Carnival of FUNschooling!

This is our 9th year of homeschooling.  Each year around this time we begin a new year with new books and new ideas.  The kids love having a chance to get into a new area of learning and having fun doing some really creative things that allow them to learn with humor and creativity. 

Each September I share my favorite creative and fun homeschool websites, newsletters, curricula and blogs.  Go grab your Mocha Latte and visit for a while. 

Thank you to everyone who shared their favorite homeschool sites, blogs and newsletters.  Please share your own favorite FUN homeschool sites and resources by posting a comment here! 

Enjoy your time at the Annual Carnival of FUNschooling!


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The first stop along the carnival is Art of Eloquence!
Art of Eloquence communication skills products are fun and creative.  They use humor to teach the often intimidating subject of communication and public speaking.  There are studies for PreK through High School and even for adults! 

There are even some creative and fun communication topics you might not think would be included in a study of speech communication. Say What You Mean: Defending the Faith is a communication and apologetics course teaching students to answer the most common questions and misconceptions non Christians have about the Christian faith!  Say What You Mean on a Job Interview is a short but powerful study that prepares teens and adults for the competitive world of job interviews! 

New this year is our College Prep Pack! Prepare your jr/sr high homeschoolers for college!  Written by homeschoolers for homeschoolers!  Inculded: Homeschooler's Guide to Preparing for College AND Say What You Mean: Defending the Faith!

All Art of Eloquence Products are Christian based and use humor and hands on activities to make learning this vital and often underappreciated skill fun and easy.  

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Bright Minds Brain-a-thon Emporim
Walking along the carnival we stop at Bright Minds!
Bright Minds teaches crtical thinking in such a creative an fun way!  Both my children have used Bright Minds and it has become one of their favorite subjects!   Bright Minds teaches critical thinking but through other subjects as well like Math, Language and Science!  One year, I had my son do their science program for science class. He had a ball! It included experiments done in a hands on way with items you have right in your kitchen! 

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WriteShop Blog!

Writing prompts, tips and other writing fum from our friends at WriteShop.com!  Check out WriteShop.com for an incremental fun way to teach writing to your homeschool students.  They even have a primary grade leve now!  It's NEW! 

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Trigger Memory Systems

Offers a monthly Education Through Imagination newsletter. It is chock full of educational games and activities, mnemonic tricks, freebies and excellent web resources  to encourage and uplift you as you homeschool. You can view archives and sign up for this free monthly newsletter HERE

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FIMM

FIMM is the Art of Eloquence mascot and our resident MIScommunicator: A loveable but bumbling communicator, FIMM stumbles his way through life! FIMM began on Communication FUNdamentals, our blog, and FIMM Fans have watched him through many episodes sticking his foot in his mouth so often he has Athlete's Tongue!

FIMM Fans tell us that FIMM is so much fun that they are sitting down with their kidlings every Wednesday to use FIMM's Faux Pas as a mini communication lesson!

FIMM was so popular that we just had to star him in his own video! FIMM: The Movie has been so well received that we created his very own page on the Art of Eloquence site just so FIMM Fans can keep up to date on all his FIMMisms!

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Jamin's blog

Jaminacema has a fun and creative blog over at The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Blogger.com  She's a fun bloggin' mom!

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Next along the carnival is Greek 'N' Stuff!
This looks like so much fun!  This homeschool company teaches Greek and Latin and even Bible stories in a fun way for young and old alike!  You can even learn a Greek or Latin letter or word right on their website!  You can send for a free catalog with sample pages in it too!

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NEWSLETTERS:

Communication FUNdamentals eNewsletter Friday Funnies! Get your dose of communication humor! Each week will feature a family friendly joke, funny quote, silly picture, Foot in Mouth Man episode, or link to a humorous video that illustrates and teaches a communication principle! Learning communication skills was never so much fun!

Communication Tip of the Week

Weekly (Tuesday Tips) newsletter sharing the fun and creative ways to teach your children about communication skills!

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Media Angels Blog
My friend Felice Gerwitz is the author of Teaching Science and Having FUN.  She just started a blog on her new website. Her newsletter always has fun stuff too! 

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SWMC

Each year we celebrate this Great Communicator’s birthday with an online communication convention where the Christian community can come to learn more about the skills that studies show will increase your chance of success in your personal and professional life with humorous and fun activities for the whole family!

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Next up:  FunBrain.com!
This is a fun online interactive site that teaches kids many different subjects.  They have games and fun for various ages on several subjects.  They also have some info for parents and teachers.


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Next we come to Truth Quest History!
TruthQuest History is a deep and rich literature-based history study…but with a difference. You will not learn the story of mankind; you will learn the lovestory of mankind. You will not focus on the rise and fall of human civilizations; you will focus on the arrow-straight line of God's unchanging existence, power, love, truth, and plan for civilization. You will not simply 'meet the culture' or 'get the facts;' you will probe the truths of history so deeply that your students will be equipped to change their world!

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FIMM CONTEST:
As most of you know, FIMM is the Art of Eloquence resident MIScommunicator who sticks his foot in his mouth so often he has Athlete's Tongue! 
All you have to do to play "Where's FIMM?" is to find the only FIMM on our site that looks different from the one above.  Then email us fimm@artofeloquence.com   telling us what FIMM looks like that week and where you found himm. 

For a clue each week, listen to Grace Talk Soup (either live or from the recorded audio) for the "Where's FIMM?" clue!  

