The Old Schoolhouse Digital Magazine is perfect for the busy homeschool family.  I was skeptical at first about subscribing to a "digital" magazine.  I have always preferred to "touch and feel" the books and magazines that come into our home.  I have been pleasently surprised by the awesome navigational tools available.  I just point and click on the article I want to read in the Table of Contents and I'm there, no flipping through pages and waiting for my computer to load. 

The articles are fascinating.  My 11y/o son and I have loved the most recent issue; which included several articles about flying aircrafts, the science behind airplanes, and how to draw helicopters.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the articles relating to the Charlotte Mason method for special needs.  It's encouraging to see other families using the same tools successfully. 

I am so happy to have a subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Digital Magazine.  I am excited to see what the next issue has in store. 

I have got to tell y'all about an awesome Homeschool Planner I found at The Old Schoolhouse.   It is so much more than a planner for the academic pursuits.  This planner is an E-Book that you download to your computer.  I do a lot of work on my computer so it is important to me to have it right where I spend most of my administrative time.  I was scrambling around all the time trying to come up with forms for our goals or lesson plans, but not anymore.  This planner has everything you can think of even for my highschoolers. 

Not only is this planner an awesome addition to my homeschool life, it also includes excellent articles about homeschooling and family life by moms who have done all of this before and want to share their experiences and ideas.  In fact the first article in the book was written by Martha Greene.  She is one my mentors on the Homemakers Mentor.  I love "hearing" what she has to say about caring for the family.  I am excited to try some of the recipes in the book like the Cheeseburger Pie- I might even be able to get Branden to eat it. 

I would encourage you to go to the website and download the free sample.  You will be impressed. 

I cannot seem to figure out how to add another menu on my profile, so here are the links I mentioned in the other blog:

Corps of Rediscovery
417-833-6905
www.corpsrediscovery.com

Baker Tritten Press
574-269-6100
www.bakertrittinpress.com/
info@bakertrittinpress.com

Naval Sea Cadets
http://www.seacadets.org/

Knight's Book Knook
229-776-8823
www.knightsbookknook.com/
info@knightsbookknook.com

College Prep Genius
www.collegeprepgenius.co

Today we went to the 2008 Homeschool Convention here in the Pensacola area.  There was so much to look at!  I can't believe I spent 3 hours there and only bought 2 bottles of water.  That is a record!   As I have said before I am very excited about the Co-op our family is joining this school year, but when I went to all of those cool booths with their newest and most recently printed books I became slightly depressed because I did not need any of it. 

Our Pastor was the key-note speaker for the convention. He spoke on helping our children find a future mate.  Although I have heard most of this prentation before, it was a great refresher.  My children are still younger (14,12 & 11) but there is much to be done to prepare them for their future families.  I don't want to wait until Tori meets a guy at age 19 and thinks she is ready for marriage to start working on the principles Pastor spoke about today. 

We enjoyed speaking to the folks at the outdoor booths representing the Navy and Army.  There are some fabulous resources the Army has available to help get my teenagers ready for college.  I will add the free online info to the "links" section on my profile if you are interested.  The Navy has this cool program called the Navy Sea Cadets for ages 11-17.  We are considering the program for all three kids, but especially Branden (he needs some military discipline).  They will meet one weekend a month for the regular school year then have the option to attend some distance learning on Navy bases all over the country as well as "boot camp," during the summer.  I think it will be a wonderful way to get my children to be more responsible and respect authority. 

There was one booth the kids really enjoyed.  It was a hands on science booth called McWiz Kids.  They had a lot of fun doing an experiment there.  My son got lost at the Knights Book Nook where they had neat science project items like Cow Eye Balls, Frogs, Crickets, and other nasty embalmed creature parts.  He alos loved the Corp of Rediscovery where they had toys, games, and items related to Early American History like coon skin caps and buffalo teeth.  My favorite booth was the Baker Tritton Press booth.  They publish books for tween boys.  If you have one of these "tween boys" like I do, you understand what it is like to try to get them to like to read.  Not all tween boys are this way, but mine is and apparently there are many because this guy we talked to today knew exactly what I was talking about.  When he started talking to Branden, my son actually listened to him and was interested.  They write and publish fiction books for boys age 9-12.  Each books shows cause and effect as well as character traits needed to be a Godly man.  I brought home a catalog and I will be ordering the books. 

I will post the links to all of these fabulaous companies.  The Homeschool Convention this year was totally worth the $3 per adult. 

