeschool child, was of all the wonderful memories I have of our times together as a family. My parents began to homeschool me when I was beginning 3rd grade, back in the 80’s, along with my next oldest brother who was…

• Beauty School at HOTM

  Tracy

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Have you enjoyed a fun filled summer with lots of swimming, fun in the sun and pulling your hair into a pony tail from the heat? Well, winter is almost upon us…or already here for some of you! Now is the time to give your tresses a relief from the stresses. Here are a few easy recipes for helping your hair to look it’s best in the coming months. Normal Hair Wash every other day. You are the only hair type that doesn’t need conditioner, but it will help protect your hair from the harsh sun and heat damage of over use of hair appliances. Magic Mayo 2 Tbsp Mayo plastic wrap old…

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  Kitchen-Table Learners

• Gettysburg

  Frankie

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:22 pm

  Anyone studying the Civil War, specifically Gettysburg?We have stumbled upon a fantastic blog that we are reading daily. It's also full of videos of licensed tour guides. It's almost as if we're there! Lots of information, about individuals and battles. Check it out! The funny thing is we're not studying the Civil War this year. Well, we are now, but we studied it last year. Thomas found this

• The Unfaithful Blogger

  Frankie

  26 Sep 2009 | 7:24 pm

  I have had just a heck of a time when it comes to blogging. I used to love it, post way too often, about all kinds of things. Now? My mind just turns to mush when I think of blogging.After Dad's death, I guess I just had a major shift. I haven't gone back to where I was before, I've found a new way of living. And that includes not bloging, apparently. I guess my emotions are still somewhat raw

• Countdown to 8th Grade

  Frankie

  27 Aug 2009 | 11:15 am

  I am fight, kicking and screaming as I am just not ready to start school. We've had a very busy summer, got a lot of things done, yet I still have a lot of projects to complete. We start September 8th, so I still have a tiny bit of time. I am looking for volunteer opportunities for Thomas. So far I have not had any luck. In the past, we have volunteered at our local Humane Society. I'm not to

• 8th Grade School Plans

  Frankie

  15 Aug 2009 | 3:12 pm

  I used to really enjoy planning out our year. Now? Not so much.I've got spelling, writing and punctuation mapped out. We'll do a punctuation book half the year and then our grammar book the other half. I need to get the rest put together today and tomorrow. Here's the plan for this year:Spectrum Writing Grade 8I bought Jensen's and Spectrum, and we'll cruise through the Spectrum workbook. We'll

• My Printer Died

  Frankie

  12 Aug 2009 | 4:22 pm

  Homeschoolers can't survive without a good printer. At least this homeschooling family can't.In 1995, when I was a court reporter, I spent over $1,000 on a HP LaserJet 4Plus. Lots of money. It printed fast, a whopping 12 pages per minute! lol It was solid, it was good, and it has printed hundreds of thousands of pages.Monday I sat down to plan school, and when I went to print out my home-made

• 
  SCHOLA

• Who You Gonna Call?

  L

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:50 pm

  I ambushed the crazy ex-tenant today. I lay in wait on the front porch knowing sooner or later she would come for the bait, her mail. I sprang to the curb when she pulled up and told her I realized from yesterday's conversation that she was afraid to tell me the reasons for her hasty departure for fear of a lawsuit, but I had three kids to worry about and all kinds of bizarre thoughts about what we'd find out soon enough had been running through my mind. I may have mentioned dangerous electrical work and sexual predators. I did not mention the G word.She apologized and admitted that after…

• Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

  L

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:23 pm

  I was back at the new house today ripping more vines off the landscaping (with gloves on this time) when a woman in a car pulled up. She asked if we're living here or just cleaning it up. She asked if we were renting or we bought it. She told me she was a former tenant and just had her mail delivery changed but that it might take a few days before it's completely redirected. Sure enough there were a few pieces that had come earlier that day and I went in to get them for her.She went on to tell me she had moved down from North Carolina only four months earlier and her newest address is the…

• School?

  L

  4 Nov 2009 | 4:57 pm

  One of today's lessons involved measuring volume, like, How many boxes can fit on the back seat of Mom's Excursion? The answer: Not Very Many. Note I did not say in the back of Mom's vehicle, the addition of which would have made the answer: Almost Enough to be Worthy of the Drive, because the Way Back is already packed to the roof with non-household-relocating items. We schlepped a few measly cartons down to the new house, boxes that have been packed and have not seen the light of day since we planned to leave for Australia the first time, about eight years ago. Until we remove and replace…

• Another Day, Another...whatever...

  L

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pm

  Elle did an internship with her father today -- that's what I'm calling it -- so I had nearly the entire day to sit at the computer and try to puzzle out the typographic problems I'm fighting on my private school website. Mostly it comes down to I am an HTML retard, and before you go getting your politically correct self in a dither, I mean that in the most tardo, tardere kind of way. Thanks, for the suggestions, Becky! My eyes are tired and I'm still only able to poke at the keyboard with four-fifths of my digits (not only are the open wounds still sore, I nearly severed a finger cutting…

• No Diving

  L

  2 Nov 2009 | 4:12 am

  I'm ashamed to admit that I've considered letting my membership in a particular organization lapse, not just because the purportedly inclusive group has taken a particularly right-wing fundie turn, or that members repeat inane rumors without exercising the tiniest shred of critical thinking or skepticism, or that they send intolerant inflammatory emails to me, though those are certainly huge and valid reasons, but also, and mostly, because of the group members' aesthetics -- specifically, the lack thereof.Yes. I am shallow.And I'm no genius or such a looker myself, but at least I have a basic…

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  Home*School*Home

• Thankfully,

  Fatcat

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:05 am

  I'm not grouchy, like I was yesterday, today. Going to the skating rink and having the night off last night helped me I suppose. Whatever. I'll take it. The only thing is, my back is doing one of those things that it does sometimes, just to remind me that I'm middle aged. I stretched yesterday afternoon and my back kind of went into a spasm and now I can't really turn my head or look down ... it's so fun and interesting.We're doing school today I guess. We've got one more item from the Freshwater Fred lending library to look at/listen to then we'll be done with those and I'll send them back.

• Awfully crabby today

  Fatcat

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:36 am

  I got up on the right side of the bed this morning, but in a crabby mood anyway. I'm doing my stuff this morning, working, cleaning and teaching math. I made a pot of gluten free chili and it's pretty good. I need to try and get in a better mood for the afternoon and evening activities, so I won't be whiny at the skating rink tonight.

• Field trip!

  Fatcat

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:06 am

  We had a field trip yesterday to the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft.  It's a very cool place in my opinion.  We did a tour and looked at some amazing quilts and other art and then the kids did a polymer clay workshop.  They seemed to have a good time.  After the workshop, we went to Target.  We don't have a Target in our hometown ( unfortunately), so we love to go in and look around.   On the way home, we were getting tired and the kids were getting sleepy.  The younger 2 were stretching in the middle seat of the van and had this…

• Love it!

  Fatcat

  2 Nov 2009 | 5:05 pm

  We got our materials from the Freshwater Fred Lending Library today. Excellent. All free and it includes a list, when it is due back to them and a postage paid shipping envelope to send it all back. No cost to us. How cool is that? Since I'm teaching the 4H science class on birds, we got Eyewitness videos about birds, video, computer games about birds, a complete unit study curriculum about aeronautics from NASA, which looks like it would cover a few weeks of science. I probably will add some of the experiments in it into the 4H classes, if we get time.

• Wow, November 1.

  Fatcat

  1 Nov 2009 | 6:18 pm

  It will be Thanksgiving before we know it.  I'm starting to crave turkey and stuffing and also starting to feel the urge to get started on my Christmas shopping.  If this hadn't been such a financially difficult year, I'd be looking forward to it more.  I'm really not enjoying this recession.   Also, I'm tired of working on Sundays.  Blah.  I have managed to be gluten free for the last couple of days though.  That's good.  Except, shoot, I just ate a couple of pieces of Halloween candy my daughter shared with me, a KitKat and some Whoppers and they…

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  Homeschool Math Blog

• Review of Math Apprentice

  Maria Miller

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:46 am

  Math Apprentice is a new free website, meant to show students how math is used in real world. In the game, you are like an apprentice at various companies, applying your math skills to challenges similar to those encountered in the real world and real companies.Main Street - Click to enlargeTo begin, you click the button on the home page of the site that says "Explore the Math". Then choose your character, and you'll be on the main street (see screenshot above) . Then use arrow keys to move right or left, and click to select a company to visit.The companies you can visit are:Sweet Treat Cafe…

• Percentages with mental math

  Maria Miller

  1 Nov 2009 | 9:38 am

  (This is an older post that I have revised plus added a video to it.)In this article I want to explore some ideas for using MENTAL math in calculating percents or percentages.I have made this video of percent & mental math strategies as well:And here are the ideas:Find 10% of some example numbers (by dividing by 10).Find 1% of some example numbers (by dividing by 100).Find 20%, 30%, 40% etc. of these numbers.FIRST find 10% of the number, then multiply by 2, 3, 4, etc.For example, find 20% of 18. Find 40% of $44. Find 80% of 120.I know you can teach the student to go 0.2 × 18, 0.4 × 0.44,…

• Cell size and scale

  Maria Miller

  30 Oct 2009 | 8:40 am

  Just a neat link my hubby found this morning...http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/You can zoom in to see these various things starting from a coffee bean and down to a skin cell, human egg, red blood cell, bacteria, viruses, hemoglobin, glucose and molecules, etc., all the way "down" to a carbon atom.In measuring scale, you go from millimeters (0.001 or 10-3m) to micrometers (0.000001 or 10-6m) to nanometers (0.000000001 or 10-9m) to picometers (0.000000000001 or 10-12m).

