The Homeschooling Blog

Win a Slow Cooker!

2008-07-14T13:47:00.005-05:00

I'm not hosting or sponsoring this particular giveaway, but I know homeschooling moms are usually in the kitchen an awful lot (for the love of our families, of course) and how many of us could use a new slow cooker? I know I could!

Visit Ribbon Rock Star to celebrate 1000 posts and the chance to win this Kitchenaid 7 qt slow cooker! Entry requires you post a slow cooker recipe in a post comment. That took me all of about 2 minutes to do!

Have fun and let me know if you win! Of course I'm hoping I win, but I could learn to be happy for someone else! lol

Announcing ChoosyHomeschooler.com!

2008-07-09T21:13:00.012-05:00

Looking to compare homeschool programs and curricula? Would you like to read the opinions of real homeschoolers who have first-hand experience with all those materials you're considering purchasing? What about real discussion on a homeschooling forum? Sound good? Of course it does!

That's what I love about ChoosyHomeschooler.com. A brand new website offering homeschoolers and those considering homeschool a comfortable platform to share and compare notes on all the big (and not so big) names in the homeschooling industry. What are people saying about A beka? What about Five in a Row, Bob Jones, or My Father's World? Go check it out! If you've not committed to anything just yet, this website is for you. :)

How do I know the reviews are real? A few months ago I was asked to review several materials that I'd used with my own children. It's all legit! This website has been many months in the making and will only get better and better with each new review that's added to the mix. Two thumbs up to ChoosyHomeschooler.com for creating such an excellent website!

The Schoolhouse Planner Giveaway Winner!

2008-07-08T20:32:00.003-05:00

Drumroll please........ the winner of our Schoolhouse Planner giveaway is Christina of Mustard Seeds! Another great in the world of homeschooling bloggers, so be sure to click on over to her blog and congratulate her. :)

Christina... Congratulations from The Homeschooling Blog and The Old Schoolhouse magazine! I hope you enjoy your planner as much as I have. :)

Homeschooling Chaos... Does Your House Look Like Ours?

2008-07-07T13:33:00.008-05:00

As I prepare for this fall semester's boxes of books and supplies to hit our front door in just a couple short weeks, I'm wondering where on earth everything is going to go. We have a rule in our home that everything must have a place. Yet in our modest 1400 square foot house, we're beginning to run out of a place for homeschooling and our rule is sort of looking like a joke. BTW, it doesn't take long for the accumulation of educational materials to make you feel somewhat like a pack rat, with "stuff" spilling into every corner of your home.

When you've tossed, sold, or donated everything you think you can manage without and you're still stacking, digging, and even tripping, you've got a problem that likely resembles what I'm staring at even as I type this post. Sitting on my computer printer of all places is one such pile. I have a mix of homeschooling, women's ministry, and vacation Bible school all shuffled together, waiting for someone to come along and file it all away.... sure wish I had a new file cabinet. The one I'm using now is packed so tight, I break nails just trying to pull a file.

In my dreams, I imagine ceiling-high cubed shelving with one of those bookstore ladders, made to slide left to right. That would most certainly take care of our book storing issues, even things like globes, board games, and other educational materials. I also imagine a couple file cabinets, some well-labled storage bins and some low lying trays with casters that could be kept from view under the kids beds. What better place to store favorite projects, artwork, and posters? Shelving in the kids rooms would also be a wonderful help.

Here is my prayer! lol That one day I'll come here to my little homeschooling blog to post before and after shots of my well-organized homeschool... photos meant to inspire and even instruct others on how it should be done. At this point in time, those after photos are yet to be developed, still on file in my scattered little brain; until I have the necessary funds in my wimpy bank account, that's where they'll likely stay. lol

Can anyone relate?

Last Day for The Old Schoolhouse Planner Giveaway!

2008-07-07T09:11:00.004-05:00

Maybe you forgot? Perhaps you just hadn't heard? Whatever your story might be, if you're a homeschooling mom or dad looking to organize home and school in one convenient place, be sure to enter The Homeschooling Blog's Schoolhouse Planner giveaway! Today is your last chance!

The Old Schoolhouse hand picked our blog to host this giveaway and we don't want to let them down! Leave your comment on my original post announcing this fantastic $39 value giveaway and you'll be in the running. It really is that simple! Winner will be announced right here, tomorrow.

Good luck to all! Trust me... this 247 page pdf is well worth the time it takes to enter. :)

Unusual July Celebrations

2008-07-02T12:43:00.005-05:00

I've included the not-so-unusual in this list too! Use this compilation of July celebrations to spice up the Summer with your kids. Maybe make some funny posters, have a parade, or write a story to go along with your favorite unusual holidays.

July
1 Canada Day, Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day, Scarecrow Day, Second Half of the Year Day
2 Visitation of Virgin Mary Day, I Forgot Day
3 Stay Out of Sun Day
4 Independence Day (USA, not unusual, but just wouldn't be American of me not to add it to July holidays), Tom Sawyer Fence-Painting Day, National Country Music Day, Boom Box Day
5 Workaholics Day, Cherry Pit Spitting Day
6 National Fried Chicken Day, Take Your Webmaster to Lunch Day
7 National Strawberry Sundae Day, Chocolate Day
8 Video Game Day
9 National Sugar Cookie Day
10 Don't Step on a Bee Day, Clerihew Day
11 National Cheer Up the Lonely Day, World Population Day
12 National Pecan Pie Day
13 Fool's Paradise Day
14 International Town Criers Day
15 Respect Canada Day, Baby Food Day, Gummi Worm Day
16 International Juggling Day, National Personal Chef's Day
17 National Peach Ice Cream Day
18 National Ice Cream Day
19 Toss Away the Could Haves and Should Haves Day
20 Ugly Truck Contest Day, National Lollipop Day
21 National Tug-of-War Tournament Day
22 Ratcatcher's Day
23 Gorgeous Grandma Day
24 Amelia Earhart Day, National Drive-Thru Day, Tell an Old Joke Day
25 Threading the Needle Day
26 All or Nothing Day, National Cowboy Day
27 Take Your Houseplant for a Walk Day, Walk on Stilts Day (we recommend not combining these two activities! lol)
28 National Milk Chocolate Day, Singing Telegram Day
29 Cheese Sacrifice Purchase Day
30 National Cheesecake Day
31 Parent's Day

Additionally... July is:
Blueberries Month
Family Reunion Month
National Bikini Month
National Culinary Arts Month
National Doghouse Repairs Month
Sandwich Generation Month
and
National Make a Difference to Children Month

The Schoolhouse Planner Giveaway!

