Have I mentioned that I really like Jonathan Park cds?  Yesterday's field trip to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies was a welcome break.  The crowds were thin, and we were able to enjoy it at a leisurely pace. Ripley's is a beautiful place and doesn't drip with evolutionary nonsense, but it is there. There is a lot of very interesting science as well--such as how they get the water salty enough for twelve sharks to survive and keep all that water clean with sand and bacteria. And of course, there are the fish! What an amazing variety of life the Creator has designed!

I waited for the children's response to certain lectures and exhibits.  It was time to see what they had picked up without me prompting them with questions. They were able to detect certain statements presented as fact and immediately wanted to talk about it.  Thanks to the excellent teaching from the Jonathan Park series and materials we've used from Answers in Genesis, the children are seeing science from a creationist perspective.  I love homeschooling!

A few years ago I was blogging at another host about homeschooling, the persecuted church, and trying [emphasis on try ]  to be a Titus 2 woman. It wasn't going well.  Someone --in pity, I'm sure-- left me a comment about TOS starting a new homeschool blogger platform and left a link to come join. It was a very good move for me--making friends, learning, being inspired in this off-the-beaten path choice of home education  were [and are] some of the benefits of being part of this community. What a blessing HSB has been.  Now, I'd also like to thank HSB for featuring Doe Hill Homeschool as Blogger of the Week.  It's an honor.

The President has proposed longer school days and a shorter summer vacation.  As a homeschooler, I cringe at the thought of children in school from 7:30 to 5:00 pm.  Childhood is being taken away from so many in the name of competition. What does this bode for the homeschooling community? I'm not sure, but I sure don't get a warm fuzzy feeling thinking about it.

Wow! I just counted up how many days we've completed for school so far. We're already at fifty! Praise the Lord! I can take tomorrow off!  Might as well, since our local public schools are out until Monday becuase of rampant flu.

Today, we have wrapped up quite a bit of schoolwork, finished most chores, and  are now enjoying some Jonathan Park cds while I finish cooking for the weekend.

These pictures are SO cool!  I especially love the photo that looks like butterfly wings.  Our God is so creative! Here's the Yahoo! article link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090909/ap_on_sc/us_sci_hubble_photos 

Neatest of all, the offical Hubble site has current pictures and some plans for PVC and paper  models of the Hubble:

http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/hand-held_hubble/

It's that time of year again and I'm planning our schedule for school.  So, the notebooks and parphernalia go in a tote bag with me everywhere. While at the doctor's office this morning, a couple of people mistook me for a teacher.  That is how I reacted, as though they were mistaken. Somehow there is still a block that says because my class is at home, I'm not a "real"  teacher.

Having taught Sunday school and currently teaching a class doesn't give me permission to think of myself as a teacher, either. Something about the clash of what is often perceived as a "real" teacher by society, and the off-the-beaten path we've chosen caused me to re-evaluate our choice to homeschool and ask, "Hey, am I just fooling myself? Am I just playing teacher?"

It's Not About the Title

That needed some pondering. Here's what I've decided. I'm still, first and foremost, a Mom. Not just a mom, but my children's Mother. I'm the one that God wanted to raise these kids. He's equipped me to do this job.  It's not about the title. It's about truth, family, and Jesus first. In that sense, yes, the nice folks I met were mistaken.

I'm not a profesional teacher. But my reaction of  being "just a Mom" is the one that needs tweaking.  Especially if my daughters are to catch the vision of motherhood being a blessed occupation and a high calling.  "Just a Mom" can do great things for the Lord! Children can and do thrive emotionally, spiritually, socially, and academically in the environment of a healthy, happy home.  But am I qualified?  Boy, that's a pesky question.

Some Outside Encouragement

On the way home while listening to WRJZ am 620, Dr. R. C. Sproul, Jr. brought a message about education.  How timely is that considering my experience this morning?  Focusing on the passage from Deuteronomy 6, one which is hand copied in every planning notebook I've owned in the last seven years,  he masterfully showed how education is the vehicle by which we develop worldview and the need for that education to be thoroughly Christian. He also cited an article I re-read every year, Dorothy Sayers' The Lost Tools of Learning.  The message I heard today, The Myth of Neutral Education,  mightily encouraged me in the choice we've made to homeschool.  I encourage everyone to look it up or buy the cd of that sermon!