• American Math Challenge

  Maria Miller

  24 Oct 2009 | 1:35 pm

  The American Math Challenge is an online math challenge or "competition" where students aged 9-14 from across America can compete in a safe, multiplayer game environment.This is from the same folks as the World Math Day, if you happen to remember that.Students will have the task of answering as many correct questions as they can in 60 second mental arithmetic challenges LIVE, against other students. Or, they can also solve questions based on the national curriculum at their own pace.Why would you take part?It's about having fun with math. In fact, there's a good chance your students/children…

• Wolfram|Alpha homework day

  Maria Miller

  21 Oct 2009 | 5:48 am

  Today October 21st is a Wolfram|Alpha Homework Day. I am not quite sure myself what all this entails, but it is a LIVE interactive event on the web, revolving around what can be done with Wolfram|Alpha search engine.Here are some highlights (from the website) of what will be happening over there today: A special Homework Day Welcome from Stephen WolframA demonstration by a forward-looking elementary school teacher of lesson plans that use Wolfram|AlphaA conversation with the creator of "Shift Happens" about tech trends and their impact on educationA fun experiment with Wolfram|Alpha's mad…

• 
  Holy Experience

• weekend wanderings: fun with the kids

  Ann Voskamp @Holy Experience

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm

  ~ A free customizable - printable chorechart for kids (and it doesn't say "chores" -- it says how one "contributes" to family. Beautiful!)~ organization of art supplies -- home-education inspiration (I recollect you can buy those galvanized buckets at Ikea?)~a Thanksgiving Centerpiece(Child-Made, God-Glorifying, Easily-Beautiful!)~ Instantly Preserved Leaves -- Wax them! (Oh, can we do this too? A walk first... and then a dipping into wax... and then string the colored garlands. Might be a way to hunt for beauty this weekend?)May you enjoy the beautiful people you are spending your weekend…

• How do Christians Seek Beauty?

  Ann Voskamp @Holy Experience

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:30 am

  The cold came for the color, drained summer brown, and the furniture vases, they’re open mouths, waiting for petals and I go looking for beauty in November.And when I fill them with tassels of broom corn from the garden, stalks grown from heritage seeds of the Shakers at Pleasant Hill, I trim each woody stalk and think how seeing beauty in the obvious and apparent isn’t perhaps really seeking at all.The Real Words read: "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” and my thoughts line up like an echo:“For if you find beauty…

• Beauty Challenge: Seeing Through

  Ann Voskamp @Holy Experience

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Reframing the mess, seeing through to the Real.......He rewards those who earnestly seek him. ~Heb. 11:6Lord, when I seek... when I seek. The Beauty of You... You. This week: Beauty Challenge #1 ::: Beauty Challenge #2Photos: seeing through to the Beauty of GodShare your thoughts?...Would you like Holy Experience delivered to you quietly via email?...

• Eating Bread: The One Habit that's Most Changed Us

  Ann Voskamp @Holy Experience

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:54 pm

  (You were asking? Several notes to the inbox with questions, so a revisitation on how our family quietly eats this book...)Words are always dessert.I was sixteen when I first I ate dinner at his house and when the plates were cleaned, forks laid down, when it'd seem commonplace to nod thanks to the cook and push back the chairs, his family bowed their heads and his Father opened a Bible, thick and tattered, a multitude of bookmarks sticking out from all the pages and he read a chapter of Scripture in an even thicker Dutch accent. Chapter finished, he'd close the book, look around the table,…

• The Beauty Challenge: Beauty Inspiration

  Ann Voskamp @Holy Experience

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:29 am

  In the space of a few days, oldest son breaks his right arm working in the barn, youngest son twists his left ankle on trampoline, and the sunflowers droop brown and heavy in the garden, blooms withered. We elevate and medicate and supplicate, and yes, there are tears. November winds blow and it rains.Do I have eyes audacious enough to see beauty, courage to declare the lovely in days that wail of the ugly, the boldness to fill the hollowed out places with surprising grace?The true artist enters into work of Father and makes the ordinary material of the world new. Inspired to pick the common…

• 
  radio free school

• Changing the Way we think about Teens

  rfs

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am

  I'm at the end of my series on adolescence, the book by Robert Epstein called The Case Against Adolescence:Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen. I know, it wasn't all one smooth series but so much else is going on so apologies!The last idea Epstein leaves us with is the idea that we can change our perspective on how we view the teen-age years- a period of growth that was largely set in motion during the period of massive population growth in the Industrial Revolution.Epstein explains throughout his book that our views today on teens are determined by messages the media sources and thought…

• Childrens Liberation Front against Graham Badman's report

  Hamilton Climate Challenge

  28 Oct 2009 | 6:19 pm

  A protest song and video by the Childrens Liberation Front against Graham Badman's report and the prospect of enforced schoolingthese are the lyrics (for the hard of hearing)We don't need your registrationWe don't need your yearly goalsNo right of entry to our housesBadman leave home ed aloneHey Badman leave us kids aloneAll in all you're just another brick in the wallAll in all you're just another pawn for Ed Balls

• Homeschooling in England; Under Attack

  rfs

  27 Oct 2009 | 7:31 pm

  In North America, we enjoy the right to educate our children outside of school with little or no interference from the State. In England, home education has always been seen as an acceptable route to go- up until now.Kelly Green is a Canadian monitoring the situation closely. She reports that a few days ago the "independent expert" stirring up all the trouble gave evidence before a Parliamentary Select Committee. This individual is the same one wrote the report recommending that all home educators should have to supply a complete educational plan a year in advance for each child, force their…

• 350 Hamilton: World Climate Change Day of Action

  Hamilton Climate Challenge

  25 Oct 2009 | 3:19 pm

• John Holt on Alternative Schools

  rfs

  22 Oct 2009 | 7:04 am

  Periodically, I like to refer to John Holt's writing to keep me on track as to what authentic learning is really about. In an essay he wrote for Growing Without School (#17) he said he wanted to do away with the idea of compulsory learning, and the idea that learning should be separate from the rest of life. "Above all, I want to break down the barriers that separate children from adults and their work and concerns.""It's okay to have special places for kids, since they have certain needs that in some respect are different from the needs of adults....But they should not have to spend all…

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  Unschooling Site News, SandraDodd.com

• Snakes and Ladders, Issues, Curricula

  Sandra Dodd

  24 Oct 2009 | 9:10 am

  Snakes and Laddershttp://sandradodd.com/game/snakesandladdersSome boards have overt child-training themes; some don't. Two new examples there and worth considering.When Parents Have Issueshttp://sandradodd.com/issuesAnother page on curriculum usage has been dusted off and cleared up:http://sandradodd.com/curriculum(Thanks to Joyce for a link correction and a clarifying question.)

• Sandra's Unschooling Symposium in Santa Fe

  Sandra Dodd

  19 Oct 2009 | 11:34 am

  Most of the Presenters:It's time to make reservations now!More information is available with a Pay-Pal link or the optional address to which to send a check if you'd prefer (saves me the PayPal fees).http://sandradodd.com/sussSome information that's also on that page, if you'd rather read here:I need forty families who have unschooled at least five years and who have a teen. If I don't get forty of those, I'll open it up to families with younger kids or less experience. Alternately, the conference would be good for parents of younger children who leave their children at home, or who bring…

• "just semantics"; words, words; TV

  Sandra Dodd

  12 Oct 2009 | 1:50 pm

  What is "just semantics"?http://sandradodd.com/semantics"Words, words, words." —HamletThe video at right has been added at the bottom of the Shakespeare page:http://sandradodd.com/shakespeareLearning from TV, two brief new stories added, top left:http://sandradodd.com/t/learning

• labels (not), being calm, and "have to"

  Sandra Dodd

  11 Oct 2009 | 10:21 am

  Another mom has articulated why it helped to stop thinking of her child as a label, and start to look at the cool things he could do.http://sandradodd.com/words/withoutI put it at the link above, though I considered here:http://sandradodd.com/labelsOnce again I've started two trails. It happens. Schuyler Waynforth wrote a post I've put on parenting peacefully (third down on the left)http://sandradodd.com/parentingpeacefullybut I also put quotes and links back to it on the pages on breathing, spanking and moments rather than…

• Interview (new sound file for you, free!)

  Sandra Dodd

  7 Oct 2009 | 8:53 am

  I was interviewed last week and here is a sound file, photos and links!http://sandradodd.com/listen/schwartzinterview

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  Sandra Dodd

• Holly's home

  Sandra Dodd

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:31 pm

  Keith and I met Holly at the airport. She was wearing her birthday crown. She came home and opened these gifts:There was a needlepoint card from Julie Daniel, in England, and a birthday card from Adam. There were flowers (arrived this morning) from the Daniel family, too. From the Dodd relatives were various DSi things, so she has a new DSi, four games and various accoutrements. And some thick shrinky-dinks plastic. Tadaa!Holly's home!

• Bonus gratitude

  Sandra Dodd

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:04 am

  I got up early, 5:30, when Keith was leaving, for rehab. I have two more sessions, on my leg/hip. Usually they're at 7:00 a.m.Keith's motorcycle is in the shop for brake callipers or something. So yesterday I told him to take the car to work, because I've run out of copies of the Big Book of Unschooling (more are on the way), and I didn't need to go to the post office today.After I was up I looked at my physical therapy schedule and my appointments not until 8:00. Keith and I joked about it by e-mail. I went out to feed the birds, as I do each morning, and saw in the driveway nothing but…

• Third week of gratitude project

  Sandra Dodd

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  I'm grateful that my children grew up whole and safe, healthy and happy. Holly turned 18 on Monday.I'm grateful to have a refrigerator that works, and food to put in it.I'm grateful for Keith's kindness and good nature.I'm grateful to have a house with SEVERAL tables, because I just love tables.I'm grateful that my interests and personality came together to give me a chance to honestly and truly change the world a little bit. That is an awesome and humbling and giddy thought.Week 2Week 1

• Happy Birthday, Holly Dodd!

