Hello!  Another homeschool mom suggested this website on organizing your home, including homeschool organizing.  It is:  www.organizedhome.com  This is the time of year when I always go crazy trying to get everything in order & cleaned out... you'd think I'd have it done by now, with summer vacation almost over! 

Check out the Organized Home website for great ideas on not only organizing your home and homeschool, but also on freezer cooking (cooking lots of food ahead of time & freezing for later) as well as other ideas.   Happy cleaning & organizing!

Hello everyone!  I've been terrible about writing anything in this blog... I keep up with the Connecticut one, but this one has gone by the wayside.  But I think I will be using it more this year to journal our homeschool year.  I think it's so cool how some people do that!

Well, I love the beginning of a new school year!  The tons of school supplies being sold at every store you go to... they just beckon me!  I also love the smell of new school books, making new schedules, and starting new outside activities with the kids.  It's just so nice to know that even if last year was somewhat of a flop, you have the opportunity to start over, right?  :o)

One thing I've done in the past & hope to do again before we start our classes (we start the week after Labor Day) is to cook some meals ahead of time & freeze them.  It really helps on those days that have too many activities crammed in & you just don't have time to start dinner early.  I have several cookbooks on cooking ahead or cooking once a month, they are all helpful.  But I find that some of the recipes my family simply doesn't like.  So, just take out your family's favorite recipes and double it up & freeze!  Get the kids involved!  This year I'm especially excited about it because we finally got a dishwasher... after being married for 14 years & not having one!  Woo hoo!!!! This will make clean up time a little nicer.

Hope you all have a great time planning & getting ready for the upcoming year, if you haven't started already.  Another note... my kids love getting a little pile of goodies on their "first" day of school... like new pencils, erasers, notebooks, etc. 

Have a great day!!!

It's now time to enroll your K-6th grade students for the 2007-08 Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program.  You can either call 1-800-426-6548 or you can click on this link to enroll your homeschooled children:

http://www.bookitprogram.com/enrollment/homeschool.asp

You will receive your free materials in September.

The enrollment deadline is June 8, 2007.  The program runs from October 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008.

These are great "how to draw" videos!  I must say that Jan Brett is one of my favorite illustrators!

How to Draw a Siberian Husky Dog
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_siberian_husky_dog.htm

Other great How to Draw Videos -

How to Draw a Hedgehog Starring Astro
~
http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_hedgehog_starring_astro.htm

How to Draw a Chick
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_chick.htm

How to Draw a Bunny
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_bunny.htm

How to Draw Horses
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_horses.htm

~ How to Draw a Lion
http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_lion.htm

How to Draw Hedgie in a Spacesuit
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/hedgie_blasts_off.htm

How to Draw an Elephant
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_an_elephant.htm

How to Draw a Gingerbread Baby
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_gingerbread_baby.htm

How to Draw a Toucan
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/the_umbrella_2004_tour.htm

How to Draw a Chicken
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_chicken.htm

How to Draw a Train
~ http://www.janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_train.htm

Hello everyone!  I just wanted to let everyone know about an awesome spelling website that my kids love!  They actually do their spelling before I even ask them... every day!  It is called Spelling Time and you can find it at: www.spellingtime.com  One of the features that my kids like about it is that they are rewarded with games if they spell their words correctly.  So, check it out, it's FREE! 

Check out the National Novel Writing Month website for information about their Young Writers Program at: http://www.nanowrimo.org/.  You can sign up for your students to write a novel during the month of November.  You will then get a Classroom Starter Kit to help your students get going on their novels.  Sounds like a great project!

Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing promotion program.

Sponsored in cooperation with

Affiliate State Centers for the Book

COMPETITION LEVELS

To receive via Email free teaching materials, including lesson plans, blackline masters, assessment sheets and sample letters, contact the LAL national program director at: lettersaboutlit@epix.net. You can also find additional information at the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress Web site: www.loc.gov/letters

HOW TO ENTER GUIDELINES

Check out the "Library Elf"... a great tool to help you remember when your library books are due!

Avoid overdues with email alerts

Check multiple library cards

Track books, DVDs, CDs, videos, etc.  

Join for free

"Library Elf" is a service customers can use to get reminders of their
overdue books. Evidently the individual signs up and that automatically
adds his/her library system to their list of agencies. It is not a service
that is provided by YOUR library system or even affiliated with it.