 As a Sunday School teacher, I also appreciated his clear teaching from Deuteronomy 6 about parents not being given a pass to slough off the education of their children to the government, but also teaching that we are not  to slide the instruction in matters of faith to the church for one day a week.  As privileged as I am to teach children about Jesus and the grand old truths of the Bible,  I wish more parents of my students would experience this blessing as well by teaching their own children diligently.  As thrilling as it is to introduce these precious children to the stories presented in God's Word, and watch them as they stare back at me wide-eyed, waiting for the next part of the story, what a greater blessing it would be to have families experience this around their table at night!

 Is it Fruitful?

And that's when it hit home. Not the statistics, not the examples of other families, nor debates about methodologies confirmed our decision of homeschool. The fruit that our children are bearing is what comforted my heart and answered my questions.  The children are doing well in so many ways, but chiefly in learning about and loving the Lord. That was my top goal from day one, and by His grace and mercy we are reaching it.  Our own experience is bearing the fruit!

Truly, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. " 3 John 1:4 (KJV). Teaching them diligently in all areas--not just academics--is crucial to our family's homeschool plan. Our measurement of the successfulness of our little homeschool is not graduation, scholarships, portfolios, or big paychecks. While we know that Christian homeschooling is most surely not a pre-stamped assured ticket to Heaven, it is the way we want to diligently teach our children about Jesus and nurture  them to Christian faith. Our success will be when we can all be together in Heaven with Jesus.

Genevieve Foster books have been on my "wishlist" for years.  I have purchased Abraham Lincoln's World. Right now I'm reading it myself. I've found some words used in historical quotes that I'd like to censor with black marker, but the history story itself is engaging. [We are strict about language in  movies and books that we bring into our home. ] However, I really like the horizontal approach to history used. I'm learning quite a bit myself as I read!

Abraham Lincoln's World

Thelma Lou will be using the Beautiful Feet Guide to American history for early grades this year. The D'Aulaire books are so enjoyable to use and full on information that really "stick" with little ones. The guide is very reasonable, and many of the required books are available at the library.

Early American History

Beautiful Feet Books: Columbus

Beautiful Feet Books: George Washington

Beautiful Feet Books: Benjamin Franklin

Beautiful Feet Books: Buffalo Bill

Abraham Lincoln

She'll also be reading some Jean Fritz books. We bought one, but the library has several more that I hope to use as well.

Shh! We're Writing The Constitution

We just got our Record of the Learning Lifestyle notebooks from the Notgrass family.  We are already using them!  I love how easy they are to use. The kids are able to take responsibility for recording their learning experiences and see how reading, community service, outside activities, and math games can all be educational. 

Our A Beka math and grammar arrived last week, and we're waiting on our science curriculum from Answers in Genesis written by  Richard and Debbie Lawrence.  I can't wait to use this! Maybe this year we can visit the Creation Museum.

God's Design for Life: Three Student Manuals Set plus Teacher Supplement with CD

We're STILL listening to the Jonathan Park cd's too! We're also trying to think of some local field trips to go along with the cd topics. Some include Tuckaleechee Caverns, Dayton, Tn [site of the Scopes trial], Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, the  Knoxville Zoo, and the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. 

Jonathan Park Series, Volumes 1-4 on Audio CD

Trying to figure out when to start school while Dad has chemo and radiation for seven weeks, I have one possibly two surgeries within the next couple of months, and physical therapy, is, well, challenging.  Just as the Scripture teaches that in every temptation God makes a way of escape, I'm finding that with every new addition to my schedule, He is also giving me creative options to continue the childrens' education at home. Or on the road, as it may be this semester.

As my friend Jennifer  [who is one of the two smartest people I know, and definitely the smartest woman] put it, I may become an unschooler yet.