  Sandra Dodd

  2 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  Holly Dodd, my youngest child, is not a child at all anymore. She was born November 2, 1991 and has made our lives richer and funnier ever since. She's made us think and feel things we couldn't have known without having had a little girl in the family. Kirby and Marty learned things from having a sister that they wouldn't otherwise have known. It probably makes them better boyfriends. I won't get to see Holly on her birthday. She's in Corvallis, Oregon. She'll be home Thursday, though, and here for a few weeks before embarking on another adventure. Holly, I hope you have a happy day and a…

• Halloween Party

  Sandra Dodd

  31 Oct 2009 | 7:39 pm

  First, another discovery. Interesting shiny thing on the windowsill? Looked closer... Dead lizard. Another one. Next to a dead one of those big-mosquito-looking things. Oh well. On to party preparations. What you will see includes the fake-blood treated table cloths and curtains (all sheets, later draped here and there), and the "finger food," and the eyeballs (deviled eggs) and Marty as a pirate wench and Ashlee as a Viking (they didn't use any SCA garb; only commercial costume parts, and Marty already owned the wig). Ashlee put the fake eyelashes on him. Then there's Mandy and Josh and…

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  Learning in Freedom

• Hiking at Buffalo Mountain 10-09

  Ren

  28 Oct 2009 | 7:19 pm

  One of the things I love about this area are all the opportunities for hiking. Buffalo Mountain is right in town, yet offers amazing views and private trails winding up and over the hills.The dead tree at overlook bluff reminds us of the devastating fire that happened last summer. I'm glad we got pictures before this tree was killed. The fire came right up this overlook yet left a small bench undamaged.Jalen and Silas checking out a woolly bear.Laura making faces...as usual. ;) You can see a swathe of the fire damage behind them. Another beautiful day in the hills of Tennessee!

• Cid needs your vote!

  Ren

  26 Oct 2009 | 9:12 pm

  Cid is an awesome, artsy, unschooling mama and could really use your help. I turned nachos into a burning inferno in my oven the first time I met her (above pic after I put the flames out) and she still doesn't think I'm a total ditz...ok, maybe a little. Anyway, vote for Cid!!I copied and pasted the following from Zenmomma's blog. Good Mood Gig My friend Cid is trying to win a job as a paid "Good Mood Blogger" (seriously, that's what it's called) and she needs our help. All it takes is a click of your mouse to give her your vote. Won't you be a dear and go over to the contest site and vote…

• Bible rant

  Ren

  20 Oct 2009 | 8:52 am

  I was going to post this at facebook but it was too long for as status update and I really need to vent right now. So here ya go...my vent for today:Quoted from a convo at facebook: "I know of only ONE bible, the HOLY bible".Oh, you mean the CHRISTIAN bible? Because if there is only ONE bible then why don't the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhas, the B'hai, the Hindus etc.... use it? I think some Christians are really christian-centric and can't even imagine that other religions not only have their own bible, but they love and cherish it just as much as the Christians.There are many colors,…

• Unerzogen article

  Ren

  13 Oct 2009 | 6:53 pm

  I co-wrote an article on "atypical" children with Heather Newman for Unerzogen Magazine in Germany. I won't actually be able to understand the final version which is completely in German, but Johanna of Unerzogen translated it back to English for me. So the following is my original piece, translated to German and back to English again. :) It was a serendipitous thing to co-write it with Heather as she and I had just met at Life is Good in Vancouver WA this May. Her son Ben and my Jalen hit it off at the conference and spent a lot of time together. It was really great to have those images of…

• My second baby....

  Ren

  29 Sep 2009 | 7:24 pm

  ...is still in Alaska. By the time he gets home in October, it will have been five months since I said goodbye at the Life is Good conference in Vancouver Washington!He celebrated his 16th birthday at my sister's house, with family. We're going to have another celebration when he gets home. :) Heidi just blogged about Tristan's "late" reading journey (he's also a second baby) and it reminded me just how Jared learned to read...almost overnight, never learning the letter sounds at all. He figured them out after he could read!We miss him so much. I think I've lost one of my children to the…

• 
  Homeschooling

• Homeschooling

  homeschoolblogawards.com

  story links: Homeschooling

• Homeschool

  homeschoolblogawards.com

  story links: Homeschool

• Homeschool Worksheets

  homeschoolblogawards.com

  story links: Homeschool Worksheets

• Christian Homeschooling

  homeschoolblogawards.com

  story links: Christian Homeschooling

• Free Online Homeschooling

  homeschoolblogawards.com

  story links: Free Online Homeschooling

• 
  Home Schooling News

• Is home schooling worth considering?

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:14 am

  Home schooling has its benefits, but will your child learn as much? Photograph: Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty Images Every week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it's up to you to help him or her out a ' a selection of the best answers will appear in Saturday's paper.

• Clarification: Home schooling

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:12 pm

  In " An inspector calls " we said the number of home-schooled children known to social services included disabled children.

• Online school proves hard sell

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:49 am

  A group that wants to start the first statewide kindergarten-through-12th grade online charter school has blanketed school districts throughout California - including many in the East Bay - with petitions seeking approval for its plan.

• Home-taught children return to class after long-running allocation row ends

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:35 am

  By Jack Blanchard FIVE Yorkshire children who have been taking school lessons from their parents in a church hall since September returned to mainstream education yesterday.

• LaToya Jackson Still Talking

  1 Nov 2009 | 8:21 am

  Shut your plastic mouth , LaToya! The Daily Mail reports on a recent interview LaToya Jackson did defending the privacy of Michael Jackson's children while basically revealing all their business.

• 
  HomeSchoolBuzz.com

• Ridiculous rules for UK home schools

  gary

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:39 am

  Via guardian.co.ukToday, I received a copy of a letter that my local MP sent to the education secretary, Ed Balls. This letter was prompted by my concerns about the Badman report, a review into home-education which was submitted in June and immediately accepted by Balls. The government may implement these recommendations by including them in the Queen's speech on 18 November.My six-year-old daughter is educated by me, at home. I am not a home-education evangelist and neither do I have any problem with the concept of school, but I do know that home education works for us. Badman's…

• When the parent is the teacher

  gary

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:22 am

  From The News Tribune - Seattle-Tacoma:When Anne Marie Semke was a school-aged child, she said she thrived in the public school system. She loved it enough that she decided to become a teacher and taught at both public and private high schools in Vancouver, B.C. As an adult, Semke still has fond memories of public school but is choosing to homeschool her two children.“When I became a teacher (I) realized this is a system that works for certain children and certain families but not for all,” Semke said during a weekly gathering of the ACTS HomeSchool Group at Sunrise Baptist Church in…

• Carnival of Homeschooling: Saving Time

  gary

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:51 am

  The 201st Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted this week by The Informed Parent with a "Saving Time" theme.“What children need is not new and better curricula but access to more and more of the real world; plenty of time and space to think over their experiences, and to use fantasy and play to make meaning out of them; and advice, road maps, guidebooks, to make it easier for them to get where they want to go (not where we think they ought to go), and to find out what they want to find out.” ~John Holt~ Teach Your OwnHomeschooling offers children the time and space they need to learn, grow…

• So, do you like home schooling?

  gary

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:07 am

  People always ask me, “So, do you like home schooling?”And I usually say something like, “Um ... well, um … I mean, I like it, but I just have trouble with the part where you have to learn stuff. But once you get past that ... well, um, it’s good.”The better question to ask me would probably be, “Do you feel as if you are deprived of anything as a home-schooler?”The answer? No.I feel like there are a lot of advantages to being home-schooled. Read more...

• NOVEMBER IS NaNoWriMo

  Kathy

  3 Nov 2009 | 6:27 am

  In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org)—an international event where aspiring novelists are encouraged to write an entire novel in 30 days—there is a contest meant to encourage the aspiring YA author to get started on that novel by offering an incentive for completing the first 250 words. All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win both exposure to editors, and a one-on-one chat with one of New York’s TOP literary agents Regina Brooks. ADDITIONALLY: The top 20 submissions will all be read by a panel of five judges comprised of top YA…

• 
  The History of the (Whole) World

• Why we do what we do

  Susan

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:51 pm

  Confession time: I am totally addicted to Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen. And Kitchen Nightmares. And his autobiography is darned fascinating too. Got my husband hooked as well, so now when we retreat to our room for a quiet evening we’re as likely to turn on a Ramsay show as to watch Castle (Pete’s current favorite) or figure skating (not Pete’s current favorite). Before anyone points this out: Yes, OK, listening to Ramsay talk to ANYONE on American TV requires immense patience for bleeping, and he throws plates, kicks trash cans, and admits to having four…

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-01

  Susan

  1 Nov 2009 | 10:21 am

  Aftermath of Dan's birthday: Marathon sessions of Plants Vs. Zombies. (Actually, very entertaining…) # Heading off the grid for family day. # 1. Ancient hen stops laying and meets Maker. 2. German shepherd finds 3-day-dead hen and ROLLS on it. 3. Shepherd snuggles w/kids. 4. EWWWW. # Investigating renaissance-era Hindu sects at 5 AM on a rainy morning. # DH is making chocolate pancakes, DD9 doing spelling, DS16 reading chemistry text, DS13 went out to feed chickens & has never returned. # German shepherd is heading for the vet to get (ahem) tutored. # Reading Eaton's Rise of…

• Book-chasing

  Susan

  31 Oct 2009 | 12:58 pm

  While I’m waiting for the History of the Medieval World’s final production step (Norton usually sends me the index to proof just before the book goes to the printed), I’m in one of my very favorite writing phases on the third volume (the History of the Renaissance World, in case you were wondering). I’m digging out the what-happened and putting it all in chronological order. I don’t have to worry about making it readable, I don’t have to chapter it (so I don’t have to labor over beginnings and ends), I don’t have to decide what stays in and what…

• This really has only the most tangential relationship to writing the history of the whole world.