2008-06-28T21:33:00.012-05:00

Giveaway Over!
Winner to be announced later today!
Are you a homeschooling family in the market for a real-life homeschooling planner? Something that goes beyond just keeping track of assignments and textbooks? A planner that helps you organize and record your school year, addresses & phone numbers, dinner menus, your household budget, and even garden planning?

The Old Schoolhouse magazine has just released the much anticipated Schoolhouse Planner! Why? Because, no one knows the needs of a homeschooling family better than the #1 selling American homeschooling magazine. This downloadable pdf is jam-packed with everything imaginable and then some!

What's more, You can download a 31 page sneak peak of this planner absolutely free by visiting The Old Schoolhouse today. Pretty cool, huh?

The Planner (complete & perfect!)

Here's a glimpse of what you'll find inside: Variety of Calendars (yearly, monthly, weekly and daily)
Planners for homeschooling
Homeschooling goals
Curriculum planning
Evaluation forms
Through-the-Bible reading schedule
Memory work pages
Field trip planning and recording
Extracurricular activity planning
Household planning
Grocery and menu-planning
Recipes
Budget and financial forms
Garden planning
Address and telephone records
Website and Vendors log
Nature journaling pages
Essays from favorite authors on homeschooling matters
Various reference sheets (examples include: periodic table, history timeline, famous artists, and more!)
Plus a variety of other planning/recording forms for homeschoolers

The Giveaway (exciting & free):
The Old Schoolhouse has generously offered one of our readers a free copy of The Schoolhouse Planner! This 247 page pdf retails for $39 and is sure to keep your homeschool in tip top order!

Rules for Entering (short & sweet):

To enter this giveaway simply tell us (by commenting on this post) how you imagine The Schoolhouse Planner might simplify your life as a homeschooler. Please be absolutely certain you leave us with a way to contact you, should you be our winner! Emails left in comments should be formatted as such: youremailname(at)hotmail(dot)com. Contest ends on Monday, July 7th at 11:59 PM (CDT). A winner will be drawn at random on July 8th and announced on The Homeschooling Blog. We'll then notify the winner via email, allowing 7 days to claim the prize.

Extra Entries:

If you're a blogger, share this giveaway (with link) in a blog post, be sure to let me know so I can give you credit! Worth 1 extra entry!
Stumble us and let me know! Worth 1 extra entry!
Place our button (see code in right sidebar) on your blog. Worth 1 extra entry!

Good luck & thanks for entering another great giveaway on The Homeschooling Blog!

We Have A Braincandy Winner!!!

2008-06-26T18:04:00.008-05:00

Congratulations to Magirk on winning the random drawing for the Braincandy DVD series!! Funny that I drew her name as she was our first entry! What are the odds? lol

Braincandy Discount!
If you didn't win our giveaway, but just gotta experience these award-winning products first hand, be sure to take advantage of the special promotion currently open to our readers. The folks at Braincandy have agreed to extend their generous 15% discount to The Homeschooling Blog readers through Thursday, July 10th! Simply enter "homeschool" at checkout to take advantage of this limited time offer!

Let's all congratulate our winner as we prepare for yet another exciting giveaway, due to be announced this weekend! This one sponsored by our friends at The Old Schoolhouse! Can you feel the excitement? WooHoo!! Be sure to subscribe to The Homeschooling Blog so you don't miss anything!

German Couple Face 3 Months in Prison for Homeschooling

2008-06-20T10:44:00.003-05:00

Apparently it's against the law to homeschool in Germany... flat out, across the board, a crime worthy of prison time.

How sad for a German couple, from the state of Hesse, who were convicted of the crime of homeschooling their 7 children. German law actually sees homeschooling as a form of child abuse. Juergen and Rosemarie Dudek had already paid fines for their crime, but a federal prosecutor decided that wasn't enough. So, they'll be taken away from their 7 kids to serve hard time behind bars, for "rebelling against the state" as stated by the prosecutor.

Rebelling against the state. Remember these words as you enjoy the freedom to homeschool in the United States. We can't assume we'll always have such freedom. Don't think for a minute we won't have more legal battles ahead of us, like the one currently being fought in the state of California. The government in Germany feels threatened by homeschool and I do believe there are those in the United States government who share that fear. You see, our kids aren't being indoctrinated into thinking the way the state would prefer they think. Believe me they do have an agenda. Our kids are being taught to think the way we do (their parents), and if you're a Christian, the values you're instilling in your children might not be acceptable (to the state). Yes, I suppose we too are rebelling somewhat, but lets just pray in the USA we'll be allowed to rebel for the sake of our children and for the sake of our nation.

You can read more about this case and the struggles of homeschooling in Germany here:
German Homeschooling Parents Sentenced to Three Months in Prison
German Homeschoolers Under Attack

Free Star-Spangled State Book from Knowledge Quest

2008-06-19T12:05:00.005-05:00

I found this today and couldn't believe what I was seeing! Visit Knowledge Quest today and download/print your free copy of The Star-Spangled State book... recommended for children ages 5 - 95! It's amazing this book has been offered as a free download considering its quality.

I don't know how long this book will be available free of cost... or for that matter how long it's been free, but if you think you might be interested, I'd take a look at the book now. My experience has been that free pdf's don't usually remain free indefinitely.

The downloads for this complete (if you can believe it!) book have been broken down into 4 sections, making it easier for you and you computer to manage. There are informational sheets on each state of the Union along with quizzes. Very cool!

So yes it's a free download and if you incur any expense at all, it will be in printing; the pages are full color. If printing isn't an option or just not the best option, consider teaching your children about the 50 states directly from the computer. That's likely what I'll do!