What a blessing it was to talk with the folks at the Notgrass booth at our local fair. After homeschooling my son for six years and my daughter  for three, I'm finally more comfortable breaking the "school at a desk" mold. Years ago I read in Debra Bell's about the need for the homeschooled student to become more independent in their studies, taking greater responsibilities for their assignments. This will probably be that year.

Our notebooks, "A Record of the Learning Lifestyle" came yesterday. The children are already using them!  I hadn't planned on starting school so early, but when we are doing schoolwork and educational activities/field trips, it only makes sense to record these activities. Our textbook studies will begin when they usually do, in September. At least--that's my best-laid plans right now. But one thing I've learned in homeschooling, flexibility is a virtue!

At the fair last Friday that I had a few adventures getting to, I also managed to find some exciting addtions to our homeschool.  We'll be using some materials from Zeezok Publishing to study lives of composers and Rod and Staff workbooks to teach music. I can't read a note of music, so until the budget allows for private music instruction, we'll stick with "appreciation". These looked really interesting, especially then accompanying cd with music, printable pages and sheet music [should we ever learn to read music]. 

Mozart, The Wonder Boy

Mozart, The Wonder Boy Study Guide

Sebastian Bach, The Boy from Thuringia

Sebastian Bach, The Boy from Thuringia Study Guide

Sebastian Bach and Mozart Companion CD Audio MP3 CD

We also bought a Jonathon Park album.  I'm amazed at this entertaining resource! Listening has sparked the children's interest in discovering more about God's creation. They even get the field guides down to read, long left  alone--and the school year hasn't even started! They hit the yard each day in search of bugs, spiders, and other neat stuff to catch. I can't complain about that---once I caught a green snake for them.

 The accompanying study guide is impressive--so many areas of study to use as starting points for further research. We bought the Beowulf album, since my son read Beowulf about a year and a half ago. Interestingly, it includes an episode based ont he Scopes Monkey trial which happened in Rhea County, Tennessee--very near us. Can we say "Field Trip"?

Jonathan Park Series, Volumes 1-4 on Audio CD

Another way Jonathon Park audios are a blessing is in their reinforcement of Christian family values. Obedience has long been under fire in standard children's entertainment.  It seems plots cannot be advanced without children disobeying in order to move the story along. Not so here. Strong fathers, wise mothers, and Biblical instruction are depicted without sacrificing love, joy, and family fun. I am vey blessed and impressed.

We'll be using math and grammar from A Beka. I didn't have much to buy for my daughter because she'll be using her brother's 3rd grade materials.  My son is ahead in school about a year, but I'll be slowing his science studies down to match his maturity level. Some topics he just isn't ready for. And I like how Karen Andreola puts it, "Let purity be the first word."  We're being choosy--but that's the blessing of homeschooling. These decisions still belong to Dad and Mom.

All I need to get is our Spelling Workout workbooks, our Scoring High Test Prep, and a history course for  DS1. We thought about Mystery of History 3, but it's pretty expensive. I'll have to wait and see on that one. I'll post on our complete curriculum a little later, since I'm still pulling things together.

We visited one of my Dad's doctors yesterday. He has taken an interest in the children because they have to come with us on appointments. He and the nurses always comment on how well-behaved they are.

This doctor in particular commented on homeschooling and Christian education. In his line of work, he meets students from public universities, private schools, and Christian colleges. He went out of his way to tell me that the students he's worked with from private schools and Christian colleges are far and away better educated and prepared for the demanding work of medicine. Homeschool students stood out in his mind due to his positive experiences working with them.

He encouraged us to consider private schools and said they'd work with us on costs. Not only that, he discussed how important it is to plan early for a college career, and mentioned several Christian colleges that he especially liked for their strong academics and Chrisitan content. Why did he do this? Because he is going through the college admission phase with his children and wanted to share what he'd learned.

This dose of encouragement and advice  was well-timed. Granted, this isn't scientific and data based, but testimonials like this just confirm to me that the path we've taken in homeschooling is the right one.

