Let me share with you what I know about gardening.

1. Don't plant anything until the snow is melted off Black Butte.
2. You have to keep things watered.

I don't garden. I don't even do house plants. Quite frankly, it has surprised me that I've managed to keep my children alive all these years. I suppose it's because they have voices and are mobile. Plants aren't.

One year my husband bought me a cactus. Certainly, I should be able to keep a cactus alive, right? If it wasn't for my husband, it would have died long ago. IT's not that I don't try, but I just don't have a knack for it. I water too much, or I water too little. I stick the plant in the wrong kind of light. I appreciate plants, very much, we just don't get along together.

As for Black Butte, that only works for those who live anywhere near it. I only know this piece of gardening information because it is repeated year after year among the gardening enthusiasts, "Snow's still on the butte, can't plant outdoors until it melts."

However, here is what I do know, that is well worth sharing with you. You don't have to be a gardening enthusiast yourself to interest your children in it. Seeds are relatively cheap (and a whole lot more entertaining then cheap toys that break after a few uses), so just go buy a packet or two, tell your children to pick a spot of ground, and plant those seeds in it. If you want to give them a Bible/science lesson, tell them to plant seeds in a rocky place, in soft dirt, and in a place where no matter how much you water, it all drains away rapidly. See what grows.

A couple of my children enjoy gardening, in spite of my defunct capabilities. I'm so glad!

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

It's been several years since I've had the opportunity to go to a homeschool convention. I loved going every year when I lived in Hawaii! I met some wonderful homeschooling parents, learned so many things, and it really helped to charge my batteries for the next school year. Conventions are fun!

If you aren't sure that going to a homeschool convention is worth it, you need to read this article by Dena Wood. Once you've decided that, yes, a convention is worth your time and money, then read this article by Kim Wolf. She'll tell you how to get the most out of a homeschool convention.

I hope you get to go to a convention this year, and maybe someday I'll get to attend one again.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

I'm having my "1,000th Comment Contest" on my blog.  The prizes aren't big, but I just wanted to celebrate reaching 1,000 comments after blogging for 3+ years.

There will be three winners and the prizes are: a lovely brown, pink, and multi-colored stripe half-apron for garden or kitchen use, Raising Happy Kids On A Reasonable Budget, and three wall hangings. The first two winners will get their choice of wall hanging and winner #3 gets the last wall hanging.

The contest will end on April 10, 2009 at 11:59 pm CST.

Note: The contest is held on ElCloud's blog. Please click on the above link and leave her a comment there.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

That title sounds rather like a weather forecast! This week's theme is rain, so get out your umbrellas and enjoy what the Porch Team has to share on the subject from their unique perspectives.

I'm not sure what happened to the sun I mentioned on Friday, but This weekend we've had rain, snow, more rain, and finally some sun. Sounds like Spring to me!

We have a new Porch Team member, Taneil Linschied is back, but this time doing the Craft Corner. Taneil used to write Knit Bits for us a couple of years ago. The craft she shows you is how to make a rain stick. Poor thing forgot we were now doing a theme and had a dandy craft all done up for you, when she remembered that she needed a craft for rain. Hmmm . . . So a quick rain stick post it is. (She's not happy with the result of it, so please give her some slack this week and trust me, she got all of her crafting genes from some one either than myself so her craft projects will be GREAT!)

Dianna Maxwell will be very much missed, she did some wonderful crafts for us. I'm so glad that she was able to write for the Porch as long as she did! Taneil has some tough shoes to fill.

What can I share with you about rain? It's wet. I don't like to be wet. Still, running through the rain drops with your children is fun, and builds memories that your children will remember forever.

Playing in the puddles after a rain storm is fun too! Just ask my boys. A few Springs ago, I found them playing happily in a big puddle. It was so deep they could sit in it like a bathtub. At first I was upset because it looked like they had stripped and jumped in. Turned out they had come back into the house, very quietly so I wouldn't know, and put on their swim trunks and went back outside to "swim" in that puddle. I have the cutest pictures of them with mud streaming in their eyes and in their hair. They didn't care, they were so happy and mama didn't get mad at them!

You and your children need to enjoy the rain, both outside and here on the Porch.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

The Porch Team is going to try something new for this month and if it works well, we'll keep it going. Each week a new theme will be introduced by the Porch Team and they will write their articles around that theme. This week, due to the time change, we're going to talk about Saving Time. So far this week we've started off with Julia telling us how to save time with Classical Education. Tomorrow, Dell will tell us how to save time while Taming the Chaos, and so on through the week, with each of the writers.

Saving time is something homeschoolers do just in the act of homeschooling! We save time without having to hand out papers to a class of students. We save time because we don't have to wait for everyone to line up at the door. We save time when we combine subjects and grade levels. It's just natural for us to educate our children efficiently. When we do, it saves more time for snuggling up on the couch, playing at the park, visiting friends, or exploring subjects even deeper.

Here's a fun way to learn more about Daylight Saving Time: the history, the controversy, anecdotes, and more. Each little cloud contains information or leads to another web of information all dealing with Daylight Saving Time.

We hope you'll enjoy our themes and our topics! If you have an idea for a theme you'd like us to cover, let us know. All of us would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

Many of you know JoJo Tabares from right here on the Porch. She writes Communication Corner each week. JoJo is also the publisher of Art of Eloquence, and writes Communication FUNdementals.

JoJo shares her thoughts AFTER a homeschool documentary, which featured her family, has been released. Read her review, watch the video, and share your thoughts!

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

You'll want to keep checking back over at this blog in the months to come because Lisa is "letting go of stuff," so she'll be clearing off her bookshelves of all kinds of homeschool books! There will be Charlotte Mason type books, Christian Liberty Press, and many others you will want to try to win. Find out all about HERE.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

A couple of years ago we thought it would be fun to have all homeschool blogger businesses in one spot to make it easier to find them for the holiday shopping season. It was such a big hit, it's been decided to keep it going! If you listed your business in the previous Shop with the Bloggers promo, please note that you will need to do so again. We're starting with a clean slate. Also, if you have the Shop with the Bloggers button on your blog sidebar, please replace with the new button below as the source page is now here on HomeschoolBlogger.com.

Instead of fighting the crowds at the malls and shopping centers, wouldn't you rather support your fellow bloggers home businesses?  Many folks want to shop with home businesses rather than the big superstores, but sometimes it's just harder to find them. Never fear though, we decided to make a list of these businesses to make your online shopping easier.

If you have a business and would like to share it with the blogosphere, please do the following:

• Add the name of your business in the Mr. Linky box below.

• Link it to your business website. If that's your blog, GREAT!

• Leave a comment telling us about what you have to offer or any specials you might have.

• Copy the shopping button code below to add to your sidebar or website. Even if you don't have a business, you can use the button to support our bloggers with home businesses.

• ~Note, this is a family-friendly website. Any links deemed inappropriate will be deleted.~

Whether you are a shopper or home business owner, feel free to add our Shop with the Bloggers button to your sidebar to support our fellow bloggers!