Enjoy!

The Homeschooling Blog Announces a BrainCandy Giveaway!

2008-06-17T10:28:00.017-05:00

GIVEAWAY OVER!!

WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!

This giveaway is open to nonhomeschoolers and nonbloggers! Don't leave without entering!

The Homeschooling Blog was recently selected by the wonderful people at Braincandy to review their newly- launched... and might I add brilliant products... in exchange for a product giveaway! Can you feel the excitement?

What is Braincandy? Aside from a really catchy name, Braincandy is original and engaging, offering your youngest children (6 months through preschool) a completely commercial-free, learning experience rich in motion and music... and not restricted to classical as you've found in other products. Not that classical is bad... it's wonderful! The creators of Braincandy realize that there are many genres of music that are equally beneficial in getting those brain juices flowing in young children. They've incorporated everything from classical to blues and jazz. Such a nice arrangement of music! You're kids will absolutely love learning about their 5 senses and the world around them through these entertaining DVD's!

Give your kids a new and natural approach to learning about themselves, through what Braincandy calls "Certified Organic Entertainment"! Braincandy is the winner of 25 awards including the 2006 Telly Award and Dr. Toy's 10 Best Audio/Video products of the year. These videos are incredibly cute! I especially love the fact that Braincandy has incorporated a bit of humor into the videos. Not stale or painful to have playing in your living room... like so many of the learning videos you likely have in your current DVD library. You'll actually enjoy sharing this package with your kids... again and again! They're that much fun!

Soooo, what's included in the prize package?

This giveaway includes 5 DVD's with a list price of $74.99 (available from the Braincandy site for $59.99). Here's what's up for grabs:

Hear My World
Taste My World
See My World
Smell My World
Touch My World

How do you enter to win?

Visit Braincandy, then come back to this post and share which product or products you'd most like to own and why. It's that easy! If you're a blogger and would like to share this giveaway with your readers, that would be wonderful too. It doesn't increase your odds of winning, but your readers will appreciate the FYI. Contest ends on Wednesday, June 25th at 11:59 PM (CDT).

Just a few rules for the Braincandy giveaway:

Only one entry per individual
Both homeschoolers and nonhomeschoolers are eligible to enter
You don't have to be a blogger to enter... just be sure to leave us a way to contact you. The safest method of sharing your email, is to copy this format: youremailname(at)hotmail(dot)com. This prevents the Internet's many spambots from recognizing your email addy. ;)
Open only to residents of USA and Canada
Winner will be announced on June 26th, 2008 (notified via email). The winner will then have 1 week to provide us with his/her shipping address, before another winner will be selected. I recommend checking back here on June 26th, just on the off chance the winning announcement's email ends up in your bulk folder.

The best way to follow this giveaway and not miss the winning announcement, is to subscribe to our feed.... although this isn't a contest requirement.

But wait there's more!

Special offer: Braincandy is offering readers of The Homeschooling Blog a 15% discount on any Braincandy products purchased from their site now through Wednesday, June 25th! Just type in promo code "homeschool" at checkout!

Affording Homeschool, Can You Survive on One Income?

2008-06-09T11:48:00.002-05:00

One of the hesitations you'll likely face when entertaining the notion to homeschool is that of family finances. While the curriculum itself can be expensive, it's not usually the deal breaker. In fact, there are affordable homeschooling programs and methods, some costing as little as $20 a month. The real financial concern is not actually an expense at all, but rather the loss of income usually experienced when one parent leaves the workforce in part or in whole to become their child's educator. It's all for a noble cause, but many families simply don't think they can spare that second paycheck.

Some couples do manage to homeschool without sacrificing a second income, either by working alternating shifts, working from home, or by having the teaching parent cut his or her hours back significantly. While this isn't impossible to do, it isn't easy either and one should really consider what type of strain such schedules could have on the family. It's also important to realize that homeschooled children rarely learn independently, especially when they're young. They actually require a lot of your time, attention, and interest in order to succeed with whatever curriculum you select.

Here's the upside... if you're considering homeschooling, but can't get past the very real fear of how you'd survive financially, take a moment to calculate how many budgetary corners you'll actually cut. Don't make any decisions before putting pen to paper and actually doing the math, you might mistakenly rule out homeschool as a viable option.

Here are the more obvious areas homeschooling families generally save money:

Clothing
The clothing budget changes dramatically when your children don't require a school wardrobe. This is true whether you're paying for school uniforms or the latest styles your teenage daughter can't be seen without. If we're going to be real honest here, you won't typically dress your children the same way when they're home all day, as you would if they were surrounded by peers and teachers. You can generally get by with just a couple of nice outfits for days when you're out and about. Save your nice clothing for church, homeschooling coops, play dates, and the like. Have your kids dress casually the remainder of the week. If you've left a career, you'll find yourself in the same position... wearing those comfy blue jeans and tennis shoes that can take a beating and only get more and more comfortable along the way. Trust me, you'll save a bundle on pantyhose and even makeup as you'll likely wear them far less often.

School Lunches & Eating Out
Once again, the savings from eating at home don't end with your children... imagine all the money you'll save not grabbing a bite to eat on the way to the office, or on your lunch hour. If you drink soda or buy snacks from vending machines, consider what you currently spend each month snacking. And while school lunches may not seem all that expensive, you'll always spend less eating at home. Not to mention, you'll enjoy the added benefit of controlling what type of fuel goes into those growing minds and bodies.

Gasoline
This has never been more true than today, with the cost of a gallon of gas soaring over that of a gallon of milk. If you can cut down on driving your kids to and from school everyday and choose just one or two days a week for outings to the library, museums, coops, play dates outside the home, and the like, you'll save a mint. Not to mention the gas you'll save if you opt to give up a daily work commute.

Childcare
After school daycare expenses can be another budget breaker. If you're working full-time and have your kids in school, you likely also have them involved in after school programs or daycare for a couple hours a day. What is that costing you?