The customer just needs to provide contact information (e-mail address and
name) for each library account, a barcode, and the corresponding PIN number.
Library Elf will check the account every day, and let you know via email
before materials are due.

www.libraryelf.com <http://www.libraryelf.com/>

This cartoon was drawn by Jim Erskine, a homeschool dad.  He is the one who also has the www.homeschoolradioshows.com website which has some wonderful old radio shows every week!  They are great "living books" type dramas, and we have enjoyed them over the years.  Anyhow, he has drawn this cartoon & I thought others would enjoy it.

Have a great day!

Nathalie

*************************

Only the Names Remain

The Cherokees and the Trail of Tears

     Only the Names Remain is by Alex W. Bealer and illustrated by William Sauts Bock.  The book has 84 pages and was published by Little, Brown, and Company in 1972.  This is a true story about what happened to the Cherokees when they were forced to leave Georgia and go to Arkansas.  After the Revolutionary War, the Cherokees were learning the white man's ways and had become friendly with them.  Some of them even became very welathy, they had inherited land and money from their white fathers.  Then one day, a Cherokee Indian found a gold nugget on Cherokee land.  That caused Georgia to make unofficial laws to allow white men to kick Cherokees out of their homes and lands.  Then the Trail of Tears started, the long journey that forced the Cherokees from Georgia to Arkansas.  Some of the Cherokee families escaped to the Smoky Mountains.  On the way to Arkansas, about one fourth of the Cherokees died.  The Cherokees are no longer found in the mountains of Georgia... only the names remain.

     One part of the book that I enjoyed the most was when the Cherokees were on the Trail of Tears.  One of the Indian's wives was mistreated by a soldier.  Her husband, named Tsalis, killed the soldier and the family managed to escape to the Smoky Mountains.  I thought it was exciting how that family escaped.  I also enjoyed many of the illustrations.

     Alex Bealer did a great job telling me about how the Cherokees suffered on the Trail of Tears.  Before I read this book, I didn't really know what the Trail of Tears was about.  I am glad that Indians are no longer treated this way.

Book Review by Jon, age 11.

Hello everyone!  I found that this website (recommended by another homeschool mom) was totally cool!  Do you ever get frustrated with figuring out what chore should be done by which child?  Or do you have arguing going on... like, it's your turn, no it's not!  Here is a website that helps you make fair chore lists or schedules for your family.  The schedules are emailed to you weekly... can you beat that?  Check it out at   www.chorebuster.net 

Any of you moms tired of listening to your children complain because they have to write out another written narration or book report?  Why not have them learn to type it out?  Here is a free typing program that you can use right online, no downloading needed.  It's free and easy!   Also, the child receives a certificate every time he/she passes a level.  Fun!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

I just subscribed to this free newsletter and took a quick peek at the latest newsletter & it looks great!  I think it will be a wonderful resource to add to anyone's history studies.  Also great for those who enjoy unit studies. The Learning Through History News is published once a month and it shares great ideas that can be used in your history program.  They gather articles, activity ideas, and other helpful info and deliver it to your email inbox!    For more info: http://www.learningthroughhistory.com/newsletter.php

When I first started homeschooling, one thing that really intimidated me was teaching my children to read.  I thought only "professionals" could do that!  My insecurities led me to want to try every learning to read program that was produced and ask every veteran homeschool mom what they had used to teach their children to read.  Over the years I have learned that there is no "one size fits all" program out there... what works for one family or child may not work for another!  With that being said, here are some of my favorite resources and techniques to teach your little ones to read:

READING MADE EASY by Valerie Bendt

This is the book I am currently using to teach my daughter to read and we both LOVE it!  My daughter really loves being able to read sentences and short stories, it makes it much more interesting than just learning a bunch of sounds and words.  We also love the read-aloud time that is at the end of each lesson, where the child picks a book for mom to read.  That makes the reading lesson even more special... time for just mommy and child (or children, if the other kids start crowding around when the story is being read!).  This reading curriculum also has the child do copywork of the sentences that he/she is currently learning to read.  If you would like more information about this book, check out www.valeriebendt.com .

I used several different curriculums with my first child (a son).  By the time he was in 3rd grade, he still didn't read terribly well, and just wasn't interested in reading.  Now that I look back, there were probably several reasons for this.  First, being a boy, he always was more interested in playing outside, building something, or playing a sport.  Let's just say he is a very hands-on learner.  Second, I was insecure in my ability to teach and if the lesson wasn't going over well, I got discouraged and frustrated easily.  Third, I believe he just wasn't really ready! 