In the coming weeks we will announce the end of the contest (when our FIMM Bingo winner is found!)  At that time we will put all entries into a hat and pick a "Where's FIMM?" winner who will receive a free prize from Art of Eloquence Catalog of Products! 

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Next stop is Answers for New Christians!
Answers for New Christians was written by a real Sunday school teacher who was fed up with fluffy, boring, hard-to-read curriculum. Miss Robin developed, taught, and refined Answers for New Christians over a period of ten years. Today Answers has 72 pages, complete with stories, coloring pages, workbook pages, puzzles, and keepsake pages.  You read; they color. It’s that simple. Older children can read to themselves.


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Next stop is In the Hands of a Child!
Bringing Laughter and Learning together is their motto!  They have what seems like hundreds of lap book projects for homeschoolers on almost every subject imaginable!  These are hands on activities and crafts that your kids will have a ball with! 

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The final stop along the Carnival is Grace Talk Soup!
Boldly serving up God's Word with a side order of Grace and Humor! Thursdays 8am PST-Humor-filled, weekly one hour commentary on news that affects all Christians with tips and instruction for better communication when sharing and defending the faith in grace. Guests share their testimony, their ministry and their miracles!  The show is recorded live so if you can't make it to the live show, you can listen to the recording!  Each guest shares such fun and blessings!!  Don't miss a show!!

Come join me this Thursday, Sept 18th for our Staying Close While They’re Away Show!  On the Menu this week is an open discussion of communication in long distance relationships. Is your husband deployed? Is your daughter away at college? Do you have friends in another state? What does it take to be close when you are so far away? Join me for this week's Grace Talk Soup and share your tips for long distance relationships or ask your questions and share your experiences!


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I hope you had a wonderful time at the Carnival this year.  Please add your own favorite creative and fun homeschool websites, newsletters, resources, curricula and sites by posting a comment with a link! 

Happy Homeschooling!!


Oh!!  Don't forget to check back in December for the Annual Merry CHRISTmas Carnival of FUNschooling where I post all the fun sites and resources that help us keep CHRIST in our CHRISTmas!!



From JoJo's Purple Crayon...

Joy to the World

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

Next we come to some websites that give us the history of CHRISTmas.  The History of Christmas: has some informative articles from Christianity Today.

 

 

Next we have The History Channel's History of Christmas: Has extensive information from the History Channel on the traditions of CHRISTmas from a historical perpective.

 

Next we stop at The Symbols and Traditions of Christmas: Why mistletoe, holly and greens are included, among other traditions. It tells the origins of each symbol and you can go over those with your children interjecting how you use the symbols of CHRISTmas to honor Christ.

 

Now here we come to a wonderful site called The Nativity Pages: A nice page of links on the history of Christmas traditions from the Rev. Phil Greetham, a Methodist pastor in the UK. It shares some insight on the historical and scientific facts behind the history of CHRISTmas, the date of Christ's birth, the stars mentioned in the Bible and the nativity.  Opens good discussions on the Bible with your kids this CHRISTmas!

 

Let's take a moment to worship a bit more on our carnival journey:

 

O Holy Night

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

 

Next we come to a site that is nothing pretty to look at but has some great information for us on Is Christmas Christian?  

 

Another great CHRISTmas site is The 12 Days of Christmas: What's that song all about, anyway?  Some have asserted it's a nonsense song and others have suggested that it is a song of Christian instruction dating to the 16th century religious wars in England, with hidden references to the basic teachings of the Faith.  Read all about the facts while you and your children gain a better understanding of CHRISTmas.

 

Next we come to some CHRISTmas Craft Ideas!  These are from a fun, educational website for teachers called Apples for the Teacher.  This page has a lot of Christian religious craft ideas that will help you have fun with the kids this CHRISTmas season as you have time to talk to them about the real meanings behind CHRISTmas!

 

Along the Carnival we come to some Christian Activities more religious in nature to remind us of the reason for the season. They have various Christian Christmas Activities Stories, Plays, Poems, Rhymes, Coloring Pages, Games, Word Searches, and Recitals. 

 

Would you like to give some free CHRISTmas eCards that keep CHRIST in your CHRISTmas?  These are free from Cross Daily!

 

Now we come to some webpages that have some free CHRISTmas unit studies on various topics.  These are always fun for the kids and help open discussion on the reason for the season:

 

First we come to the Narnia Unit which includes a book summary, questions and activities as well as some further lesson ideas for The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

 

 

Next we come to Legend of the Candy Cane complete with a poem! 

 

Next along the carnival we come to VERY popular Christian units from Karen Caroe!  You will find the 'Names of Jesus Unit Study', 'Symbols of Christmas Unit', and the beloved hymn-based unit, 'Good Christian Men Rejoice'.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed the Merry CHRISTmas Carnival of FUNschooling!  Don't forget that the carnival will remain posted in the links section at the right under Carnival of FUNschooling.  And don't forget to check back with us in September for the next Carnival of FUNschooling!  

 

 

Merry CHRISTmas from Communication FUNdamentals and JoJo's Purple Crayon! 

 

 

Only 3 More Days to get 50% OFF Know Your Audience: The Game!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!:
February 1-3 2007: Say What You Mean Convention: Defending the Faith

From JoJo's Purple Crayon...

         

It isn't enough to KNOW God's Word...
We must be able to ARTICULATE it!
Talk is cheap.  Effective communication skills are priceless!