Cell Phones
Do your children each carry a cell phone? Would they still need one if you were home together? Many parents equip their children with a cell and pay the price each month. While this is totally appropriate when you're separated from one another for hours at a time, it's an expense that could all but disappear if you pulled them out of school. One cell for each parent would likely be enough and could be shared amongst family members as the situation dictated.

Conclusion:
Have you kept track of what type of expenses that second income currently covers? Take a look at your checking account and credit card statements and calculate how much money you currently spend on gasoline, back to school wardrobes, eating out, and yes... pantyhose and makeup. You might just be surprised at what dollar amount you can comfortably survive on and what services and goods you can survive without.

Monster 150+ Homeschooling Link List... Everything, Anything, & Then Some

2008-06-05T17:48:00.004-05:00

If you have more time than money, you'll find the internet to be your most valuable homeschooling resource. Below is an extensive list of homeschooling tools, articles, support systems and advice, supplements, free printables and resources, study aids, online encyclopedias and learning sites. If you're short on time too... this monster list will likely become a must have resource.

We've done our very best to select only the online resources that aren't trying to sell you a product or service. While some of these sites do have paid versions of their products or may sell merchandise relating to homeschooling, we've carefully selected sites that primarily cater to those of us not wishing to spend anything at all. Furthermore, we've done our best to only list those sites we find truly beneficial to homeschoolers of children through the 6th grade.

Discipline & Behavior (free printables)
Chart Jungle
Great resource for free printable behavior charts, rewards, certificates, diplomas and behavior bucks, homeschooling charts, calendars, day care printables, home budget, baby sleep charts, chore charts... just to name a few. Colorful and attractive with good quality resolution.
Latitudes
Great behavior chart for very young kids. Colorful, quality resolution, attractive design.

Calendars, Lesson Planners, Forms, & Teaching Tools (free printables)
Highland Heritage Forms
Countless homeschooling printables including such things as: teacher planning & organization sheets, reading forms, spelling forms, math and science forms, awards, forms for music and art, and field trips.
The Home School Mom Free printable homeschool planners and organizers including menu planners, chore charts, school records, and planners.
Donna Young Free printable school calendars, study plans, grade forms, book list forms, lesson planners and more.

Free Online Homeschool Planners/Organizers/Record Keeping
Homeschool Tracker Offers a free basic version and a paid version. Online record keeping of student assignments, attendance and hours, scheduled activities, and reports.

Home School Incorporated Offers a free online record keeping program/planner. We're currently experimenting with this now. :)

Activity Calendars
Reading is Fundamental offers some great printable calendars, providing daily activities for your homeschool. You'll find the Leading to Reading category for ages birth to 5 and the Reading Planet category for ages 6-15. I highly recommend taking a peak!

Free Lesson Plans
Reading is Fundamental offers a handful of free lesson plans.

Homeschooling Legalities
HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association
Must have resource for all homeschooling families

Homeschooling Curriculum Reviews
HomeSchool Reviews
HomeschoolingTogether

General Homeschooling Websites
Homeschool Dads
Homeschooling About

Curriculum Swap
Curriculum Swap

Free Curriculums
Old-Fashioned Education Christian based, offers books for sale or free online downloads. Complete curriculum for grades K-12.

The Book Samaritan Free books and curriculum to low income homeschooling families.

Graduation Supplies
Josten's for Homeschoolers
Rings, diplomas, caps & gowns and more

Homeschooling Fun
The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List
JanBrett.com Scores of free printables from author/illustrator Jan Brett. Coloring pages, activities and projects.
Family Education Printables Center Great assortment of free printables... holidays, art and music, puzzles and games, coloring pages, skill builders, forms and charts. Free registration.

Special Needs
Another Path
Homeschool for the deaf
Autism in the Christian Home
Homeschooling advice and information for children with Autism
Born to Explore
The Other Side of ADD/ADHD
BrightWord
10 Steps to Successfully Homeschool Children with Special Needs (article)
Includes a list of resources and suggested reading.
Homeschool Diner
Strategies for Teaching Children with Asperger's.
NATTHAN (National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network
Christian families homeschooling children with special needs.

Homeschooling Methods

Unschooling
John Holt: Unschooling
The Natural Child

Charlotte Mason
Ambleside Online Curriculum guide and booklist following Charlotte Mason's method
The ABC's of Charlotte Mason
Simply Charlotte Mason.com Top notch Charlotte Mason site, includes a free eBook, planning tips, time savers, events and more.
HomeHearts

Classical Education
The Well-Trained Mind

Classical Christian
Classical Christian Homeschooling

Eclectic Homeschooling
EEclectic Homeschool Online online magazine

Waldorf Education
Christopherus Homeschooling Resources

By State
Alabama Home Schooling
Alaska Private and Home Educators Association
Arizona Families for Home Education
The Education Alliance (Arkansas)
CT Homeschool Network, Inc. (Connecticut)
Christian Home Educators Confederation of Kansas
Christian Home Educators Fellowship (Missouri) Network of MO support groups
Families for Home Education (Missouri) Lobbying group for all home educators in the state of MO. Shares legal requirement for homeschooling, special events, and general information.
Texas Homeschooler
My Mississippi Homeschool

Homeschooling Support
Home School Foundation offers funds and scholarships to homeschoolers, including those for special needs children
Homeschool Central offers support and advice to homeschooling families (includes state links)

Homeschooling Research
NHERI (National Home Education Research Institute
Provides statistics, reports, demographics obtained through high-quality research on homeschooling.