While my Dad has been staying with me recovering from cancer surgery, we've talked more than we ever had before. I'm learning so much about him, our family, and just how much we love each other and have in common.

Just yesterday I found out that he completed his last two years of high school at home with a "homebound" teacher. Not quite the same as homeschooling, but it was weird that I'd never known this before.  He said, "I had much bettter grades doing school at home than in a classroom. "  The cause for his being homebound [as they called it then] was a broken leg. His profound hearing loss probably made classroom-based learning difficult for him.

No wonder he wants all his grandkids to be homeschooled! He's seen the difference!

In the previous post I mentioned having difficulty deciding about a history course. I know that I'd like somehow to include a family history project.  I've researched our family history and had some success, but would like to include the kids.  Fortunately, we haven't strayed too far from our ancestors' dwelling place. We have deep East Tennessee roots.

So as I am typing and thinking out loud here, perhaps this would be a neat project for the kids. It could include mapping, computer skills, interviewing and communication skills, language arts, history and social studies, and research skills. Hmmmm.....I think we could even fit in a few field trips.  I know where my Great-Great-Grandfather's log cabin used to be. Making pictures and videorecordings would be an interesting diversion from reading and worksheets.  The more I think about it, the more I like it.

I'll let you know what I decide. Have any of you done this in your homeschool? How did it turn out?

Cindy's Porch  is so helpful with money saving kitchen tips. Her motto is , "Shop at home first."   Using an inventory is the first step to stop  wasting money with repetitive purchases.  This year, I'm going to adapt that method to our curriculum planning.

I'm trying to pare down our school budget this year. Over the years of our homeschool, I've acquired lots of useful books and materials from used sales, friends who've generously "donated" to the cause, and interesting books that could easily be the basis for unit studies. Time to pull all these together into an orderly unit is hard to come by. This year in particular, though, it seems wasteful to buy brand new materials when a better plan with our current items could be just as effective. Has anyone else come to that conclusion too?

I typically write our Bible, reading, and handwriting courses, but this will be my first year in pulling together my own science course using materials we have on hand. Our texts will be How Science Works by Judith Haan [ISBN 0-7621-0249-7] and Men of Science, Men of God  [Morris?] .  While not strictly a textbook, the How Science Works book has two-page spreads on a topic and usually includes an experiment.  Many sections include neat facts from history, a short bio of a famous scientist, and very clear photos demonstrating the experiments.  We are going to be reading each 2-page spread, doing vocabulary words, a short paragraph reporting our experiment results, and reading about famous scientists. We'll check to find each scientist listed in HSW in the Men of Science, Men of God book. The projects look like fun.  I still have to look over our books and see what we could use for supplemental reading.  Our Answers in Genesis magazines will be very helpful this coming year, too.  The plan so far is to have a binder for science divided into tabs for vocabulary, biography, experiment reports (with an emphasis on following the scientific method), supplemental reading, field trip reports, and diagrams [from the book]. 

History is still my bugaboo subject. I LOVE it, but the kids aren't as into it as me. I'm still undecided on whether to use Mystery of History 3 or concentrate on American history for a while.  This subject still needs to "click" with the kids.  I'm praying for guidance.  

And then there are the electives--art and music. Yikes, we are not very good at covering these.  Tips are appreciated!  Tentatively, we are going to try to do the "Lamb's Book of Art" again. The problem with this is that art just doesn't click with me!  I have some music workbooks from Rod and Staff, so perhaps I just need to combine these with some "appreciation" resources.  That part won't be hard.

The biggest problem with doing my own course plans is determining which good books to use, and which ones can wait. Ah, it's tough being a book nerd! :-)

Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has a VERY interesting blog post discussing The Condition of Education 2009 released by the US Department of Education. I really like the title of his post:

"A Major Force in Education--Homeschooling In America"

I LOVE IT!!!! Now, I insist you stop reading here and GO READ THIS ARTICLE RIGHT NOW!

