Knights Becoming and a Lady in Waiting

Schoolhouse Smarties ~ Math Monday

Ready for some questions in Math? There are three age categories of questions today. Be sure to email the answers to me at thogate@thehomeschoolmagazine.com.  

Correct answers will be entered into our drawings at the end of the month. We will be giving away two gift certificates to the Schoolhouse Store.

For more information on the contest, please see: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HSBCompanyBlog/674688/

Okay, here are your questions:

• Elementary (Grades 1-5)  What 3 consecutive integers will add up to 27?

 

• Middle Grades (Grades 6-8) The town of Hippity-Hoppity has a population of 17,480. Five percent of the people are one-legged. Half of the remaining population goes bare-footed. Sandals are the only footwear. How many sandals (not pairs) are worn in Hippity-Hoppity?

 

• High school and adults:  A boy agreed to work one year for $240 and a horse. At the end of seven months he quit and received $100 and the horse. What was the value of the horse?

 

Alrighty, email me your answers. Also on the email, I will need your name, age, state you live in, and email address.  I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

To enter you must live in the US. Click here for full contest rules.

Blessings,

Tandy Hogate
~TOS Marketing Assistant

Classical Education ~ Teaching From a Place of Rest, Pt. 2

As I noted a few weeks ago, teaching with a sense of rest can mean many things.  It can mean a sense of contentment  with how you are teaching your children and  the curriculum you are using.  It can also mean paring down the subjects you are teaching to the bare minimum.  This concept scares many homeschooling moms.   This idea is equivalent to academic suicide to the minds of many.  This flies in the face of modern education.  Today in public schools,  the students' days are filled with numerous classes that are not just academic in nature but vocational as well.  The premise for this is that the schools are trying to prepare the student for the world and a job, hence, computer classes, home ec. classes, welding classes, etc.  In overloading the student in this manner, we are increasing the odds that he or she will not be able to learn anything very well.  The basics will be pushed under the rug, so to speak, to make room for the extras. Therefore, we end up with young adults that do not know much about anything.  We, then, wonder why Johnny can't write or read when he graduates high school.   

When we focus on the basics and a few extras, we have time to teach in a thorough and effective way.  When your child is doing the basics of math and language arts (grammar, spelling, writing, lit. study, vocab) plus the extras of foreign language (some are doing 2 or 3 different language studies) and content subjects (history, science, geography, etc,) there is no wonder that it is taking them much longer than 6 hours to get their school work done.  Also, what are they truly learning?  

Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Lee Simmons  and  The Latin-Centered Curriculum  by Andrew Campbell speaks to simplifying our academic expectations of our children.  In doing this, we can teach more deeply and effectively. There is a sense of rest in teaching this way.  Also, teaching this way  requires trust.  We need to trust  that God will fill in the gaps in the way that only He can.  Trust is key in rest.

The first few years of our homeschooling was chock full of various subjects like  geography, science,  vocab, Latin and Spanish plus all of the CM variables of picture study and composer study and we haven't even gotten to the basics yet.   Our days were full and I taught with a cloud of pressure hovering over me the entire time.  When we didn't finish all of our plans (which happened regularly) I felt like a total failure.  Another consequence to this kind of schedule was children who were burnt out come the end of the first term.  They were beginning to hate learning.   This is not how I had envisioned our homeschooling to be.  Again, failure.

It has taken me a few years to clue in, but  I am seeing now that less is better.  I am able to give more time to my kids  to teach them.   We do not have time pressures  anymore. Our frantic, crazy days have been replaced with a relaxed, calm  atmosphere.  It is a soothing balm to my soul.

Our days are now focused on math, reading, writing and grammar.  We do one  content subject which is history.  We do science but in a very relaxed manner.  We will not do science as a formal subject until my children hit Grade 7.  I do teach Latin to my children but it, too, is done in a relaxed manner as my children are dyslexic and foreign langauages are tricky for them.  We also do Plutarch, Greek Mythology, Poetry,  Recitation,  and Shakespeare but they are done one a day.  Even this  sounds like a lot  but it is do-able for us.   We do not feel  the familiar pressures of days gone by.  There is that sense of calm and peace that I have  been trying to attain for the last 5  years.  I am sure  that I will always have to strive  for this rest every year that we homeschool but I think I am up to the challenge. 