Homeschooling Forums
Everything Homeschool A general forum for homeschoolers
Homeschool Spot Meet other homeschooling parents
My Parent Connection Christian homeschooling forum
Wahm.com Wahm.com’s homeschooling folder

Home School Inc Global community of homeschoolers providing encouragement and support

Homeschooling Magazines
Home Education Magazine Homeschooling info, resources, and support
Home School Digest Family Discipleship
Home School Enrichment Encouragement, teaching ideas, and inspiration
Homeschool World Practical homeschooling, also includes news and political information effecting homeschoolers
Homeschooling Horizons Encouragement and advice
Homeschooling Today Christian views and resources for homeschoolers
Life Learning Unschooling magazine
Practical Homeschooling Homeschooling articles, methods, contests, product reviews and more
The Link Product information guide, articles, getting started, learning styles, Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, and more. Free of charge.
The Old Schoolhouse “Like a convention in a journal”, quarterly publication, information and inspiration for homeschoolers
The Teaching Home Christian perspective, free newsletters by email

By Nation
Homeschool Australia
Christian Home Education (UK, South Africa & Australia)
Christadelphian Home Schooling UK

Writing
Young Writer's Workshop Story starters to help your children build writing skills. These starters are provided as free printables that include a graphic and lines for writing out the remainder of the story. You may submit your child's completed story to this site for a chance to win a published author T-shirt. :)

Phonics
Starfall
BBC Ok, this is a cute site. I especially recommend the Poem Pack... it may load slow, but just consider it a lesson in patience, something we can all use more of. It's worth the wait. You'll find an excellent audio/video for teaching consonant clusters, long vowel sounds, high frequency words and more! It reminds me of Starfall somewhat. This site also features free printables. This site is targeted towards children ages 5-7.

Homeschooling Poems
Lovetolearnplace.com
BestHomeschooling.org Poem, "I Took His Hand and Followed"

School Themed Poems for Kids
PoetryTeachers.com Not homeschool mind you, but some are cute none-the-less. For additional poem themes, visit the main page.

Sites on Poetry
Shel Silverstein Includes printables, games and the tools for your kids to practice being a poet. A fun site for children of reading age. Their site offers a printable bookmark, poetry kit and drawing and activity book… all free!
CanTeach Songs and poems for young learners. Seasons, holidays, animals, vegetation, food, math, family and friends, language arts, school, and more! This site makes it easy to add a dose of rhyme or song to your school lessons!

Writing Poetry
GigglePoetry.com A wide assortment of poetry classes to choose from.
Poetry Forge For older children and parents, but this is a great interactive to generating poetry and lesson plans. The poetry generator is fun to use. On sight forum allows you to discuss ideas.
Poet's Corner

Songs that Teach
Schoolhouse Rock No sound here, but you'll find the lyrics to all those educational songs of the 70's that you may remember from your own childhood. You'll also find the links to most of the video's stored on YouTube.

Homeschooling Quotes
Homeschooling Quotes
Great collection of quotes on homeschooling

Budgeting Homeschool
Budget Homeschool
Homeschooling on a Shoestring
Christian WAHM's Homeschooling on a Budget, mostly a links list

What it Costs to Homeschool (article)
This is an interesting read, but quite honestly... you don't need to spend even close to what they project you will. Don't let their figures scare you out of the decision to homeschool. Although our kids are young, we're only spending about $500 a year. Some of the things on this list would likely be an incurred expense whether you were to homeschool or not. It's all part of raising kids... am I right? I speak of things like gymnastics classes and bookcases. That's not outside the norm for any family with children, regardless of how or where they're schooled.
How to Homeschool on a Budget (article)
Obtaining Homeschooling Curriculum When Your Budget is Tight (article)

Written from a Christian perspective
Access my Library article and a handful of links

Lapbooking
NotebookingPages.com Free templates, mini-books and cutouts to print. Great resource.
Lapbooking on Squidoo
Let's Try Lapbooking
Digital Lapbooking
Minibook instructions for lapbooking
Lapbooking Ladies
Homeschool in the Woods

Lapbooking Freebies
All About Me Free lapbook project in PDF from Live and Learn Press
Egyptian Studies Lapbook Free project in PDF from Lamp Stand Press

Free Online College Courses
10 Colleges and Universities offering free history courses online just in case you want to take a class!

Reading
Top 100 Books for Children
Categorized by age. Lists book title and author.
American Folklore
Free stories online! Examples include Brer Rabbit, Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill as well as nursery rhymes and tongue twisters. The site also offers free lesson plans, ghost stories, States lore, Native American stories and more!
Children's Books Online
Free stories online! The Rosetta Project Library is yet another source for complete stories, organized by reading level.
eBooks for Young Readers
Free stories online! Use your discretion here... some books may not be appropriate for young children (this despite the web pages title!). The site offer such classics as Little Women, Aesop's Fables, A Little Princess, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, A Christmas Carol, The Jungle Book, Adventures of Tom Sawyer and more. I had a bit of trouble trying to open the offered e-book links, but had no problem with the web versions.
Just So StoriesThis is more like an eBook, in that it’s a book of stories, but it’s not in PDF format. The stories are over 100 years old, offering your kids different style of story telling than what they’re likely accustomed to! The stories are fun and each includes a rhyming poem towards the end. The Just So Stories are recommended as part of the Charlotte Mason program.

Handwriting Practice
Home Education Resources Reference shees, printing, cursive writing, and more using Abeka fonts.
Amazing Handwriting Worksheet Maker print from home, worksheets to aid in basic print, D'nealian style or cursive.
Writing Wizard Create your own writing practice worksheets

Field Trips
eField Trips I've not registered for one as of yet, but they appear to be free!

Science Notebooking
NeoScience Cool!! Free printables for your science notebooks.

Science/Nature
Hurricanes
Links for all grade level, photo gallery, storm history, online tracking, lesson plans and more
Kids National Geographic What a great site! Great information and activities for grade school aged children. I also strongly recommend the magazine, National Geographic for Kids. We make it a part of our science curriculum by reading a portion of it every Monday. It’s proven to be a highlight to the kid’s day!
Children’s Butterfly Site Great for young and more mature kids alike. Even adults will love the photos and butterfly information on this site!
Songs of Insects Listen to the songs of a variety of crickets. Sure to please even the youngest of learners!
The Gorilla Foundation Kids can write to Koko the gorilla, learn about animal preservation and about the Maui Ape Preserve.
Nature Journal Explore nature with your kids! Print free Nature journal forms along with scavenger hunts, seasonal poetry, folklore, Bible verses, weather data collection sheet, and more.

K-12 Science Curriculum Offers free online curriculum, great resource!

Planet Earth A Discovery Channel site, with some cool visuals, videos and information on animals, climate and environment.

