The computer can be a friend or a foe in your homeschool. We need to place limits on these blue-faced boxes that beckon us. The draw for our attention can be great. Some of the rules we have made about the use of computers in our homeschool are:

· No computer until all bookwork and chores are done. If bookwork calls for computer usage, mom needs to know when and where they are doing that, and they are not allowed to go to ANY site without permission even though we have all the guards and filters in place. We check our filter reports regularly.

· Time limits are placed on computer usage after school. If there has been too much electronic activity that day already, then computers are off-limits until they have done something creative and hands-on or physical first and have cleared it through mom.

 
· For non-school related things, such as games, we normally limit our younger children's time on the computer to 30 minute increments each. For the older ones, they can have up to an hour of research, selling things, email, etc. They may also need more time for their college class assignments or special projects on certain days.

· Many times when the children ask to use the computer for something fun rather than necessary, they must first do something for the family. That means they look around the house and find something that will benefit the household - like helping with a younger sibling or a meal.

One of the biggest concerns at our house isn't the children being online. They are well monitored. But it's the amount of time I spend on it. I must not spend an inordinate amount of time; I need a time limit. Surfing, shopping, and chatting with our friends should be a treat, not an everyday occurrence.

 

Five minutes online leads to twenty, and then before you know it, you've clicked your way into frustration as everything else piles up around you.

 

That blue-faced box calls our name, and sometimes we just have to say, "No!" to ensure the best of use of our time.

 

Getting offline now!
 

~Deborah

A small portion of the review:

The Martyr's Victory, by Emma Leslie, begins by introducing us to Egbert, a young frail Saxon living in the country of Mercia. He is continually scorned and laughed at by his family and the world. Resolving to run away and die in the woods, he meets an elderly monk who invites Egbert into the church's realm of safety. Forsaking all he has ever known, Egbert follows the monk, Osric, to a new life at the monastery. There he learns to read, write, and copy the scriptures.

But danger arises as the savage Danes of the north threaten to destroy the monastery and all of Mercia. A meeting is held in the church and it is decided that six monks shall venture to the Danish lands bringing not only the seed of grain, but also the seed of truth found in the Word of God. Egbert wishes to come along but cannot, because he is too weak. Told that he, and several others, may join the party of six in about a year's time, he is content to remain.

Upon arriving in Ea, an island in East Anglia, the six monks meet a young girl named Elswitha. They soon find out that she has just escaped from being sacrificed to Odin, their false god. Later in the village, Osric encounters a Danish warrior who has been drastically wounded in a single-combat battle and now believes that he is destined to die. As he is a skillful leech, Osric uses all in his power to work to cure the unfortunate Dane. Will he succeed? If he does succeed, will it help in saving Mercia from the warlike Danes? Will Osric's faith impact the Danish people? And what will happen to Egbert? Find out in The Martyr's Victory!

Read the complete review online and enter for a chance to win The Martyr's Victory: A Story of Danish England.

TO ENTER:
Email SeniorEditor@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com with your name and mailing address and the subject, "Martyr's Victory" for a chance to win*.

Congratulations to our September winner, Jennifer Sikora from Kentucky!

This week we want to feature our gift from our friends at Progeny Press. With the cooler weather just ahead, take time to cuddle up with some good reading. These study guides for literature will let your student fall in love with reading again. Each study is written from a Christian perspective. If you love literature, this one is for you: Customer's choice from 95 study guides in PDF on CD. View a sample HERE. What a wonderful gift, valued at $11.99- $18.99, FREE just for subscribing with our Fall Special.

Click here to subscribe!

 

 

Let me also jump in and say that the computer is dangerous and should not be trusted. I constantly have parents write me and share horrible stories of how their sons and daughters have been caught in its snare.

 

These are some of the lessons I have learned from them. Never allow your children unsupervised time on an Internet connected computer. Don't ever assume that your son or daughter is just doing online school. Don't ever assume that they won't go poking around sites they shouldn't be viewing. Don't ever assume that it won't creep into your house.

 

Make sure you have controls, filters, guards, and passwords on your computer. One dad told me how his son would sneak down at night and get on the Internet while they were asleep.

 

How does something like that start? Just a little bit at a time. It begins by doing a research paper and stumbling across something "bad." The first time or two they resist. . .but later on, they might just take a "click." The next thing you know, they're in over their head.

 

I'm telling you Mom and Dad, the computer that is hooked up to the Internet is a possible pathway to death.

 

I know it sounds like I'm making a big deal over nothing, but when you hear horror story after horror story it changes your perspective.

 

Yes, use the computer. . .but be careful. Don't assume that it's safe. . .because it is not. Take precautions, train your children to flee temptation, and view your computer like a potential family destroyer.

Be Real...and be AWARE!

Todd

 

 

 

 

While every effort is made to ensure that the recommended sites are family-friendly, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and its writers do not own the sites recommended. Content and advertising can change without notice. Please exercise caution when viewing websites and review all websites before allowing your children to visit them.

Wreaths of Maine is a Christmas wreath company. Our wreaths are sold by homeschoolers, they earn $6 each on most wreaths! Selling wreaths is easy! We process orders, and ship to customers-nothing to deliver. Sign up today, call or write 1-800-676-1132 refer to "TOS" for a FREE sales kit.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR HOMESCHOOLED CHILDREN - Textbook describes over 75 skill developmental activities and games. Lesson plans are included for groups of one to six children, and for large groups of 25. Activities are geared for elementary age children. If they love to play now, they will be active later!  www.peisfun.com

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Free "Financial Stewardship Activity Book" for Kids - Teach your kids about giving and sharing from a biblical perspective. Through the activities in this 28 page booklet, your children will become reflective, learn to make good money choices, and shine in the glory of giving. The Financial Stewardship Activity Book is free at http://tinyurl.com/525gtg.

We are looking for 10 parents of special needs children, who are NOT already in our Special Needs E-Book in progress, to give us their "testimony" in 500 words or less about how having that special child in their home has actually ENRICHED their lives. Why would life not be as good without him/her in the household? We want to know the joy and blessing behind having this wonderful child in the homeschool.

The ten parents we choose will get a free E-Book when finished - that is the only compensation.

Please do not turn in your testimonies directly - first email Charlotte McKinney and give her a short sentence or two stating why you should be chosen as one of the ten to go into this E-Book. 

 

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The Old Schoolhouse is always looking for a new one-room schoolhouse photo to grace the magazine's cover. We need a 9 x 11 photo, or a negative, or digital image (300 dpi), and the schoolhouse needs to be dead-centered with natural surroundings. The front or front/side view is best.

 

If your photograph is used, we will pay you $50, feature your name as cover photographer and send you two copies of the magazine. Send a digital image to publisher@thehomeschoolmagazine.com or mail it with details to Cover Photo Search, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, P.O. Box 8426, Gray, TN 37615. Be sure to include your name, email address, and phone number.

 

Not sure if a one-room schoolhouse is located near you? Check out the One-Room Schoolhouse Center. It's a working list of existing one-room schoolhouses in the U.S.