  Susan

  29 Oct 2009 | 1:23 pm

  My good friend Justin, editor extraordinaire at Peace Hill Press, has practically photographic recollection of historical facts. He also proofs my manuscripts for me and keeps me from making errors both small (I should have spelled that caliph’s name Al-Muizz, not al-Muzz) and embarrassingly obvious (my metaphor of Blues and Greens in Constantinople being like savage hockey-fans was apparently marred by my assumption that hockey has a half-time). He also turned thirty this week, which meant that my husband and a small cadre of dedicated friends had to help him celebrate. Which they did…

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-25

  Susan

  25 Oct 2009 | 12:21 pm

  If any W'burgers are headed to the Blue Talon, be sure to order amazing pastry chef Michelle's new Sweet Cheese Plate. I feel human again. # My day off. So what am I doing? Heading to the dentist for a loooong appointment. Whoopee. # Ow. # The baby turns nine today. Happy birthday! # Tree removal guys are here: goodbye to ancient maple next to house. Sniff. (But it was going to mash either house or my office next storm.) # Birthday dinner for DD9: chicken & gravy, mashed potatoes, succotash w/bacon, yellow cake w/strawberry jam & 7-minute icing. Ahhh. # Back to typo-marking in…

• 
  The Thinking Mother

• Part 11 Series My Experience With and Theories about Learning Styles

  christinemm

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:11 am

  More Learning about Brain Dominance In the last post in this series I shared that hearing the lectures of Dianne Craft opened my eyes to brain dominance, about how to teach right-brained learners and some ideas about helping “struggling learners” with “blocked learning gates”. My head was swimming with information after that April 2008 conference. Since I felt my older son needed help I read a lot about right-brained learners after hearing Dianne Craft speak in the spring of 2008. I changed some of his homeschooling and immediately improvement and easier learning happened. I realized…

• Part 10 Series My Experience With and Theories about Learning Styles

  christinemm

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:55 am

  In former installments in this series I discussed my older son’s diagnosis of an eye tracking problem, convergence insufficiency, which limited his ability to read and learn from written text. During the time before the diagnosis and before the treatment began he learned a lot from hearing me read aloud or by listening to audio books for both our academic homeschooling lessons and for fiction pleasure reading. Honestly I’d never thought about it before but looking back with 20/20 hindsight, there was a mismatch between his learning styles test (primary visual-images, secondary…

• Part 9 Series My Experience With and Theories about Learning Styles

  christinemm

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:39 am

  Semantics and Debates of Validity of Reality of Brain DominanceThis next part of the story and my ideas has to do with what some call brain dominance. Before I go further I want to state that there is debate over the issue of brain dominance due to it being called brain dominance. Some people, laypeople as well as some scientists, like to discuss their disbelief in this idea due to the terms used. Frankly I don’t care what anyone calls it but some label must be used to term this thing which describes certain teaching methods and the learner’s learning strategies. (Later I will discuss…

• Treating Normal Boy Behavior as a Disorder to Medicate?

  christinemm

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  I'm reading a new book by a pyschologist with twenty years of experience treating young boys who someone thought might have a behavioral disorder or a condition that needs medication (ADD, ADHD, etc.).I'm still at the beginning of the book so I can't say much about it. So far Dr. Rao is saying things that many parents have been saying for years but so far had only been the opinion of laypeople. Here are a couple of videos that describe the book and his theories.When I'm done with the book I'll be blogging a review of it. So far I like it and the things he says are things I've been parenting…

• Math in Public School -- What a Mess!

  christinemm

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:20 pm

  I honestly didn't know it was this bad.Article Title: A Math Paradox: The Widening Gap Between High School and College Math by: By Joseph Ganem.He discusses that some high school math classes have college level content but it neither being taught well by the school teachers nor understood by the students. "Through the years I’ve found it discouraging as a (college) faculty member to see so many high aspirations dashed at orientation before classes even begin. I tell students with poor math placement scores to go home, review high school math over the summer and take the test again. But, few…

• 
  Throwing Marshmallows

• Wordless Wednesday - Autumn

  Stephanie

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:13 pm

  Cox Farms, Virginia 2009

• Happy Halloween!

  Stephanie

  31 Oct 2009 | 6:40 pm

   

• Our Trip to Blacksburg

  Stephanie

  25 Oct 2009 | 12:14 pm

  A couple of weekends ago, I decided that it was about time to take the boys to their first Virginia Tech football game (that they can remember anyways). OK, so it was way beyond time and we really should have done this awhile ago, but better late then never. Lane Stadium Blacksburg Virginia - October 2009 Photo by Joy Still You can see that they both got into the Hokie Spirit. Kyle was already a huge Virginia Tech Hokie and football fan and loves to watch the games with me so he was in absolute heaven. Jason likes the Hokies but is not as much into football as Kyle is, so I was glad to see…

• VaHomeschoolers Homeschooling and College Entrance Seminar

  Stephanie

  23 Oct 2009 | 8:42 pm

  The Countdown ContinuesThere’s less than one month to go before the VaHomeschoolers seminar on Homeschooling and College Entrance.  Advance registration online or via postal mail guarantees that we will have enough handouts at this special event.  Walk-in registration requires a late fee, so don’t let the opportunity for advance registration slip away!This all-day seminar takes place Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond. Mail-in registrations must be postmarked by November 2, 2009; online registrations must be completed by November…

• Wordless Wednesday - Father and Son

  Stephanie

  21 Oct 2009 | 7:38 am

  Annandale, Virginia March 1999

• 
  HOME ED MAG NEWS

• Race to the Top

  Mark

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:06 am

  In formal remarks at James C. Wright Middle School in Madison Wisconsin, President Obama outlined the federal government’s 4.3 billion dollar Race to the Top awards. His presentation defined “four challenges that our country has to meet for our children to outcompete workers around the world, for our economy to grow and to prosper, and [...]

• Questioning the Wisdom of New, Common Tests

  Mark

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:49 pm

  In a Letter to the editor published online and in print, Maryann Klaus, with 40 years experience as “teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent” questions testing: Why, when all of the research points to gains made by a focus on teaching and learning, formative assessment, teacher collaboration, and strong leadership, is the government looking to increasingly restrictive [...]

• Homeschoolers and Texas Drop-out Rate

  Mark

  4 Nov 2009 | 12:40 pm

  This disturbing piece is from May 2001 and re-published yesterday online. Counts don’t add up, by Lucy Hood, Edmund S. Tijerina and Sharon K. Hughes. Some excerpts: To assess the extent of the dropout problem, the newspaper last fall began to track the 1,053 freshmen who enrolled at Holmes in the 1997-98 school year. Holmes was [...]

• Homeschooling Because We Can

  Mark

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  In an article titled If School Is Cool, We Win, Author John Lewis takes us through his family’s first day of the school year through their approach to homeschooling. A few enlightening takes on the usual questions. Why we homeschool: My wife Anne and I have been homeschooling our children for the past two years. [...]

• Mainstream Perception of Homeschoolng

  Mark

  2 Nov 2009 | 11:20 am

  While homeschoolers will continue to live their lives according to their beliefs and convictions, public perception of homeschooling can make life easy or much harder. With that in mind, NBC’s Housewives series has written homeschooling into their script. From this week’s online summary: Reading, writing and respect: When Juanita lets a swear word fly in her school [...]

• 
  Consent Of The Governed

• Operation Health Freedom - Judge Andrew Napolitano

  Judy Aron

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:23 am

  Judge Andrew Napolitano looks at health care and a justified use of Congress' interstate commerce regulation power. Americans should be free to buy insurance across state lines.Anti-choice and Anti-competition = Unnatural and Unconstitutional

• Remember, Remember The 5th Of November

  Judy Aron

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:19 pm

  "Remember, Remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot, I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot.When the government fears the people there is liberty; when the people fear the government there is tyranny.- Thomas Jefferson

• Don't Copy Europe's Mistakes In Healthcare

  Judy Aron

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  Yeah - what she said.In this Center for Freedom and Prosperity video, Eline van den Broek explains that government interference is driving up healthcare costs in America and warns that European style health "reform" will make the situation even worse. Based on what has happened in Europe, she explains that universal health coverage is not the same as universal healthcare, that insurance mandates mean more government control, and that price controls simply do not work.By the way...Nancy Pelosi's goal is for this bill to receive as little attention and scrutiny as possible before the vote, so…

• Thursday March On DC - Making A House Call Against The Healthcare Bill

  Judy Aron

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:31 am

  Make a House Call on Washington - Hands Off Our Healthcare!Thousands will join Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann on Thursday, November 5th at 12:00 Noon, to deliver letters to Congress protesting the proposed government takeover of healthcare.Lawmakers are calling on Americans to storm the Capitol on Thursday in an “Emergency House Call on Congress” to stop the House from passing the Democrats’ health-care bill this week.A group of legislators led by Reps. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., will be holding an emergency town-hall meeting outside the Capitol at 12 p.m.

• Republicans Win Big Across CT

  Judy Aron

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Governor races in New Jersey and Virginia were won by Republicans, and here too in CT Republicans triumphed in municipal races. Here's a partial list:Tim Herbst in TrumbullMike Pavia in StamfordDavid Campbell in DarienLisa Pellegrini in SomersNoel Bishop in WestbrookState Rep. John Harkins in StratfordJoe Mazza in GuilfordFormer State Rep. Peter Nystrom in NorwichFillmore McPherson in MadisonAnthony Candalora in North Branford.Dick Moccia in NorwalkRyan Bingham in TorringtonJeff Wright in NewingtonJason McCoy in VernonSebastian Giuliano in MiddletownMark Boughton in DanburyPeter Tesei in…

• 
  The Homeschool Cafe

• Consent Of The Governed: Carnival of Homeschooling - 200th Edition - Party On!

  Alasandra

  28 Oct 2009 | 2:49 am

  Consent Of The Governed: Carnival of Homeschooling - 200th Edition - Party On!

• No Fighting, No Biting!: Maine: The Postcards Don't Lie edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling

  Alasandra

  20 Oct 2009 | 11:18 am

  No Fighting, No Biting!: Maine: The Postcards Don't Lie edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling

• Dewey's Treehouse: Carnival of Homeschooling #194: Creatures and Critters

  Alasandra

  15 Sep 2009 | 8:58 am

  Be sure to check out Alasandra's post included in Dewey's Treehouse: Carnival of Homeschooling #194: Creatures and Critters

• Carnival of Homeschooling

  Alasandra

  9 Sep 2009 | 3:47 am

  The HomeSpun Life: Homeschool Carnival: Virtual Blog Conference

• Home Spun Juggling: Carnival of Homeschooling: The Juggling Workshop

  Alasandra

  19 Aug 2009 | 3:20 am

  Home Spun Juggling: Carnival of Homeschooling: The Juggling Workshop

• 
  H. E. R. P. & E. S.

