This week's theme is Labor Day and a celebration of the different types of labor we  perform as homeschoolers.

 

I really enjoyed all these posts and want to remind everyone that your labors are not in vain.  Our fellow homeschool blogger, Marsha Drews of DrewsFamilyTX blog lost her dear son, Christian, last week in a horrible accident.  Hugs your kids a little closer this week and be grateful that you have the chance to labor for them and love them a little longer.

General Education

Keeping a preschooler busy from
A Familiar Path: What's a Boy to Do?

Lapbooks, reading lists, printables and organization from
The Happy Housewife: Tackle School Planning

Computer-based homeschool curriculum worked for this family
Parenting Squad: Computer based curriculum

Tiffany struggles with unschooling or more structured curriculum
Natural Family Living Blog: The Great Homeschool Decision

Homeschooling a 12th grader looks a lot more like real life than school.
Barbara Frank: Homeschooling a 12th Grader....Again

A photo peek inside a homeschool in its first week
Learning at His Feet: Beware: Learning is Happening Here!

A book review on preparing for college from
Homeschoolbuzz.com Reviews:  College-Prep Homeschooling

Kris sets up a rice center for her kids at
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers : Rice Center

Miss Amanda invites us to take a look at her homeschool college classes
The Daily Planet:Homeschool Memoirs: Homeschool Agendas

A homeschool curriculum review contest over at
Successful Homeschooling: Tell me about your favorite curriculum and win free books!

The Arts

A classic art medium-play dough! from
HowToMe:  How To Make Our Favorite Play Dough

Create a family flag for your homeschool
Happy to be at Home: : Homeschool Flag 

A book review from
Adventures in Daily Living on Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense by David Guterson

A book review from
Melissa’s Idea Garden on Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers by Barbara Frank

Siouxsie's son tackles an essay in an unusual manner.
Siouxsie's Musings: Partly Sunny with a Chance of School Starting

A writing lesson using well-constructed persuasive arguments
Janice Campbell: Taking Time for Things That Matter: Persuasive Writing: Teach It With Models

How is poetry created? Through the senses
Works in Progress:  Writing Through The Senses

Punctuation is like breathing
The Expanding Life:  In Which an Ordinary Woman Punctuates Her Life

If you fall asleep while teaching, you may wake up on a different planet from Life Nurturing Education:  Sleep Teaching Doesn't Work

Math

Make your own play cash register
Play Activities: DIY Toy Money

Try your fractions on this proposed tax bill
The Informed Parent: Push to change IRS code for homeschoolers continues

Christine makes math a fun labor!
The Thinking Mother: Younger Son Loves Code Breakers

Who needs an expensive curriculum when there's curiosity and interest? from
Roots, Shoots & Fruits:  This Is Our Math Curriculum

Denise may not care for the title, but she liked the math book in her review on
Let's Play Math!:  Review: Math Doesn't Suck

Science

Spider hunting video from
Kid Lit Kit: Nic Bishop and Spiders

Shelley turns a mouse in the house into a unit study!
Homemade Homeschoolers: They DO Build a Better Mousetrap!

"It's Labor Day Weekend. There's not a school supply in sight. And I saw 4 shooting stars tonight."
The Life Without School Blog: 4 Shooting Stars and No School Supplies

Lance and his kids have been growing a banana plant and look at what they've learned!
Home Educate in the Sunshine State:  Going Bananas

 

Health

Two news articles on absenteeism and vaccinations are cause for concern from
Yankee CowGirl:  It's That Time of Year Again...

Keep your sense of humor about everything. Laughter helps to stay sane from
Home Spun Juggling:  Still Fighting the School Blues

Dana presents a thought provoking discussion on vaccinations on
Principled Discovery: Homeschoolers and vaccinations

Homemaking

Nominate your favorite homeschool blogger  on
Alasandra's Homeschool Blog Awards: The Homeschool Blog Awards

A family's recent quest to bring order to the chaotic books overtaking their home on
Choosy Homeschooler Blog: How We're Conquerering Chaos in Our Home Library

Henry writes about getting back into the grove at
Why Homeschool: Reentry has been a bit bumpy

Labors of Love

A homeschool mom parents teenagers from
The Eclectic Telegraph: A Dancer With Many Hats in a Thankless and Undervalued Job

Progress made on summer learning goals
No fighting, no biting!: The Start of School Approaches

Living life abundantly from
Lessons from Loon Loop: The Sacred and the Mundane

Why pick a career when you can do it all as a homeschool mom?
Homeschool Nations - Arizona: The Many Hats of a Homeschool Mom

This mom is a laborer for her family
Notes From A Homeschooling Mom: The Labors of Homeschool

Starting homeschooling with a life long, eternal  perspective
The Life Schoolers: Officially Homeschooling

Christy is thankful for the opportunity -the gift- to teach her children. 
Mercy Every Morning:  God's Grace in Our Labor of Love

Please take a moment to post a link to the carnival on your blog— help spread the word about homeschooling and the carnival, and to send some traffic to all these terrific bloggers who took the time to share their lives with us.