We are SO in need of a school vacation.  This year has been hectic, emotional, and hard to keep a good paper trail on.  I broke my own rules this year by not keeping things as up-to-date as I like, what with my Dad's care being so time consuming. Throw in a newborn for the school year, a near-death experience for Mom,  a solid month of RSV and walking pnuemonia for the kids,  and you have one school year chock full of real-life learning.  Now the question is how to get all my record keeping done, document some of our real-life adventures, and prove learning happened. I may get some negative reaction for what I'm about to say, but this is one year I'm glad we have testing through our umbrella school. I really need an outside corroboration of our homeschool accomplishments.

Bring on Summer break! 

Dr. Brian D. Ray discussed with ONE NEWS NOW  the results of a recent study that concludes homeschool rates are growing. Catch it : 

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=375476

I've often been asked, "What about socialization?"  Then I launch into my defense of the homeschooling lifestyle, peppering it with all the times my children have behaved well, participated in outside activities, and behaved  "normally" for children. But in the back of my mind I remember all the weirdness and can't help but think, "What if the socialization people knew this?" Little incidents like:

**At the eye doctor's office this week, two ladies looked at my daughter and asked her some questions. With two peppermints in her mouth she se replies, "I just come in here for the candy."

**Dear son, aka Earnest T., says, "Mom, I want a chainsaw for my birthday. "  He's got a thing for powertools.

**On the phone with my best pal [who only has daughters] in mid-conversation I inject to my son, "Son, don't use the power tools in the living room floor." My friend cackles in laughter. "What?" I ask. "Haven't you ever said that before?"

**Dear Daugher, Thelma Lou, asks while watching and Andy Griffith Show episode [of course], "Mom, is there love between those two? They look like they're about to kiss or something. "  My wise reply? "Ask your Dad."

**The photographer asks Thelma Lou, "What color are your eyes?"  Her answer? "I don't know. I can't see my eyeballs."

**Upon entering a local clothing store, my sheltered kids cringe at the really raucous music on the loudspeakers. My six year old puts her hands on her hips and asks [LOUDLY], "Why do they play that ungodly junk? Don't they have any cd's of Jim and Marie? " [Jim and Marie are a couple who go to our church and have sung in groups in this area for over thirty years.]

Maybe those socialization folks are onto something......but I'm not too worried about it. My guess is that their kids are weird, too.

Oh, I just got an email from Nancy over at Homeschooling Is Life. She's posted  pictures up of what she and the kids entered at the fair this year. I insist you stop reading this blog RIGHT NOW and go read this entry:

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ByHisGraceInColorado/565218/?#c1108936

Way to go, you guys!

It's time for the obligatory "here's what we're doing this year" post on the blog.   I'm pretty excited about what we'll be doing, but I guess only other happy homeschoolers could possibly be interested in this sort of thing. I really enjoy planning lessons, researching curricula, spending time in prayer about what to choose,  and getting organized.   So, if lesson plans and curricula aren't your cup of tea, skip reading this one. 

We will be incorporating much more Scripture into our daily lessons, more character training, and less busy work.  We will continue to do as many subjects together as possible [Bible, read alouds, history, geography, art, and some science] .  This year we'll be using selected projects/themes from the Doorposts' books Polished Cornerstones and Plants Grown Up. Part of the appeal of these books for me is how positive character traits are teamed with great memory verses and interesting projects. I like these books so much I put copies on our church's library shelves.

We are rather brand loyal for some items [A Beka math, grammar from First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind, and Modern Curriculum Press' Spelling Workout series], so our familiarity with those products helps the kids get back into a "school routine" faster.

My usual planning problem for each year is to overplan, overbuy,  and under-schedule [not allowing enough time for projects or time off for breaks].  And then sometimes I get  a bad case of homeschool envy reading about what others are doing.  Yeah, those lapbook pictures look great, but my son would roll his eyes if I gave him a lapbook to do. He's not big on cut and paste.  Other times,  I suffer from guilt that we "aren't doing enough" and try to push too much academic "stuff" into a week's lessons.  That makes me pretty unpopular with the class of two, as well. When people ask about their school, they've been known to say, "We have the meanest teacher in the world." 