• DAMN YANKEES!

  dcobranchi

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:34 pm

  And “God Damn Godzilla!” I’m a born (in the Bronx) and bred Yankees fan, so I’ve been walking around wearing a smile all day.

• OH, GOD!

  dcobranchi

  1 Nov 2009 | 6:23 am

  Another Life in Fayetteville LOTD. This one is all about home ed and the Truth: Religious blinders create division Cheers to you, Kelly Biermann, for a well-written letter (”Home-schooling a positive experience,” Oct. 14). As a graduate of a North Carolina homeschool, I would like to add that you can participate in the North Carolina Home School Graduation. The graduation takes place every May at the N.C. Home School Convention in Winston-Salem. The ceremony is very similar to graduating from any public high school. The speech given to my graduating class was very moving. The…

• SORRY, KIDS…

  dcobranchi

  31 Oct 2009 | 3:29 am

  We’re not handing out candy this year. It’s eeeeevil. During this period demons are assigned against those who participate in the rituals and festivities. These demons are automatically drawn to the fetishes that open doors for them to come into the lives of human beings. For example, most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches. I do not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store. The demons…

• MLB: HIRE ME!

  dcobranchi

  30 Oct 2009 | 3:28 am

  More questionable umpiring in Game 2 last night, one against each team. I got both calls right in real time.

• OH, GOD!

  dcobranchi

  28 Oct 2009 | 1:20 am

  Are y’all watching Mr. Deity Season 3? If not, you decent sample of random atheist liberals ought to be. The latest has Lucy/Lucifer arguing for science and rationality.

• 
  Pass The Torch

• Empowering Youth in Cincinnati

  Kelly

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:05 am

  This week, Darla and I are headed for Cincinnati, to the Healthy Communities/ Healthy Youth Conference. I’ve attended this conference many times over the years and have always been inspired and motivated after leaving it. My kids have often come with me as well, usually helping with my exhibitor booth for Empowering Youth. [...]

• Behold – The Conscientious Hunter

  Kelly

  26 Oct 2009 | 8:42 am

  This year, a new law went into effect in Wisconsin, allowing 10-year-olds to hunt. My motherly protection made me wish for my 10-year-old to ignore this law, and my survival instinct wanted all of us to stay out of the woods entirely. But since I married into a family of hunters, my vote [...]

• Mortgage Payoff 101 – Lessons Learned

  Kelly

  19 Oct 2009 | 8:10 am

  If you’ve been reading this series, you know our goal is to have our second mortgage paid off within a year. Part One in this series is here. You may think our plan is silly, or unattainable. You may think we’ve been frivolous in the past – or that the cuts we’re making are ludicrous. [...]

• Mortgage Payoff 101 – Sell Your Stuff

  Kelly

  12 Oct 2009 | 6:15 am

  This is Part Four of my series outlining our plan for paying off our second mortgage in the next year. Part One is here. If you’ve been following along on my series, it’s quite possible you find yourself in a similar situation to mine: you spent a lot of years accumulating stuff you don’t [...]

• Positively Speaking – Personal Power

  Kelly

  5 Oct 2009 | 4:25 pm

  We know we want to help our kids learn to say “No” to drugs, but how much do we consider the other important factors that often result in drug and alcohol resistance? Check out this month’s Positively Speaking column at 5 Minutes for Mom. I address two assets that a lot of asset-rich, drug-free kids [...]

• 
  Homeschool Journal Dot Net

• Ten Fun Ways We’ve Learned and Played Lately

  Alicia

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm

  Other than a cold or two, we’re finally over being sick around here.  It’s nice to feel human again!  Here’s a few things we’ve been up to since recovering…. 1.  Learning about explorers. We’re doing  a lapbook about explorers from CurrClick (I got it free in exchange for reviewing it) and we started last week.  So far we have studied Cabot, Columbus and Amundson.  The kids are making up little inserts for the lapbook and we’re putting gold stars on the world map for each place the explorers landed.  I’ll post a full review and link once…

• Respecting our veterans (a few days early)

  Meg

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm

  Yesterday I subbed at Girl’s high school again.  The day started with a special Veteran’s Day assembly (yes, a few days early) of which the main portion was having the jr. ROTC cadets come out and do a flag folding ceremony. (I think the school as Air Force Jr. ROTC which does tie into this story I discovered when I went looking for details…) The kids did a beautiful job and really seemed to take pride in what they were doing. BUT… I was TOTALLY floored by the religious (Christian) sermon that was delivered in a public school as part of the ceremony! I hadn’t…

• Time To Sleep and the Letter B

  tatertotschool

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:35 pm

  Letter Bb We started the week slowly, discussing the letter B (templates from Confessions of a Homeschooler) and the “B” book from the Itty Bitty Bookworm.   We also made a super cute Bee from Homeschool Creations which, unfortunately, I didn’t photo.  I created several of the Bb is for Butterfly activities from COH.  Two I laminated and stuck in my purse; one I laminated and stuck in the car.  They have been a great, fun, and educational way to be busy on the go. (at the Drs. office) To go along with our letter, and our book for this week , Time to Sleep, we made this…

• 6 Nov 2009 | 8:03 pm

  woodstone

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:03 pm

  I discovered a quote today that I think is going to become a new favorite of mine… It happened in sort of a round-about way. R was gone to a birthday party today, and M stayed home with me. M tends to be unsettled and not know what to do with himself when R’s gone, and today was no different. I kept him busy working outside, then watched part of a movie with him, but by evening he was heading downhill, so I suggested he go in the classroom and get our big book of biographies (A Scholastic book with short bios of “Great Men and Women Every Child Should Know”). Reading…

• GoGoGirl’s Birthday

  mamalexa

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:42 pm

  7:05 am KarateKid crawls into the king bed, where MechDaddy, GoGoGirl and I are sleeping peacefully.  “Wake up!” he hisses in his sister’s ear, “Don’t you know what today is?”  GoGoGirl’s eyes pop wide open.  “MY BIRTHDAY!” We thought this shirt was very appropriate for our girl today: 7:20 am MechDaddy and I grudgingly admit that neither kid can possibly go back to sleep now, after fifteen minutes of trying to deny it.  We rub the sleep from our eyes and hand out the birthday cards (thank you Pappy & Nita, Aunt Gwyn & Patrick,…

• 
  The Homeschool Jungle

• Six Flags Magic Mountain Homeschool Day 2009

  Jana

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:42 pm

  Friday November 6,2009 is homeschool day at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. don’t get to the gate without a ticket because this is a private party and you must buy tickets ahead of time online. On the home page in the upper right corner type in HOMESCHOOL and you will be taken to [...]

• College is Coming

  Jana

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:08 pm

  Yes, home schoolers go to college! The time to get ready is not senior year. Let’s get started now with thinking about what you will need. Here’s 5 Easy Ways to Start! Even if you have very young children. Volunteer Resume-This looks like a job resume. Start keeping track of everything. List the activity, the person [...]

• Stossel In the Classroom-Free Critical Thinking DVDs

  Jana

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:21 pm

  Stossel In the Classroom offers free dvds each year,  to teach kids critical thinking skills. And as a home educator-you can participate too. John Stossel is a journalist with ABC news. His segments often center around “Give Me A Break” where he exposes faulty thinking and reporting by the media. Through a non-profit organization, he [...]

• How to Get Started Home Schooling

  Jana

  14 Oct 2009 | 7:43 pm

  1. Homeschooling is legal in the United States however home schooling is different in every state. Each state has laws governing what kind of paperwork is necessary to file with the state and some states have requirements about what must be taught or how many hours a day one must school. A good website [...]

• 10 Year old Girl Ordered to Attend Public school

  Jana

  7 Oct 2009 | 3:08 pm

  NH court orders home-schooled child into government-run school ADF-allied attorney files motion to reconsider and hold off decision in case involving 10-year-old girl LACONIA, N.H. — An Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney filed motions with a New Hampshire court Monday asking it to reconsider and stay its decision to order a 10-year-old home-schooled girl into a government-run [...]

• 
  Little Blue School

• Latin Club Week 8

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:19 am

  This is a class report for week 8 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A from Classical Academic Press.Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz.Songs. We sang our usual songs. We missed Travis this week with his solid baritone.Translation: This week we worked on the second verse of Adeste Fideles. We ran into some trouble working out the correlation between Latin and English so Ben volunteered to look up some of the words for us! We'll tackle verse 3 next week.Stamp: Today's stamp was the second declension noun…

• Jungle Book: Week 8: Meditation for Kids

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:45 am

  Namaste.Meditation Exercises:Today we were joined by local writer and yoga teacher Grace Tazewell for some practice in meditating. First we discussed the story, "The Miracle of Purun Bhagat," and I introduced the Himalaya and Sunnyasi fast facts. Then Grace took us through several different short meditations. The first was a listening meditation, where we made ourselves very quiet and then paid attention to all sounds, far and near. Mostly, we heard the sounds of the co-op, but we also heard cars outside, seagulls, an airplane, and a little bit of our own sounds -- heartbeat, tummy rumbling,…

• Latin Club Week 7

  23 Oct 2009 | 9:07 am

  This is a class report for week 7 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A from Classial Academic Press.Meet and greet. I collected homework and we took the quiz. I speculated that maybe by week eleventeen the children might be accustomed to putting their names on things when they hand them in. I am holding onto that hope, anyway! Hehehe.Songs. We sang our usual songs, with special emphasis on the second verse of "She Will Be Latin" which contains the second declension masculine verbs that we have been working on so diligently this…

• Jungle Book Week 7: How to Make a Sari for a Doll

  23 Oct 2009 | 8:36 am

  Namaste.Today we got right down to business because we had so much fun stuff to do with our Sharpie Saris. However, in the academic track class, we made the time to take our Punjab region quiz:Quiz: Which one of the following statements are true?1. The word Punjab comes from the Latin and means “The Eleven Diapers.”2. The Indus Valley Civilization is largely a mystery because we don't understand their writing.3. When Aryan people migrated to India and practiced an early version of the Hindu religion, that was the Vedic Civilization.4. The most important idea for Punjabi people is peace…