Julia lives on the Canadian Prairies with her husband,  homeschooling their 3 children (10,8,6) and is attempting to give them a Classical Education.  You can read more  at her blog.

Craft Corner ~ Homemaking

There are some pretty neat things about homemaking, and some pretty neat things you can use in your home!  Try one of these lovely ideas!

• Woven Potholder ~ This lovely is bound to fill you with delight every time you have to rescue cookies, or protect your tabletops.
• How to Make a Rag Quilt ~ A rag quilt inspires me, and makes me think of a warm fire, a delightful book, and knitted slippers.  Can't you just imagine one of these draped across your bed?
• Practical Endpapers ~ Do you have a favorite cookbook?  Fit it out to be even more useful and user friendly!
• Homemaking Journal ~ This isn't exactly a craft, but I love the idea so much!  Pass down your own tips, tricks, and favorites to future generations, with this charming idea.

Miss Eyebright loves crafts of all kinds, especially knitting.  You can find her blogging at Defective Compositions.

American Heritage Foundation -- free American history curriculum

Click  banner  to  visit  AHEF  website.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free,
in a state of civilization,
it expects what never was and never will be." 
~~ Thomas Jefferson

• The American Revolution
• George Washington
• U.S. Presidents
• The Declaration of Independence
• The US Constitution
• The Great Seal
• Thanksgiving
• The Bill of Rights
• Our National Documents
• Entrepeneurs in American History
• The United States of America's Flag
• The Star-Spangled Banner
• The Gettysburg Address
• The National Motto
• The Statue of Liberty
• The Pledge of Allegiance
• America the Beautiful
• What is An American?

This item was provided free for our review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  We received no other compensation, and this review is our honest opinion.  Click the TOS Homeschool Crew banner at the top to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

It's time for contest #3!

Contest Giveaway #3
Beeyoutiful's Tea Tree Oil

To enter just tell me about your favorite pet! 
Was it a dog, cat, horse, hamster?
Do you still have her/him?

Entries taken until Wednesday night and I'll announce the winner on Thursday.
Please leave me a way to get in touch with you if  you win.

Our sweet little kitty, Raider, is now living in NC with my best friend.  She has a new name, Bella.
We miss her a lot.   I want to know what she is doing and if she misses us.

HI RAIDER, I MEAN BELLA!!

I hope you live 20 long years and give my favorite friend lots of love and company.
WE MISS YOU!

Apollo Eight Astronauts Read From Genesis 1968

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, 

the people he chose for his inheritance.

Psalms 33:12

A New Adventure for Our Family

Featured Blogger ~ DiamondsInTheRough

Homeschooling Only One ~ In Honor of Our Veterans

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 name, helping others to automatically put blame towards domestic terrorism. (Although things are coming out that his religion, Islam, might have contributed to his thoughts and actions.)

Last night, I was at my dog class, which is held at an National Guard Armory in Fort Worth. In fact, due to the Fort Hood event, they were asking us to lock the front door behind us as we came and went. We voiced our support to them. Being there and having to be in a "lock-down" situation helped to put a face on those who serve us by being willing to protect us and our country.

You never know when your path will cross with those who have served (or who are serving). I want to encourage you to voice your support and appreciation for and to them. It can be a simple "thank you for your service;" it doesn't have to be anything elaborate or overly formal. (I usually include our police officers and fire-fighters also, since they serve and protect us "closer to home.")

Reach out to those who come across your path and show them your appreciation for their service. They deserve our respect and gratitude.

Donna Conner lives in Fort Worth, TX with her husband, Glenn, their son, Mike, Donna's mother, Charlotte, and their dog, Lucia. Donna and Glenn have been homeschooling their son since the beginning of his education. Mike completed his homeschooling in the fall of 2008. Donna is an artist and has always enjoyed writing. She wrote Homeschooling Only One in 2003, after discovering that there were many other families homeschooling only one child. Her website is devoted to those with only one student in their homeschool, with listings of online resources. You can find these free resources, including a message board for those who HOO, on her website at  http://donnac.com and read her blog at: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/DonnaC

copyright © 2009 Donna Conner ~~ All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of author, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles where the title and author are listed.

Special Words for Special Needs ~ Veterans Choose to Serve

"A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good."