Don’t forget to send in your post for next week’s carnival, as well, hosted by Why Homeschool Just click on over to the easy submission form at Blog Carnival anytime before Monday at 6pm Pacific time.

Carol Topp

Thanks to www.designedtoat.com Free Original Clipart at Designed to a T  

 

I volunteered to host the Carnival of Homeschooling next week. on September 2, 2008  The theme is

LABOR DAY: LABORS WE PERFORM AS HOMESCHOOLERS

I just learned  that my new book Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out now has a Search Inside feature at Amazon.  It is so cool!

I received this question from a homeschool group treasurer about filing for nonprofit incorporation:

I am the treasurer of a large-ish homeschool group. Almost 40 families. I bought your book for our group. I read through it and passed it on to the president of our board. I am supposed to be filling out an application for non-profit corporation status through the Texas Sec. of State.

Because this is public record, we do not want our home addresses on the application. So we got a post office box. That's fine for the officers' addresses, but it is asking for a physical address for the registered office. We don't have an office, per se.

I forget, why do we want to do this? What is the benefit of non-profit status?
Thank you and we have found your book very helpful.
~C

• limited liability for your leaders
• continued existence
• avoid taxation on any surplus
• enter into leases or employment contracts

A homeschool leader in KY recently e-mailed me about her group's plan to buy a building.

Carol,

 

I attended your workshop at the Cincy convention and found it very useful. Do you know of any home school group that has their own building? That is our next step and I need help in knowing how to get started. We are already tax exempt and have about 200 students. Our web site is www.christianconsortium.org , located in Louisville.

 

Thank you for any help you can give!

 

Beverly C

The Christian Educational Consortium

Carol Topp, CPA

Does your homeschool sports group need insurance?  A homeschool leader in Indiana shares information on her insurance company.

Dear Carol,

I heard you speak at the Cincinnati HS Convention and it was VERY helpful.  At the end, I mentioned that we had sports insurance and you mentioned that you wanted that info.  So, in keeping with my promise, I am responding to that request now.

We use USSFA which was established many years ago, as I understand it, to provide insurance for homeschool sports.  There are only a few states in which they cannot insure, but you can contact Lew Owens for more information if needed.

email: ussfaoffice@comcast.net
USSFA Office
4150 Kildeer Drive, Ste 2-A
Indianapolis, IN 46237
Phome:  317-357-8908
Fax: 317-357-8791

We have used this for several years (our sports program is over 11 years old) and have been very happy with the program USSFA provides.  With this insurance, we are able to show the schools and other rental locations that we have liability insurance and then we have the added benefit that our player/coach coverage picks up their existing medical coverage ends.

If you call Lew, please be sure to mention that you heard about him from me (Shawna Howell). Effective 3/15/08, I became the director the SEI Panthers Basketball (SE Indiana) program and he will know of me through that affiliation.

My prayer is that we can continue to network with one another for the benefit of the homeschool community across the country.

Thank you for all that you do to help our community and particularly for sharing your wisdom with us at the convention.  I was truly blessed.

Blessings,
Shawna Howell

HomeschoolCPA recently received this question via e-mail:

Hi Carol,

I am the leader of a 15 years old home education support group in Ohio. We are considered a ministry of our church and our under their tax-exempt status, however we currently have by-laws and our own checking account, we approve membership, and collect fees. We offer a lot of choices/activities for our families including Friday classes, field trips, concert & theater opportunities, history fair, science fair, geography bee, mom's nights, Stanford Achievement Tests, etc.
 
My questions/concerns:  Since we are under our church's tax-exempt status, is it a conflict to have our own bylaws?  Do we jeopardize our tax-exempt status or the church's by operating as a separate entity?  Over the years, we have accumulated a fairly large balance in the checking account.  Is there a maximum we should have?  It's our desire to work hand in hand with the church and the protection of the church and it's authority has always been a blessing to the group.