• Latin Club Week 6

  16 Oct 2009 | 6:27 am

  This is a class report for week 6 of my Latin class at Homeschool Out of the Box co-op. Our textbook is Latin for Children Level A from Classial Academic Press.Meet and greet. I collected homework.Chants. We took turns leading the chants from chapter 1, chapter 2, and chapter 3, and chapter 4.Songs. We sang Ballad of the Latin Verbs, She Will be Latin, and Dona Nobis Pacem. With extra time, we were able to work on Dona Nobis Pacem as a round. Here are a few video links that the kids can check out, to help them understand how the parts work together: Dona Nobis Pacem on ocarinas. A kids' choir…

• 
  My Home Sweet Home

• An Easel, a Cookie Recipe, a Baptism, and a Post at The Post

  Dawn

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:07 pm

  I’ve got four things to share with you: First, I bought the coolest easel picture frame at T.J. Maxx today with room for five 8×10 photographs. In a surprising degree of promptness, I have already printed photos from Bouchon, the ultra-fab restaurant where the speaker dinner that I attended at the Type-A Mom conference was held; framed them; and set it up in my dining room. Although I cleaned the glass, it’s obvious from these pictures that the frame needs a once-over with some furniture polish. I can’t wait to see how surprised my bunch is when they see it in the…

• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The One that Started it All

  Dawn

  29 Oct 2009 | 8:17 pm

  Disney has released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the beloved original Disney classic, for the first time in high-definition Blu-Ray. The Diamond Edition combo pack offers both Blu-ray and DVD format. Years ago we owned Snow White on VHS, so our oldest son was familiar with it, but the new edition has been a treat for my younger children. This hand drawn cartoon is a pleasant change from a lot of today’s fare, which is often not particularly kid-friendly. I had forgotten how charming and childlike the dwarfs are, surprised at discovering an intruder in their home who cleaned and…

• Please Join Me at (in)courage Today

  Dawn

  29 Oct 2009 | 4:38 am

  I have a photo essay posted at (in)courage today, inspired by photos from an afternoon walk at the beginning of fall with my daughters. Please visit me there!

• A Child’s Brain is Like a Sponge: Don’t Discount the Memory Work

  Dawn

  28 Oct 2009 | 8:51 am

  If asked, I can quote the exact dictionary definition of hypothesis; a conversational dialogue from the first week of high school French; and the most difficult to pronounce sentence assigned to me in college Russian. Why? I had to memorize them. Young children have fresh and powerful memories; they are capable of progressing from crying newborns to speaking their native language in such a relatively short period of time. Sometimes rote memorization gets a bad name in the realm of homeschooling (or schooling in general). We taken a different approach this year as we participate for the first…

• Wordless Wednesday: Beginning of the Trail

  Dawn

  27 Oct 2009 | 3:26 pm

  Visit 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordless Wednesday for more Wordless Wednesday participants.

• 
  The Official HSB Community Blog

• Homeschooling Only One ~ In Honor of Our Veterans

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:06 am

  It is so sad that events occurred yesterday at Fort Hood, north of state capital Austin, near Killeen, Texas, during the same week that we had chosen to honor our Veterans and write about honoring them. I'm assuming by now everyone has heard that a shooter, a psychiatrist major, opened fire upon his fellow soldiers, killing 12 and wounding 31. Thankfully, he was stopped before the statistics became higher, and in this case, he survived and is in stable condition (as of Thursday night). It is sad that for whatever reason he snapped. Sadder still that he happens to have an ethnic…

• Special Words for Special Needs ~ Veterans Choose to Serve

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:58 am

  Welcome my friends! Veterans Day is November 11. I have a particular soft spot in my heart for veterans, after all my husband and I are former Navy. In researching for this post I found this quote on the VA website, "A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good."  VA site for kids Why join the military? The money isn't terribly good. Starting pay is nice but it doesn't keep up with the private sector. The locations are great but even a tropical island is blah after the third holiday you don't…

• Capture Your Memories (on a Budget!)

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:05 am

  Photo Treasures-- Don't you love to look back on those memories? With today's digital camera capabilities, we have awesome opportunities to snap those perfect shots of our own families, and often we do--only to have them sit for years--unused or lost somewhere in computer limbo.   It's time to do something about it! Plus! You can get this month's November Molly's Digest for FREE when you buy a Molly's Money-Saving Digest Pick-a-Pack deal! When you buy any 5 Molly's Money-Saving Digests listed in the Schoolhouse Store you'll be saving almost 20% over purchasing each separately! Then put…

• Homeschool Travel Accomodations Contest

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:57 am

  Live the Adventure is a blog about a homeschooling family that travels. Recently they found out about a different kind of program where homeschoolers offer their homes to other traveling homeschoolers. Right now you can win a free membership! Find out all the details at Live the Adventure.

• Homeschooling Through High School ~ Veteran's Day

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:26 am

  This week's entry will be brief (perhaps a welcome alteration from my usual ramblings for some of you busy homeschool moms!).  As always, the homeschool high school does not typically have a lot of "room" for "extra projects" or holiday crafts.  So what to do about Veteran's Day in relation to my blog's focus, homeschooling through high school? It is my personal opinion (and ONLY my personal opinion) that one of the greatest gifts this country can give to our veterans is to teach our children the history of our nation's battles.  The very fact that the Korean War is nick-named…

• 
  The Homeschool Lounge

• Hey, y'all!

  Lisa Timmer

  I just wanted to pop in & introduce myself quickly since I've already replied to someone's question. I thought y'all might want to know who the newbie is! I'm 40, married 19 years to the best guy ever, we have 4 children, but I'm currently only hs-ing the younger two. I've hs-ed for a total of 9 years (I think that's correct...mommy brain you know). Our youngest is 3 now & I'd love another (or more), but I'm getting to be that age, y'know...so we shall see. I would say I'm an eclectic hs'er, although we always seem to end up back with Sonlight, mixed with some other things. I'm…

• Colleen Hammond's Beautiful Book About Modesty

  Mary F

  Our girls have really enjoyed reading her book. I have found it to be the nicest presentation of this sensitive issue. Mrs. Colleen Hammond's Dressing With Dignity is on sale for 25% off at Aquinas and More! This book is beautiful for those interested in the history of fashion and the beauty of modesty! Colleen Hammond is a former cable network anchor, image consultant, actress, model and beauty queen, who gave it all up to be a stay-at-home mother. She is also an award-winning writer, radio and television talk show host and speaker, who is widely sought after because of her lively,…

• More Women of the Bible printables

  Loni

  Here are the notebooking pages for Anna and Athaliah for "All the Women of the Bible" study I am doing with my daughter.

• Does anyone use Beautiful Feet for History?

  Deb

  And if so, do you like it?

• Knex Education Challenge

  Jodie

  Knex is offering challenge to win some gift certificates etc. Thought some might be interested if the have knex in the home. There are different projects based on grade level. You must be registered by Dec 18th, but the project is not due until Feb 12, 2010. http://www.knex.com/Educators/classroom_challenge_info.php

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  CalifmomHomeschools

• How to Make Pooplpie by Bug

  califmom

  27 Oct 2009 | 7:41 pm

  Bug's decided to do a little baking, specifically pies. His first one was a recipe of his own creation. He convinced his sister to make the crust for him. He managed the rest. The verdict: YUM!recipe for pooplpie pie ingredients  one graham cracker pie crust 1 half gallon of chocolate ice cream a chocolate sauce as long as its cold a hungry person step one: cool the pie crust until cold to the touch

• Do You Homeschool Your Special-Needs Child?

  califmom

  20 Oct 2009 | 12:16 am

  I'm looking for homeschooling parents who'd like to be interviewed for an article about homeschooling special-needs children. My own son is diagnosed with Asperger's and Tourette's Syndromes, but also has a relatively high IQ, which makes for a unique set of challeges. I have another friend who homeschools her autistic children. The charter school my daughter uses for her homeschooling curriculum offers, as it should by law, a program for children with IEPs and 504s, which tells me that homeschooling children with special needs is certainly more commonplace than some might…

• My New Gig: Oakland Homeschooling Examiner

  califmom

  30 Sep 2009 | 3:58 am

  Starting this week, I’m the new Oakland Homeschooling Examiner. I’ll be publishing 3-4 articles each week at Examiner.com. The articles will cover regional information about homeschooling, as well as general homeschooling topics. Examiner covers over 100 cities nationwide, and they’re topics seem limitless. Check to find out what’s happening in your neck of the woods, too! My first article is already up: Finding Activities in the Bay Area for your homeschooling tweens and teens.

• Lawrence Hall of Science: Planetarium Grand Re-Opening – Discover Red Planet Mars!

  califmom

  25 Sep 2009 | 5:15 pm

  Image via Wikipedia After closing for nearly the entire month of September, on October 3-4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the William K. Holt Planetarium at the Lawrence Hall of Science will have it’s Grand Re-Opening event: Discover Red Planet Mars! The NEW Holt Planetarium includes a move to a larger space and a digital fulldome projector, guaranteed to please all those budding astrophysicists. The grand re-opening also includes the debut of the new exhibit, Facing Mars, which allows visitors to experience over two dozen forms of space travel. To extend the activities of the day, LHS…

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  The Simple Blog

• Nov 1, Simple Schooling Amphibians

  1 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pm

  The Let's Learn About Amphibians course from Simple Schooling contains 20 units of fun and facts!

• Nov 1, Simple Schooling Reptiles

  1 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pm

  The Let's Learn About Reptiles course from Simple Schooling contains 20 units of fun and facts!

• Nov 1, Simple Schooling Birds

  1 Nov 2009 | 3:28 pm

  The Let's Learn About Birds course from Simple Schooling contains 20 units of fun and facts!

• Oct 28, FREE Halloween Unit Study

  28 Oct 2009 | 6:39 am

  Did you get your FREE Halloween Unit Study? Want to give your kids some time off this week but not completely let them get away with no school? Try this little workbook for the younger crowd! OH, I had a lot of fun with this one! So much fun! I have made a new type of worksheet for little ones this time - some phonics stuff. I like it. I think I will do a lot more of these in the future. Anyway - enjoy the unit. There is a workbook and an interactive! J. Anne Oh, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

• Oct 21, Halloween Kids

  20 Oct 2009 | 11:22 pm

  Halloween is a time for kids to have fun! FREE interactive unit study, coloring book, and activities!