Science Fair Projects/Science Experiments

Science Buddies Free science fair project ideas. First rate site! Each experiment is ranked by rate of difficulty (includes grade level recommendation, K-12)
Steve Spangler Science More free science fair project ideas.

Recycling
Freecycling- find a new home for what you'd otherwise toss into a landfill. Make a family project out of sorting through yesterdays treasures, while teaching your kids how to love the environment.

Astronomy
Amazing Space Best suited for Jr. High and High School, but you can incorporate some of the information found here into lesson plans for younger kids as well. Offers free downloads, teaching tools, homework help, for learning astronomy basics.
The Size of Our World Great reference for comparing the sizes of the planets in our own solar system to one another, to our sun, and to larger sun’s outside the Milky Way. This site is appropriate for all grade levels.
Hubble Heritage Image GalleryBreathtaking images of galaxies. Great for building an appreciation for Astronomy. Images include “fast facts” to build knowledge of constellations, planets, nebulas, and so forth.
Photon-Echoes Beautiful photographs of our solar system.

Lunar and Planetary Institute This is a pretty extensive site, rich in information suitable for homeschooling, however... if you're teaching from the young earth perspective, you'll want to be prepared. This site provides a fascinating timeline of what they call the evolution of our solar system , which theorizes that the universe is 4600 million years old.

Answers in Creation The perfect spot for Christians who reject the theory of macro-evolution
RobGendlerAstopics More Beautiful shot of the Universe
NASA

General Science
USGS Science resources for grades K-6. First rate site for supplementing education on biology, geography, geology, and water. Middle School through High School, visit same site at USGS Secondary.

Beautiful Photo's of Planet Earth
Scuba Photography beautiful underwater paradise

World Geography
Alphapedia Online
Full color maps (free downloads), key facts and stats from around the world. This site is easy to navigate and serves as a great resource.
Outline Maps Free printable maps of US and World

Expeditions
National Geo
Lesson Plans (K-12), activities, atlas and an interactive museum!
USGS Earthshots
Satellite images of environmental changes

Countries of the World Coloring Pages

US Geography
KidSpace The Internet Public Library
Stately knowledge (this site additionally offers countless other subjects)
Mapmaker
Grade levels 6-12, learn to evaluate historical and geographical info through map study... comparing maps spanning 16th- 19th centuries. Will also create their own maps.
Enchanted Learning
State Map Printables (portions of this site are free, others require membership, but it's well worth the price)
World Atlas Travel
Stats from around the globe including population, wealth, size, tallest mountains, deepest lakes, driest and wettest inhabited places on earth, language, temperatures and more. WorldAtlas.com's homepage... there's a lot there.
Reliable Answers
GoogleEarth-Virtual Geography
This site also offers a wealth of homeschooling articles and information.

Bible Maps
More than just maps, history too!

American History
History Central
Major events in American history, exploreres, civics, Presidential elections, wars, international affairs and more
Historical Tour of White House
Straight from the White House
America's Story from The Library of CongressWonderful site sharing bios on great Americans, history lessons, state information and the history of cartoons and various musical instruments.
The Underground Railroad Teach your kids about slavery in the United States. This is a National Geographic Site.

Native American Rhymes "Where history is fun". Great photos and information to share with your kids.

Teaching Music
Oso Kids See picture of instrument, the sound it makes, a song played with the instrument and a brief overview of the instrument itself.
Homemade Instruments by Nancy Stewart Make your own musical instruments... additionally, check out Nancy's other pages for great music learning games, activities and printables.

NickJr. Make your own musical instruments
Instruments of the Orchestra Let your child hear the sound of a musical instrument, then see if they can identify it's source. Great online tool and works well with the Muscial Instruments Coloring Book that's sold as a part of My Father's World.

SFS Kids Fun with Music Here the sounds instruments make, learn about tempo, pitch, harmony and more!
Songs for Teaching appropriate for all age levels. A homeschooling favorite.
PBS Kids Music including music from PBS kids television programming
Music from Starfall Pre-K through 2nd grade, listen and learn

Instrument Encyclopedia

Arts & Crafts
Creativity Portal Best I've seen for arts and crafts. You'll love this!
Crayola This site being owned by Crayola, will encourage you use their products, but the art lesson plans are free... and um, you can use whatever brand you want! tee hee.
Danielle’s Place Great source for fun crafting projects for young kids. Includes animal, historical, holiday, music, learning crafts and more.
Enchanted Learning
Make Pen & Ink Drawings from Stills Learn to draw people in pen & ink best suited for older students

Early Learning
Abcteach I like this site for the free printables, which are best suited for pre-k through maybe as high as 2nd grade (depending on what printables you're looking at). The must sees here are the printable word wheels.
Sesame Street Great early learning games and activities
StarFall Recommended primarily for first grade, but good for pre-K through second. Teaches your student how to read! Great online resource. You won't believe this is a free site!

Free eBooks
Simply Charlotte Mason "Education is an atmoshpere, a discipline, a life"

Angelfire.com offers these eBooks for homeschoolers:
Learning My Letters Basic handwriting practice (37 pages in length, loads slow)
Learning My Numbers Handwriting practice for numbers 1-20, w/ some letter practice too (10 pages in length)
My Color Crayons Pages to color, with room to practice writing color names (11 pages in length)
From funlearningexpress, we found:
Friendly Gifts Craft Recipes for Kids (recipes for play-dough, clay, finger paint, silly putty, soap crayons, and many baked goods like banana bread, muffin mixes, and hush puppies. (218 pages in length, loads fast)
Shel Silverstein, every kid’s favorite poet offers 2 free eBooks and a printable bookmark. The eBooks include a poetry kit and a drawing and activity booklet!

More links coming!!! If you found this list helpful, please Stumble it!

Discounted Homeschooling Books & Resources

2008-06-05T12:00:00.004-05:00

Are you still shopping for your children's fall curriculum? HomeschoolingBooks.com offers a wide variety of homeschooling textbooks, curriculum packages, and supplies at discounted prices to homeschooling families. Their shipping rates are very reasonable too!