I appreciate your help,
Sharon W

I really enjoyed talking to JoJo Tabares on her internet radio' show Grace Talk Soup this past week.  We talked about

• the pros and cons of homeschool co-ops,
• how to get started,
• the mistakes leaders make and
• how to avoid burn out.

The weekly Carnival of Homeschooling is hosted by Tiffany  at Life on the Road.

Is your homeschool group looking to raise some money in 2008?

Meet With an Accountant
I strongly recommend that you speak with a local accountant and explain to him or her what you are planning to do. And I stress the verb tense here. Consult with the accountant before you attempt a fund raiser.

Track Down Your Local Homeschool Association
I would reach out to the leadership of the local homeschool network in your area to ask their advice and learn from their experience. Perhaps they have an established fund raising event themselves, and you could participate in it.

Ask Detailed Questions of Any Fund raising Company You’re Thinking of Using
If you decide to go the route of a product sales fund raiser and you are considering using a professional supplier, I would recommend consulting with them before entering into an official agreement.

Find Out Exactly What Being a Non-Profit Really Means
I would suggest doing a little reading on the exact nature of what a non-profit organization truly is. It is very easy to say that you would like to become a non-profit, but it is an entirely more difficult matter to actually do it.

Visit the Homeschool CPA Online
I would read and become very familiar with the blog called Homeschool CPA. The author of this site is Carol Topp, and she is a certified CPA, who has become an authority in the field of homeschool fund raising. She answers direct questions online, so you can email her with your specific situation, if you like. After reading through her entire site, I highly recommend it.

Keep Thorough Records
When it comes to raising money, I strongly urge you to keep excellent records of everything you spend and everything you earn. This will make it much easier if you ever do have to go back and justify your actions.  Read the entire post here

Dana Hanley of Principled Discovery blog is now hosting a weekly on-line radio program called Homeschool Talk. 

• My new book Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out and why I wrote the book
• The pros and cons of being in a homeschool co-op.
• Managing money in a homeschool group including checking accounts, reports to the board, and security
• What does nonprofit status mean and how do you get it?
• How can a group raise money?  Are there any pitfalls to watch put for?

Here's a press release I wrote to announce my new book Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out.


Homeschool parents are frequently criticized for denying their children out of important socialization opportunities. The complaint is that homeschool children are isolated and lack proper socialization, but in reality that’s not a problem, according to Carol Topp, homeschooling mother. 

Homeschooling has become so popular that homeschoolers are no longer isolated. Almost everyone knows another homeschooling family in their town. Studies show that homeschooled children “are involved in more social activities, whether by design or being with the parent in various situations, than the average middle school-aged child."1  That finding is accurate according to Mrs. Topp’s experience. “My daughters are involved in several activities including a weekly homeschool co-op that offers an excellent opportunities for them to make friends and interact with other children and adults.”

Mrs Topp and her daughters have been involved in a homeschool co-op for five years. A homeschool co-op is a gathering of homeschool families that share teaching responsibilities. Homeschool co-ops come in all sizes, but are typically five to fifty families that meet once week for academic and extra curricular classes.  Mrs. Topp’s co-op is typical with 40 families that meet for three hours of classes at a local church on Fridays. Her daughters have taken a variety of classes taught by volunteer parents such as Spanish, art, biology dissection, art history, drama, career exploration and personal finance.

“I think homeschool co-ops are a wonderful opportunity for homeschooled children. I encourage parents to form a co-op in their city if one doesn’t already exist.”  Mrs Topp, a CPA with an accounting business that serves homeschool groups, has written a book called Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out. (Aventine Press, paperback/$12.50).
The advantages of homeschool cop-ops include group learning, learning from other adults, encouragement to continue homeschooling, friendship and fun for the students. Co-ops provide opportunities for group learning that is difficult to create in a home setting such as a drama production or choir. Co-ops can also teach subjects that are beyond the experience of a single parent.  “I never took a foreign language in high school, so I needed help when my daughters wanted to learn Spanish. Fortunately a mother at our homeschool co-op was a Spanish major in college and agreed to teach a high school Spanish class,“ Mrs Topp explains. She goes on to say that she had no desire to dissect frogs on her kitchen table, but another homeschool mother with a nursing background was happy to teach biology dissection.

Mrs Topp’s book Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out is available at Amazon.com or the book's website www.HomeschoolCo-ops.com.


1 "Socialization Practices of Christian Home School Educators in the State of Virginia," a study of ten Virginia home school families, performed by Dr. Kathie Carwile, appeared in the Home School Researcher, Vol. 7, No. 1, December 1991.