• 
  Successful Homeschooling

• New Freebie! - 7 Secrets to Finding the Best Homeschool Curriculum

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:41 am

  Are you still searching for the right home school curriculum? My latest e-book, 7 Secrets to Finding the Best Homeschool Curriculum, contains excerpts from interviews with prominent experts, along with helpful tips that will lead you to the best program for your family!

• Sonlight Curriculum Review

  14 Aug 2009 | 6:16 am

  Are you looking for a literature-based curriculum? Check out this detailed and thorough review written by a mom who can't imagine homeschooling without Sonlight!

• Rod and Staff Review

  10 Aug 2009 | 6:26 am

  Are you looking for a Christian-based, traditional textbook curriculum. Follow this link to find out why one mom thinks Rod and Staff is super!

• Prairie Primer Review

  22 Jun 2009 | 6:47 am

  Do your children love unit studies? Is Little House on the Prairie a family favorite? Find out why this mom and grandma loves The Prairie Primer.

• An Occupational Therapist's Review of Callirobics

  16 Jun 2009 | 8:45 am

  Has handwriting been an ongoing struggle for your child? Find out why Lynda, an occupational therapist, recommends Callirobics handwriting exercises.

• 
  Heart of Wisdom Blog

• Have You Sown Seed Today?

  admin

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:40 am

  Yes, I’m blogging about sowing, again. Seed sowing is my  my passion! I want fruit in my life and fruit in my children’s life. . I want to sow seeds and encourage others to sow seeds. Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart. Psalm 97:11a Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.  Psalms 126:5-6 He Who has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear As they went from town to town, a lot of people joined in and…

• Breaking the Jewish Code

  admin

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:08 pm

  “Breaking the Jewish Code” is Perrry Stone’s best work. I was thrilled to find out about it. If you want to know about Christian’s Hebrew roots this is a great read. Jewish culture and the Jewish people have succeeded–thrived even–for more than four thousand years under both good and unthinkable circumstances. Breaking the Jewish Code helps readers unlock the amazing secrets to this success. From the Inside Flap “You too can discover the hidden secrets that have molded Jewish thinking and lifestyles and made the Jews an undefeatable people, a blessed…

• A Peek into Our Homeschool Day: Workboxes

  admin

  28 Oct 2009 | 2:52 pm

  We are using the Workbox System designed by Sue Patrick. I’ve modified the system to use with our family and the Heart of Wisdom Approach (Bible first/Charlotte Mason/unit study) In the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach I suggest families use my approach  like a recipe- adapting to their family’s taste. I think the same workes for the Workbox System. My favorite part is how the Workbox System works is how it helps the children understand where we are in the school day and how much time is left. No more frustrating “Are we done yet?” I never realized how…

• Homeschooling Develops Perseverance

  admin

  28 Oct 2009 | 12:15 pm

  When my youngest son was five he brought me a story book about a boy learning how to play baseball. It was cute devotional on perseverance. I read it to him, even though I felt it was a bit over his head. Several weeks later he was sitting on a kitchen stool watching me cook dinner. “Mommy, can I have some juice?” I said, “Yes, just a minute.” and continued my cooking. He asked again. I said “Just a minute.” He asked again. I said sternly, “Christopher, you are too impatient!” He said, “I’m not being impatient, I’m being…

• Need to Get Organized? Check Out Homeschool Workboxes

  admin

  22 Oct 2009 | 12:14 pm

  I recently started using homeschool workboxes for my boys based on the ideas in Sue Patrick’s Workbox System. WOW!  My children have stopped complaining about school and we are getting twice the amount of work accomplished. This system is a godsend.  I love it! This exciting organization system structures your homeschool day in bite size chunks. My favorite part is how this setup  helps the children understand where we are in the school day and how much time is left.  No more frustrating  ”Are we done yet?” I never realized how frustrating it must be form them…

• 
  Katie's Homeschool Cottage

• Teaching Physics to Middle Grades

  kamrg

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:31 pm

     I was provided a copy of “Christian Kids Explore Physics” from Bright Ideas Press for the purpose of a review for the TOS Homeschool Crew. Have you encountered the situation yet where you have older children in middle or high school and they are studying an upper level science topic and you wish you could still some how coordinate their science with your younger children? I have. With my older son studying physical science this year, I wanted to some coordinate his science class with my younger son. That way I could make connections between their experiments on lab days or…

• Currclick Holiday Sale

  kamrg

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:41 pm

  If you want to grab some neat curriculum and school holiday activities, you need to visit CurrClick’s 2nd Annual Homeschooling Through the Holidays Sale Over 100 Holiday Ebooks, Audio Books and Classes Discounts Up to 75% OFF November 5-19th Shop here for the sale Posted in 16319022, Favorite Resources

• High School Career Planning Tools

  kamrg

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:17 pm

  We recently received a free trial of the ACT Advantage DISCOVER program with the intent to review this product for the TOS Homeschool Crew. When you were a child or in high school, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Or, did you take career exploration tests and discuss career options with a guidance counselor? Are your middle and high schoolers beginning to discuss with you jobs, majors, colleges, or future job outlooks? The ACT Advantage DISCOVER program is a wonderful tool for homeschoolers to explore their options for the future. You can use this program to determine…

• ABC Teach

  kamrg

  1 Nov 2009 | 6:10 pm

  My family and I were able to try out abcteach.com for free for thirty days in order to review its membership site for the TOS Crew. A website providing over 35,000 worksheets, clip art, and educational tools for its members, abcteach.com is a resource for all of your subject areas for your youngest children to your middle schooler. New items and materials are added weekly, including current events themes and seasonal items. This website has their materials organized in the following categories: Language…

• Virginia Soaps and Scents

  kamrg

  28 Oct 2009 | 1:46 pm

  We recently received products from Virginia Soaps & Scents for the purpose of a review with the Homeschool Crew. We have been indulging ourselves at our house with the wonderful aromas of pure handcrafted soaps and a shampoo bar, all with all natural oils, fragrances, and color. We received three bars of soap, one shampoo bar, and a mini version of their homemade laundry soap kit. Signature Scents Soaps Virginia Soaps & Scents has a long list of scents; we received three of their top selling bars- Fresh Orange, Oatmeal, Milk & Honey, and Coconut Lemongrass. And, they were…

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  Homemaking 911

• Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites Review

  Christina

  25 Oct 2009 | 1:51 pm

  I just received a review copy of Once-A-Month Cooking Family Favorites by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg.  The good news is that I get to give this fantastic book away to one of my readers, so in order to win just leave a comment below and tell me: 1.  Have you ever tried freezer cooking? 2.  If yes- tell me your favorite freezer meal. I will draw one name and notify the winner via email at the end of the month.  If the winner does not claim their prize by replying to me with their address withing 72 hours, I will choose an alternative winner. Review: Like most freezer books I have…

• E-Book: Dreams and Designs - Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool

  va

  21 Oct 2009 | 11:43 am

  Ready to start the new school year but itching for new ideas on how to make your homeschooling another fun and great experience? With this new e-book from The Old Schoolhouse, you can spice up everything with some regular household items. It only takes a spark of low-cost creativity and a few simple instructions! This is what you will find in this e-book: Creative use of display boards as calendars and for various theatrical presentations. Instructions for cutting display boards for use as personal partitions or activity centers, with activity center ideas included. A makeover for a simple…

• E-Book: How I Homeschool: Twelve Families Share Their Lifestyles of Learning

  va

  21 Oct 2009 | 11:42 am

  Is this is your first year homechooling? Not to worry! Learn how to make your homeschooling family a success. Also if you have been homeschooling for years and have found it to be quite a delight, you may want some fresh ideas for this coming school-year. How I Homeschool contributors share a fresh supply of information and inspiration you’ll enjoy, such as: ·Schedule ideas from a week to a year, traditional or year-round—see how others are doing it! ·Hints to help organize your life and school—every day and all year long. ·Productively balance working from home while…

• 3 Tips for Getting Dinner Ready in a Flash

  Christina

  15 Oct 2009 | 7:20 pm

  Well, you all know I LOVE freezer cooking. That is the number one thing you can do to get dinner on the table FAST. 1. You can do this the way I do it: Make full meals that you simply heat and eat on your busiest days, but you can also just make part of your meal ahead. For example, you can brown and freeze your meat. You can buy frozen pie crusts and keep them at the ready. You can even freeze ahead desserts to use for special parties and upcoming holiday events. I have lots of other posts about freezer cooking, be sure to check them out. 2. Make a simple menu plan once every two weeks. Look…

• Where is the Heart of Your Home

  Christina

  18 Sep 2009 | 5:07 am

  Most of my readers know by now that the heart of our home is the culmination of each member’s identity in Christ.  If each and every member of our home is living a life to be pleasing to the Lord, then the home will be a pleasant place, a place where we love one another, put one another’s interests ahead of ourselves, and are a testimony to the world of what a life filled with Christ’s love can do.  That, simply put is the heart of our home. Now, from a worldly viewpoint, the other heart of our home is the living room, our “hub” so to speak.  Here is where we…

• 
  by {His} grace

• Gratitude...

  26 Oct 2009 | 8:27 am

  #17 Breakfast around the table, together.#16 This growing quiet spirit within... and that I took the time to be silent;at first I was sullen... but then the quiet began to speak#15 Bridges and churches and the roads that lead us there.#13 John Macarthur's The Fulfilled Family, just what the mommy soul needed to hear this week.#12 Schoolrooms and bookshelves and more bookshelves.#11 Broken appliances, coughs and sniffles... to remind me that maintenance is a must.

• 6 Oct 2009 | 1:19 pm

  6 Oct 2009 | 1:19 pm

  Ah yes, good things do happen under this roof. Yet so many other moments that are not lovely. So while my heart smiles with memory I am reminded to tend to the whole part not just part of the whole.From lifeFrom lifeFrom lifeFrom life

• Loveliness

  25 Sep 2009 | 3:15 pm

  It is so natural to display the garden harvest, the achievement, the beheld beauty... and somehow in the making of what is lovely; lovely words and deeds abound... rebound.freshly harvested cucumbers and tomatoes from our humble patch of dirt and plants.

