Posted in Teachers Corner

Okay, a few months ago, my friend ams tagged me, and I haven't done anything with it yet. So here goes:

1) One homeschooling book you have enjoyed
Building Thinking Skills Primary from Critical Thinking/Bright Minds.
Logic is very important for so many reasons, but mostly because we can't defend our faith on emotion. This has taught my little one basic logic without the adult explanations of how or why it works. Very colorful and hands-on for the little ones.

2) One resource you wouldn't be without.
My fiber-optic Internet connection.
I love being able to instantly search (at high speeds!) for anything: definitions from an 1800s dictionary to info on apple snails to a computer game about Lewis and Clark.

3) One resource you wish you had never bought.
The worn-out microscope I picked up at a garage sale.
There were no instructions and too many pieces missing to know what to do with it. I ended up just getting a new one, supplementing it with the leftovers from the used one, and finding a store that sells more supplies for it.

4) One resource you enjoyed last year.
Mind Benders A1 from Critical Thinking Press/Bright Minds.
I love logic puzzles, so finding them for children (done with pictures for non-readers) was so thrilling! My dd picked them up for the first time at 5 years old, and did 16 of them by herself on the first day. I was so excited!

5) One resource you will be using next year.
Anything history related. Maybe the Light and the Glory for kids.
She loves hearing history as stories (Little House, the Bible, etc.), so she and Daddy will begin studying history in general, and locally alongside geography (my dh is a train history buff).

6) One resource you would like to buy.
A general, third-grade level computer program.
Seems like Disney drops out with the first graders, JumpStart can't be found in WalMart anymore, and my favorite homeschool store doesn't carry anything like this 'til the 5th grade level. Visual programs do really well with this child.

7) One resource you wish existed.
A practical manual, much like an encyclopedia, where other homeschool parents have listed their solutions to every problem we could ever face, from discipline to materials to housework to ... you get the idea. And it must be update-able on a regular (daily?) basis.

8) One homeschooling catalog you enjoy reading.
I don't really have a favorite. Rod and Staff, while I don't use a lot of their products, is always uplifting and reminds me of the responsibility I have to teach her spiritual matters. Academic Toolbox is a local (an hour away, but that's fairly close around here) educational store, and their catalog is great for not being a chain store; the store is, of course, much more fun than the catalog. Otherwise, I tend to look up resources on the Net when I need them.

9) One homeschooling website you use regularly.
Sorry -- I'm going to do three.
The Math Worksheet site -- you can generate math drill sheets here. Hooray!
The Old Schoolhouse -- of course! TOS has been so wonderful for me.
Calvary Chapel Children's Ministry Curriculum -- I know it's not a homeschool site, but I use it for Bible curriculum starters. This is my denomination, and it teaches the Bible verse-by-verse, even to the kids (tho' some things are left out because of the difficulty of it for their ages). We also use this in our Sunday School to a degree.

So, there they are. Now I have to tag five people. Hmm. Gottsegnet, Raising Faith, Javamamma, CallMeKate, and Maxwell Academy -- and of course, anyone else who wants to sound off on this.