Around that time I started reading some books by Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore.  What I read astounded me!  They said that many children are simply not ready at an early age to read and it was actually not even good for their eyes to read at a young age!  Everything they wrote was based on research.  I was so relieved to realize that my son was normal and that he would be reading fluently when the time was right.  What a weight off my shoulders! 

By the next summer, he was reading fluently and at or above his grade level.  What did I do to encourage him?  Here are some things we did or used:

READING REFLEX by Carmen McGuinness and Geofrey McGuinness

This book uses the "foolproof phono-graphix method" to teach your child to read.  My son and I both enjoyed using this book.  There were a lot of games (my son loves games!).  The book was easy to use and very inexpensive compared to other learning to read programs there are out there.  I would really recommend this resource and you can read more about this book at www.amazon.com

BUDDY READING

I read about this technique from another homeschool mom and it really did work.  We call it buddy reading.  My son and I would sit together with an easy book.  We would take turns reading each sentence.  So, I would read the first sentence, then he would read the next sentence and so on.  It made the task of reading much easier for my son, and he was able to enjoy the story more than if he had to struggle through the whole book by himself.  After a few weeks of doing this, when his reading was getting better, we then took turns reading each paragraph.  After he improved his reading with each paragraph, we then each took turns reading each page.  By then we were able to read chapter books and my son was happy about that!

READING MATERIAL

I also found that it helped to have a lot of great, interesting books around for my son to read.  At the beginning he liked learning to read books such as the "Step Into Reading" series.  These books have great topics and stories that make reading more interesting.  We then started reading the "Magic Tree House" books.  This helped keep his interest and he was always excited to read the next story in the series.

FAVORITE HOBBY/TOPIC/INTEREST

My son has always been crazy about sports.  I think his first word was "ball"... not Mom or Dad, it was "ball"!  Ever since, he almost always has a ball in his hand, whether it be a baseball, basketball, soccer ball, etc, etc! 

So, my husband decided to try to encourage our son to read the sports page in the newspaper to learn more about what was going on in the world of sports.  At first I was doubtful that our son would be about to read the sports articles... but by the end of the summer, he was able to read them all with no problem! 

I have spoken to other moms who have had the same experience.  If you have a reluctant reader, find out what they are really passionate about and have them read about it.  If they want to learn more about the topic, they'll read! 

Now, my son reads all the time... sometimes late into the night!  He loves to read mysteries, sports stories and about other topics he is interested in.  Sometimes, when reads something to me, I look at him and think, "Wow... I taught him to read!"  What a great feeling!  If I can do it, so can you! 

Welcome

 Hello!  I am so pleased that you have come to visit me on my blog! 

A Little about Me

My name is Nathalie (Nat for short) and I have been married for over 12 years to Mark.  We have 3 children ages 11, 8, and 6.  This is our 7th year of homeschooling!  What started out as "let's just try this for a year" has continued to this day!

How We Homeschool

I am a hopeless bookaholic, so we use many,  many great living books in our homeschool studies.  We are definitely not a textbook family!  We love Unit Studies and incorporate many of Charlotte Mason's ideas in our day to day learning.

What Will This Blog Be About?

Over the years I have recommended many books to friends who have asked me for suggestions on what books to read.  I prefer many of the older, out-of-print books, but we also read books that are currently in print (many Newberry and Caldecott titles are wonderful!).  I love to let others know why our family enjoyed certain books, so I thought I would do a blog with book reviews and ideas on how to use great literature in your homeschool.  I also hope to encourage other families to build a great home library of their own.  My hope is that this blog can be a great homeschool resource for you.  If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to email me with them!

Where To Find Used Living Books

Well, as you can imagine, I have accumulated MANY books over the years!  My husband always jokes around that I could start a library (I think he is serious!).  Some of my favorite books are out-of-print, and I found that many libraries are getting rid of these very same books!  Apparently, if a book is not checked out enough from the library, they discard it.  Well, in my quest for an awesome collection of living books, I was often finding duplicates of titles that I already owned.  So, I started offering these "extra" books to other homeschoolers through my eBay store several years ago.  I enjoy hunting for books (it's like treasure hunting!), and I wanted to be able to help other homeschoolers build awesome home libraries like we have!  So, if you are in search of a particular title, or just want to check out what I have for sale right now, feel free to click on the link on the right side of this page called "Nat's Used Books eBay Store" or you can click right here:  http://stores.ebay.com/Nats-Used-Books-and-More

There's always time for a great book!

Have a wonderful day