Today I mourn the death of a dear friend who made such an impact on my life that I cannot imagine what the loss of him will be like in the coming weeks, months, and years.  Eddie was there when I needed unconditional love and support.  He never gave up!  Eddie was like a father to me when I was too ashamed to talk to my own parents.  On countless occasions he was there to allow me to vent and cry, but then quick to tell me how to make things right.   He was there to comfort me when my 2 week old son was dying in the hospital.  He was there when I finally brought that same son home and was told he may not ever speak, walk, eat properly, etc., due to brain damage caused by seizures.  He was there when I could barely control my three obnoxious but precious toddlers.  He was there when I finally had the guts to file for a divorce in order to leave an abusive and drug entangled marriage.  He was there when I struggled with questions regarding God's will and my free will.  He became a trusted confidant whom I could trust with the most sensitive information.  He was the one I would call when I thought I just could not take any more of the bickering so often experienced in areas of ministry.  He inspired me to serve Christ with all I had.  He encouraged me to "go for it" when an uncertain ministry opportunity was presented.  No matter how long it had been since we had spoken or seen each other, we could pick right back up where we left off.   He was my friend whom I fought with, laughed with, cried with, etc.  He will be greatly missed and I am sure today will not be the only day I will mourn the loss of my friend! 

Yesterday my kiddos had their annual evaluations.  All passed with flying colors.  Our evaluator was impressed with all of their work including some really awesome art projects they completed.  Victoria is back on track..  Since I had removed her from school in Febraury 2007 she had been on a different schedule.  She is now starting 8th grade with her peers.  Our evaluator was impressed with the kids' transition from public school to homeschool.  She also informed me that we can begin to work toward high school credit for both girls even though they are in middle school.  That is very exciting. 

If you are in the Pensacola/Pace area and in need of an evaluator I would highly recommend: Rita Little, Florida Certified Evaluator  

Contact me and I will give you her information.   

I have had several well meaning friends and family members ask me why I want my children to study Latin.  I have been told, "Latin is a dead language," and "You're wasting their time."  On Memoria Press' website I found an excellent article that completely articulates the reason why.  I have copied and pasted it here as well as the URL where you can read it and other fabulous articles concerning classical education:

http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/whylatin.html

Why Study Latin?
by Cheryl Lowe

     Have you ever wished you had a good answer for those people who ask why you would spend your valuable education time studying Latin when you could be spending it on something more “practical”?

     There are three reasons Latin has long been considered the one master subject before which all others must bow.

     First, Latin teaches English better than English teaches English. “The study of one’s own language,” says classicist Charles Bennett, “is achieved incomparably better by the indirect method of studying another language ... It is because translation from Latin to English ... is so helpful to the student who would attain mastery of his own language ... that I find the full justification for the study of Latin.” In other words, education based on the study of the child’s own language is inferior to one based on Latin.

     Second, the mental discipline Latin instills in students makes it the ideal foreign language to study. Latin originated with the Romans, and their character pervades the language they created. The Roman, says R. W. Livingstone, “disciplined his thought as he disciplined himself; his words are drilled as rigidly as were his legions, and march with the same regularity and precision.”

     Latin is systematic, rigorous, analytic. Its sentences march “serried, steady, stately, massive, the heavy beat of its long syllables and predominant consonants reflecting the robust, determined, efficient temper” of the Romans themselves.

     Latin is clearly superior to other languages in this regard. Like English, modern languages are “lax and individualistic,” reflecting the modern temper of those who speak them. Thinking that you can get the same benefit out of studying them is, in Livingstone’s words, “like supposing that the muscles can be developed by changing from one chair to the other.”

     Third, Latin is the ideal tool for the transmission of cultural literacy. Latin is, in fact, the mother tongue of Western civilization—a language that incorporated the best ideas of the ancient Greeks, and which then, after the conversion of Rome, put them into the service of Christian truth.

      Rome fell into ruin, but the dying language of the disintegrating empire was infused with new life. Harnessing the power and precision of the old Latin, Christianity transformed the tongue of conquest into the tongue of conversion, and Latin became the very language of the Christian faith for over a thousand years.

     Christian Latin takes the intellectual discipline of classical Latin and adds another element: simplicity. Although the basic grammar and vocabulary of Christian Latin are the same as the classical, Christian Latin authors emphasized the transmission of Christian truth, striving for clarity and simplicity above all else. Because Christian Latin is easier to read, it is the perfect gateway to the more difficult classical Latin of Caesar, Cicero, and Virgil.

Those of you who are going to be part of the Homeschool Connection Co-Op this year need to know that there will be a new class.  Instead of the students being divided as K-2 and 3-6, instead they will be divided as K-1, 2-3, and 4-6 grade.  There are a couple changes to the literature books also.  For the 2-3 grade there will be 4 books studied: Sarah Plain and Tall; The Courage of Sarah Noble; Amos Fortune Free Man; and Caddie Woodlawn.  Those four books will be studied using the Total Language Plus curriculum.  The Literature list for 4-6 grade and 7-12 will remain the same. 