You'll find HomeschoolingBooks.com offers Christian home schooling books, including Bible studies and reference materials, and of course Bibles! We have two of the Bibles offered on their site... both A Child's First Bible and The Children's Illustrated Bible... both fantastic. In fact, A Child's First Bible was my son's favorite book for many months.

Whether you're still assembling your homeschooling curriculum, or looking for a packaged set, check out the great prices and friendly service at HomeschoolingBooks.com!

Staying Cool On Hot Summer Days & A Giveaway!

2008-06-05T08:44:00.012-05:00

Hot Summer days are on the horizon! Depending on your preference for climate, the heat can either be a good or a bad thing, but one thing is for certain... you'll want to keep those precious children of yours cool. At our home there's no better time than now to stock up on frozen fruits and powdered milk, as we gear up for our traditional Summertime smoothies. Oh, Summer just wouldn't be Summer without them!

Here's my tried and true recipe which easily serves two growing children and occasionally leaves enough for me...

1 large banana (doesn't need to be frozen)
5 frozen blueberries
5 frozen raspberries
10 frozen strawberries
3 frozen peach segments
1/4 powdered milk
1/2 cup 2% milk

Throw everything into your blender and start chopping until the consistency if suitable for blending. You may want to adjust the volume of milk to suit your preference for thickness. I try to make the smoothies just loose enough to be straw-friendly.

The frozen fruits can be found bagged in the frozen food section of your market, usually next to the pie crusts. ;) Don't you love how this recipe is all healthy? No surprises here! Nothing unatural or brewed in a labortory. There's not even a pinch of sugar outside the natural sweetness provided from the fruit itself. Wonderful!

Ok... now for the giveaway. This post's content was completely inspired by From Dates to Diapers and Beyond, who are generously offering a Fun in the Sun gift pack to one lucky winner! Entering is ultra-simple. All you have to do is visit the site and share your best mom tip for keeping your kids cool on hot Summer days.

Contest ends June 16th. Have fun & good luck!

Animal Adoption... An Amazing Story of Love & Survival

2008-06-01T22:45:00.012-05:00

'Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed.'
- Rachel Naomi Remen, MDA

A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise, in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa , officials said. The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean , then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

'It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a 'mother',' ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park, told AFP.

'After it was swept and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together,' the ecologist added. 'The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it follows its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother,' Kahumbu added.

'The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years,' he explained.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

This is a real story that shows that our differences don't matter much when we need the comfort of another. We could all learn a lesson from these two creatures of God, Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together.

~Author unknown... at least to me! This beautiful story is circulating in an email and unfortunately I don't know it's origins.

Braincandy Giveaway!

2008-05-30T11:57:00.006-05:00

I confess, I'd not heard of Braincandy until just about 10 minutes ago, when I stumbled upon their giveaway for 5 educational DVD's and a music CD ($75 value). Word of an educational giveaway naturally sparked my interest, so I headed over to the Braincandy site to check things out. Here's what I found:

They offer a fun and exciting approach to teaching young children, through lively videos... samples of which can be viewed from their site. While you're there take a look at the Little Bruce Brain hand puppet... he's adorable! Yes, I said adorable and brain in the same breath... lol. Oh, and he's only $12.99!

Braincandy products are designed to teach your kids about their five senses through puppets, DVD's, and music. The videos feature young children, which your own kids will likely imitate as they learn. BTW, the children in these videos are very active and not likely to inspire your kids to sit on their rumps... this isn't couch potato fuel.

So, what's my favorite product? Probably the brain puppet. Likely because I know my own kids would find him hilarious and have a riot playing with him. They love puppets... even my 7 year old son loves to learn through a well thought out dialogue between hand puppets. lol

How do you enter? Just visit bloggygiveaways.com and follow the simple rules provided. They'll ask that you take a look at the Braincandy website, then come back and drop a comment about which product you like the best. It's really just that easy! Giveaway ends on June 3rd.

Be sure you follow the link provided above to enter. While I'd love to have your comments here, they won't qualify you for an entry into this giveaway.

Homeschooling Message Boards

2008-05-29T09:58:00.006-05:00

I thought it would be fun to list a handful of the homeschooling forums I've stumbled onto... some you may already be familiar with, but hopefully you'll find a few new sites to keep you company on those lonely afternoons after your kids have finished their studies.

It's beneficial on so many levels to chat with other homeschoolers. I could make you a list of all the many reasons I frequent message boards, but to save you the time of reading them all, I'll just say the support of other moms who "get it"... is priceless! It's also a great tool for finding online resources and first hand experiences with curriculum and methods. Have fun & enjoy!

Homeschool Christian.com Christian homeschooling forum
Everything Homeschool A general forum for homeschoolers
Homeschool Spot Meet other homeschooling parents
My Parent Connection Christian homeschooling forum
CafeMom This site has multiple homeschooling forums available, both Christian & secular
Wahm.com Wahm.com’s homeschooling folder
Home School Inc Global community of homeschoolers providing encouragement and support
Charlotte Mason on Education Message board for homeschoolers using the Charlotte Mason approach
Crosswalk Christian homeschooling forum with reasonable traffic volume
Homeschool Central
Secular Homeschooling Board Offered through a vegan website, offers support and encouragement for secular homeschooling families

There are literally hundreds of message boards on the web either devoted solely to homeschooling, or offering folders on home education. I've chosen to restrict this list to sites receiving reasonable traffic. If you know of another must-share site, be sure to leave me a link in the comments section of this post.

2 Weeks Before Summer Break

2008-05-23T10:32:00.002-05:00

& oh, am I ready! I don't know why I feel that way though. We're not really taking the Summer off completely. I'm not willing to let my kids lose what they've learned this past semester, especially in their understanding of math related studies... like reading time, counting money, fractions, and basic number calculations.