• Gratitude...

  20 Sep 2009 | 9:03 pm

  #10 chalkboard paint#9 fingers that strum, hands that build and imaginations that spur on.#8 apples, apples and more apples#7 post offices and packages of good books#6 moments when I let expectation be replaced by wonder.#5 the most bountiful harvest of tomatoes ever... and the sweetness of the unexpected... #4 the six minute chocolate cake with raspberry filling and chocolate frosting... and family to share it with.#3 having the house to myself for a day with the cool sun streaked air of autumn filter through open windows, a friend to can rhubarb strawberry jam with, good books and clean…

• Finding God

  11 Sep 2009 | 8:49 pm

  Summer days slipped by. The splash of hot weather dips.The rhythmic rain dance of the sprinkler.Isn't this the same water that rocks the ocean?How easy it is to see God from the sandy stage. We let ourselves find him, not that we are ever hidden. Here I watched Ainsley and Caleb leaving us behind as they drink in the vastness. From lifeFrom life

• 
  Moms Inspire Learning

• Putting the Listening Back into Literacy: Tell Me a Story

  Dawn Morris

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:47 pm

  I've mentioned before that history was my least favorite subject throughout my years in public school. Later on, after I had my children and started graduate school for teaching, I suddenly became fascinated by the subject.When I started researching the many types of children's books and online resources relating to social studies, it became one of my favorite subjects to write lesson plans and units for. Since I felt strongly that geography and diversity were important topics that were (and still are) not being addressed enough, I decided to try to infuse them into every lesson plan and unit…

• Putting the Listening Back into Literacy

  Dawn Morris

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pm

  Television. Video games. Computers. Cell phones.Have you noticed that many children, and even adults, seem to lack a sense of focus these days? They are easily distracted, and who can blame them? Being surrounded with so many forms of advanced technology is kind of like having ten different doors in front of you! Just thinking about your choice is a distraction, which can lead to a partial or complete lack of focus on any one thing. We all seem to be moving so fast that I wish that - for one day - we could all go back to the time when there were none of these things. A time when a simple…

• Listening for Literacy

  Dawn Morris

  3 Nov 2009 | 6:59 pm

  The definition of literacy, as per the Concise Oxford American Dictionary, is "the ability to read and write."  True literacy, though, encompasses so much more.Before children learn to read or write, they first need to listen to what people are saying and respond in an appropriate manner. The more they are spoken with and read to, the greater the chances that they will grow into active listeners, speakers, and storytellers. THEN they can become the strong independent readers and writers we so want them to be. True literacy to me is more about communication than anything else. The more that…

• Moms Inspire Learning Reader Interest Survey

  Dawn Morris

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:27 am

  I've put my heart and soul into this blog for the past 8 months, and now it's time to reevaluate. I've been told that I need to narrow my focus. So, I really need your help! If you've gotten anything out of this blog over the past year, I really would appreciate it if you'd take a couple of minutes to complete my brief (4 question) survey. You can do so anonymously. Please click here to take the survey. The future of this blog depends upon your participation. Thank you so much!

• Friday Photo Fun: Happy Halloween!

  Dawn Morris

  30 Oct 2009 | 10:40 am

  ©iStockphoto/Gary Martin (tirc83)Can't you just see the excitement?! I hope you and your children have a happy, safe Halloween. I also have a favor to ask of you. In my effort to serve you better, I need 100 readers to participate in a brief (4 question) survey. So, if you could possibly spare a couple of minutes sometime this weekend, I'd really appreciate it if you would help me out. Please click here to take survey.Thank you so much!

• 
  Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

• Weekly Wrap-Up

  Weird Unsocialized Mom

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:50 pm

  I'm not sure I remember much of this week. It seems to have gone by in a blur, though we haven't had much going on.  We've been busy getting back into the regular swing of school after having spent the last few weeks learning about France for Around the World Day.  Last year, we took the week after ATWD off.  I wish I'd scheduled that again this year.  As it is, we haven't even tried to do history or science this week because I just wasn't prepared to switch gears that fast.  Next week, Josh and Megan will be resuming history with Story of the World and we'll all…

• Review: Bright Ideas Press

  Weird Unsocialized Mom

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  I love Bright Ideas Press.  We've used the Christian Kids Explore science series for several years.  It was from Bright Ideas Press' Hands-On Geography book that I got the idea for our homeschool group's annual Around the World Day.  So, I was excited to see that they were on the vendor list for reviews by the TOS Homeschool Crew.  I was hopeful when I saw their newest product, Young Scholar's Guide to Composers, that it would be the review product.  I was ecstatic when they sent me not one, but two products to review:  Young Scholar's Guide to Composers and…

• Twilight Study Notes

  Weird Unsocialized Mom

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Okay, I said I'd post what we were doing with our Twilight unit study once I got my ideas ironed out a bit.  It's not really a full-fledged unit study, I guess.  Brianna is still doing her regular math and grammar.  Each day, I'm having her work through Defining Twilight: Vocabulary Workbook for Unlocking the SAT, ACT, GED, and SSAT (which I'll be reviewing soon...first impressions very positive) and And the Bride Wore White: Seven Secrets to Sexual Purity. In addition, I'm having her choose at least two things a day from the list below, knowing that some, particularly the…

• Works for Me Wednesday: Silent Reading Time

  Weird Unsocialized Mom

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  SSR. Sustained Silent Reading. That's the official name from The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease.  We just call it "silent reading time" at our house and it's my favorite time of day.  Brianna loves it, too.  Josh tolerates it.  Megan hates it ("Because it's silent," she says.  That's funny for those who know her well.).  I have a feeling that it will grow on them as they become stronger, more independent readers. Silent reading time is always after lunch, usually just after the kids each do their reading drills, which I think helps them get warmed up for…

• Around the World Day 2009

  Weird Unsocialized Mom

  3 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  As I mentioned in my Weekly Wrap-Up, last Friday was our homeschool group's sixth annual Around the World Day event.  It's a geography fair born of an idea from Hands-On Geography.  Each family chooses a country to represent.  They spend some learning about their chosen country, then, they put together a display for our event. Each display contains: A presentation board displaying fun facts about the country A food and/or drink from the country Fact sheets for each family Passport stamps for each child The displays can also contain any of the following or any other ideas a…

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  Rewarding Homeschool Blog

• The Fire Stone

  29 Oct 2009 | 6:16 pm

  If you're looking for a great fantasy adventure story for kids ages 9-15, The Fire Stone is the book for you! The Fire Stone: Book One of The Reign

• Ten Days in the USA

  27 Oct 2009 | 7:59 pm

  Wish I could give a great explanation as to why we like Ten Days in the USA so much, but I can't...just play it! It is fun and easy for all ages from

• Advantage Of Homeschooling

  20 Oct 2009 | 4:59 pm

  What is The Advantage of Homeschooling? Are there really any Benefits to Homeschooling? Explore the Reasons for Homeschooling.

• Our Chicago Day

  20 Oct 2009 | 1:52 pm

  Our Chicago day is one we won't forget for some time! Our family decided to visit Chicago on a Saturday in October. Weekend round-trip train rates

• Rise of Nations

  7 Oct 2009 | 8:33 am

  Rise of Nations is a fun game to play and pass the time because there are many different ways to play and win and different civilizations to

• 
  Homeschool Entrepreneur

• 4 Ways To Prepare Your Business For The Holidays

  Deb

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:25 pm

  The holidays are quickly approaching, and the predictions are positive for retailers, especially those online.  A great deal of research has been done on consumer’s buying behaviors for 2009 with some basic suggestions to optimize your business. Here is a re-cap of an article from the American Express Open Forum.com (by Julia Rogers): Fine-tune your website. The expected 49%  increase in online shopping is encouraging enough to make double sure your website is fine-tuned and ready to go. Hire temporary help. Interestingly, budget pricing and sales-watching were not considered during…

• Mom Bloggers, Get Paid For Reviews

  Deb

  4 Nov 2009 | 12:48 pm

  Just came across a site that matches moms that review products with companies that will pay you to review their products. You need to be somewhat established, they will ask for your page rank, and how many Twitter-followers you have. Naturally, the better your ranking, the better the pay . . . but if you are new, you could offer reviews for a dirt cheap price to get your foot in the door-everyone starts somewhere! Check it out: http://momtent.com/for-bloggers/

• Free Business Plan Templates & Advice

  Deb

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:07 pm

  Hopefully, you have subscribed to Score.org and already receive their monthly newsletter that’s packed with ideas, resources and tips. Don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of them, you are in the majority because 99% of the people I’ve mentioned SCORE to have never heard of them. The 1% that has heard of them had no idea what they offered and were shocked when they learned it was all FREE! SCORE.org is a non-profit, government sponsored agency that provides free professional counsel to small business owners. You can get real help from other experienced business owners…

• 12 Topics To Blog About & More

  Deb

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:18 am

  If you write a blog for a living, hopefully you are always watching for new buzz topics to write about. I’m sure you’ve noticed how some of your blog posts seem to spike your traffic while other barely create a blip in the radar. Blog Energizer is a blog written specifically for bloggers to do just what her name says: to energize your blog. Lynette’s energetic style is truly a reflection of her name, and you will want to bookmark this one or sign up for the updates like I did to keep posted on all she has to offer. She offers a premium service, which I have not checked out…

• YEF Opens 2010 Scholarship Applications

  Deb

  31 Oct 2009 | 11:24 am

  The Young Entrepreneur Foundation awards  scholarships every year to promising entrepreneurial high school seniors. As of midnight, 10-31-09, applications opened up for the 2010 awards. NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards are open to any graduating high school senior entering their freshman year in the Fall of 2010 at an accredited (not for profit) two- or four-year university, college or vocational/technical institute. You can apply online for a chance to win a scholarship valued from $1,000-$10,000. Hurry, deadline is Dec 31, 2009 Apply online at https://www.applyists.net/IntroPage.asp (click…