There is a parent meeting next Tuesday in Rm. 2200 at OBC!   Have I told you yet how excited I am?

As of Thursday afternoon this is the plan for The Homeschool Connection Co-Op 2008-09 School Year

K- 2  I am not sure about the books needed for this age group except for Latin

AMERICAN HISTORY

SCIENCE

LITERATURE

BIBLE

LATIN- Prima Latina (Memoria Press) Families need student book only and pronunciation CD

3-6

AMERICAN HISTORY  George Washington's World, Abraham Lincoln's World, & The World of Columbus & Sons, by Genevieve Foster

SCIENCE Not sure

LITERATURE Total Language Plus Study Guides for the following books- Plus the books:

1. The Witch of Blackbird Pond
2. Johnny Tremain
3. The Light in the Forest
4. The Call of the Wild
5. Rifles for Watie

BIBLE Proverbs Study

LATIN Latina Christiana 1; Lingua Angelica  FAMILIES NEED:

1. Latina Christiana 1 Student book
2. Pronunciation CD
3. Lingua Angelica 1 Chants, Prayers and Hymns CD

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT (CIVICS) Not Sure

7-12

AMERICAN HISTORY

1. George Washington's World
2. Abraham Lincoln's World
3. The World of Columbus & Sons all by Genevieve Foster

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT Not sure

SCIENCE

LITERATURE Total Language Plus

1. American Short Stories 
2. American Nonfiction
3. American Poetry

BIBLE Proverbs Study

LATIN  Latina Christiana 1; Lingua Angelica  FAMILIES NEED:

1. Latina Christiana 1 Student book
2. Pronunciation CD
3. Lingua Angelica 1 Chants, Prayers and Hymns CD

ALL GRADE LEVELS WILL HAVE ELECTIVES AVAILABLE THAT WERE NOT LISTED TO INCLUDE:

• ART
• PE
• DRAMA
• PUBLIC SPEAKING
• CREATIVE WRITING
• 4-H CLUB (Projects for the Fair)

I am really getting excited about this new school year coming up.  We had a co-op meeting today to discuss books and schedules.  We did not actually get to discuss the schedule much, but the books seem to be chosen and we are underway.  I will post all of the info when I return home tonight after supper.  La Hacienda re-opened Wednesday and we have been eager to get over there.  Next Tuesday we will get together to go through the supplies left over from last year.  On July 29th we will have an informational meeting for parents to answer all of those questions I keep getting.  If you cannot be there, please don't worry, it's okay. 

The Homeschool Connection Co-op will officially start on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 9:00 am-1:00 pm. There will be a teacher's planning meeting on Tuesday, August 19 at 8:00 without children. 

Check back later for more info

I am very excited about the coming school year.  This year I want to try to encorporate more Charlotte Mason and Classical Method to my children's education.  Last year was spent "unschooling" sort of.  Not in the sense that we did not use curriculum, but more that we attempted to help the children forget about grades, tests, and worksheets.  Our goal was to get the children to spend at least one year just learning how to learn.  I think we were fairly successful, but we shall see on evaluation day, July 25th.  I am most concerned with my son thatn the girls.  My son spent his childhood in public school as did my girls.  But somehow he made it through 4th grade without knowing how to multiply or divide.  We spent his entire 5th grade year at home doing 3rd grade math.  I hope our evaluator does not think we wasted an entire year.  I just could not see pushing through if he could not get those basic concepts.  As far as reading goes, they all know how to read as in the mechanics of reading.  There is no problem there.  Only Tori, my eldest, is a GREAT reader.  She reads like she speaks.  She pauses correctly and uses her voice to convey the message she reads.  The other two, however, read poorly.  We spent all of last year narrating with alot of outlining, but Halie and Branden cannot seem to "get" anything out of their books.  They are both very bright, but they miss the point sometimes. Hopefully our evaluations will go well. 

I am sort of new to this whole blogging thing.  We have so many friends and family out of town that I wanted a way to keep in touch without having to chat on the phone.  I don't particularly care for the telephone anymore. 

Summer is officially here so homeschool is taking a break for a while.  We continue to do our math drills and read, but those are just to keep the info fresh in their minds. 

In the fall we will begin with the local co-op which meets at our church.  I am excited about this and so are the children.  We will be learning Latin, American History, and lots of other cool things with other Classical homeschool students. 

Our methodology for homeschool comes from Charlotte Mason and the Trivium.  I am trying to incorporate the classical approach.  The kids were in public school for most of their lives so this is very new to them and has taken some getting used to.  But overall I think they are making the transition well.  We look forward to fall and can't wait to have our evaluations in a few weeks.