I think my relief comes from the fact that for a 2 1/2 months, I'll not really need to keep any records, won't have a curriculum to follow and we'll just do whatever we want/need to do whenever the time allows. I'll likely do nothing academic 4 days a week, then have 3 days where we do our nature journaling and backyard science type of thing, followed by 20 minutes of math. That's not too much to ruin a Summer, yet just enough to keep mom happy and the kids in good shape for school in the fall. I should add that my kids will have reading everyday. I don't think kids should ever take a break from reading books. My 5 year old isn't reading yet... independently, so I'll be reading to both kids, then letting my 7 year old chose a book each day to read to himself.

What are your plans for the Summer? Most homeschoolers I know take it off. It will be interesting to see if I really do what I say I'm going to! lol Even from my perspective. What does that say about me?

Oh, I'm just too tired to care. We've had gray skies and light rain showers for the last couple of days. Makes me sleepy! Wish I could take a nap, but oh, we have a math lesson ahead of us, followed my an online assessment my son needs to take before the day is over. Wish us luck with that!

Famous Homeschoolers

2008-05-20T12:42:00.002-05:00

Did you know the following people were homeschooled? Next time you're in a heated debate with someone who tells you you're making a huge mistake, be sure to share this list with them! Not that everyone on this list is a genious mind you... or even someone to pattern yourself after, but it's interesting none-the-less.

Sometimes the world of homeschooling looks a lot less scary and uncertain to doubting family members, when they realize how many people have succeeded with it.

By the way, I'll be adding to this list as I do my research. ;)

Homeschooled Celebrities:
Alan Alda
Louis Armstrong
Charlie Chaplin
Hillary Duff
Dakota Fanning
Whoopie Goldberg
Hanson
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Vanessa Hudgens
Lindsay Lohan
Yehudi Menuhin
Moffatts
Frankie Muniz
LeAnne Rimes
Jordin Sparks
Taylor Swift
Raven Symone
Elijah Wood

Famous Parents who Homeschool(ed):
Will Smith
Michael Card
Mike Farris
Robert Frost
Kelly Preston
John Travolta
Lisa Whelchel

Famous Inventors:
Alexander Graham Bell
John Moses Browning
Thomas Edison
Benjamin Franklin
Elias Howe
William Lear
Cyrus McCormick
Guglielmo Marconi
Eli Whitney
Sir Frank Whittle
Orvill and Wilbur Write

Famous Scientists:
Pierre Curie
Albert Einstein
Michael Faraday
Oliver Heaviside
T.H. Huxley
Blaise Pascal
Booker T. Washington

What about Presidents of the United States? Yes, them too...
John Adams
John Quincy Adams
Grover Cleveland
James Garfield
William Henry Harrison
Andrew Jackson
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
James Madison
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
John Tyler
George Washington
Woodrow Wilson

Famous Writers:
Hans Christian Anderson
Margaret Atwood
Pearl S. Buck
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Willa Cather
Agatha Christie
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
Charles Dickens
Robert Frost
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Alex Haley
Brett Harte
L. Ron Hubbard
C.S. Lewis
Amy Lowell
Gabriela Mistal
Sean O'Casey
Christopher Paolini
Isabel Paterson
Beatrix Potter
Carl Sandburg
George Bernard Shaw
Mattie J.T. Stepanek
Mercy Warren
Phillis Wheatley
Walt Whitman
Laura Ingalls Wilder

I personally find this list fascinating! Anyone else?

The Petunia Experiment

2008-05-20T12:04:00.007-05:00

A few weeks back I purchased a basket of petunias for an event at my church... and naturally, my 5 year old daughter immediately fell in love with the beautiful pink blooms. To my daughter's great delight I was able to reclaim the plant after the event and bring it home to her. Since that day, they've been her flowers.

Shortly after bringing the pot of petunias back home and into the house for her to smell and smile over, one of the stems holding a couple blooms fell off. She was upset, but mostly concerned for the little flowers the fell from the plant. With no roots from which to draw water, the fallen flowers would surely die. We've only had that conversation about a hundred times after bringing cut flowers into the house. She didn't know that some plants will grow new roots in water and I'm not enough of an expert to know which will and which will not.... so it was time to experiment.

We placed the stem (for lack of a better word) into a glass of water... hoping that it might grow roots of its own. I gave the stem a loooong time. It was nearly 3 weeks before I could see anything promising, but today, the roots are long and healthy. It was truly a success! We'll be placing these flowers in their own pot in a couple days.

Aren't petunias just beautiful? This is the first time in 7 years of living here that we ever purchased a basket of flowers! lol What a shame. Had I known how hardy they were I would have been buying a few every Spring! Soooo pretty!

As a side note, my daughter used to pray every night for God to put flowers in the yard. We then had a dandelion explosion. Oh, if only I'd thought of petunias back then! lol

We Have a Winner for the Homeschooling Tote Giveaway!

2008-05-19T09:34:00.005-05:00

Fun, fun, fun! I so love a giveaway! We didn't have as many enter as I'd hoped for, but we had more enter this contest than our previous giveaway a few weeks ago... so I don't know what you think, but that sure looks like progress to me!

So, who's our blessed winner? The tote is packaged and ready to be shipped to: (drum roll please).... Nikowa!! Congratulations!!! I hope you enjoy sharing your love of homeschool and love of your children with this roomy canvas tote. You have the honor of having the very first item ever purchased from my Flutterbeeze Homeschooling store! I purchased it a number of months ago, just to be sure it looked the way I wanted it too... as far as image quality went. Since I'd made the design myself, I needed that kind of reassurance! lol It's been sitting in it's bag, unused ever since, just waiting for the day when Wendy was ready to give it away! Oh... and it did look just exactly the way I'd hoped it would!

Just a quick note, to all you wonderful homeschoolers who entered my giveaway and placed the button on your site. Please be sure to remove all buttons at this time. If you'd like to continue sharing my site with visitors, please use this code instead:

Details on how I drew the name... I placed all names in a cute little basket... one my kids tend to use as a carrier for Power Rangers lol... set the basket on my mantel, where I couldn't see what I was drawing out (not that I know any of you anyway!) and walla! I had Nikowa in my hand!

Stay tuned for more fun giveaways in the weeks ahead! The more visitors this blog attracts, the more giveaways I'll be able to sponsor, or find sponsors for. Exciting huh?

God bless!
~Wendy