This year, I'm trying to be more realistic in what we can accomplish, not be a slave to the scope and sequence, and incorporate more real life activities into schooling.  I need to allow for time off after baby gets here, and some time off in the Spring.  I had hoped to sign up for a co-op with classes I thought the kids would enjoy, but I just don't think we'll be able to swing it, especially in the first semester.   Among other upcoming events, my husband will be going to the  John 3;16 conference in November --which I think  makes up for his missing Mayberry Days in September due to the arrival of  our little one that month---LOL.  [His favorite things are good preaching, banana pudding, and the Andy Griffith Show!]   

I also need to plan lessons for the upcoming Sunday School year which also starts in September---good things happen in ninth month, apparently.  I'm making a strong effort this year to avoid "extra" committments. It's hard to have a happy home life if my housework and basic responsibilities go undone to meet deadlines I shoudn't have imposed on myself in the first place. SIMPLIFY is our motto this year.

Right now I'm setting up my teacher's notebook.  I have a large three-ring binder with tabs for each month of the schoolyear. Behind each I put  a monthly calendar  [which I print out from our Microsoft Works program], a grade log form, and weekly lesson plans.  I usually mark attendance using the Homeschool Tracker .  Sometimes I'll get really bold and try using the assignment list option from Homeschool Tracker, but I've found that doesn't always work well for us. If I've scheduled assignments ahead of time, sick days or other life disruptions  make it difficult  to change the daily plans on the computer.  Weekly lesson plans on paper work best for us.  However, I really like the daily journal feature of the basic homeschool tracker program.

I also have a section in the teacher's book to track all the books the children read, and educational videos/dvds/websites [plus time spent on each], blank paper to make informal evaluations, and different character/school issues to pray about.  I use forms from Highland Heritage [see link in my sidebar]  and  www.organizedhome,com .  

Our curriculum looks like this:

Together:

Bible study, New Testament

Mystery of History 2

Copy work/dictation from sources I've pulled together

Alpha Omega's Thomas Kincade Art course

Geography: State notebooks from A Beka

read alouds that coordinate with MOH2

Mind Benders thinking skills books [occaisionally]

February: test prep month

Son, 5th grade;

A Beka math 5

A Beka grammar 5 [without their book reports, we'll coordinate compositions with our history course]

Spelling Workout "E"

Plants Grown Up/Contenders for the Faith

2 Bob Jones Booklinks, and other reading he chooses

Christian Kids Explore Chemistry

Daughter, 2nd grade:

A Beka math 2

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained MInd, second grade

Spelling Workout "B"

Polished Cornerstones/Keepers at Home books

1 Bob Jones Booklink plus other easy readers off our shelves

American History read alouds from the D'Aulaires

Bob Jones 2nd grade science. 

optional: Scholastic Success with 2nd grade reading comprehension worksheets, Mcgraw Hill 2nd grade reading workbook as needed

Obviously, we wont' be doing all of the above every day!   Our master schedule looks like this:

Bible, every day

Math, every day

Reading, every day

grammar/spelling//writing, Mon -Thurs

art--Fridays

science-Tuesdays/Thursdays

history-M/W/F

geopgraphy-Fridays

 The kids will set up notebooks with subject dividers later this week and decorate them.  They have stocked pencil boxes and each have their schoolbooks in separate plastic tubs to pull out at schooltime. We've not departed from a basic schedule in summertime--we get up at the same time, chores are still done by a certain time, etc.

The biggest  variable we have yet to see about is adjusting to the new baby!  Everything sounds ready to roll right now, but we'll see how well these plans work when two a.m. feedings have to be figured in to the schedule.  We may simplify a whole lot more!

From my favorite homeschooling book:

You may know discipleship up, down, backward and forward, and you may even be a great discipler and teacher. But one thing is certain--no matter how much you know or are able to do, your children will want to become only as mature as you are willing to become. Jesus taught, "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher" (Luke 6:40). Your child is not above his teacher (that's you), and will in fact become like you when his education is completed....You are your child's standard for Christian maturity....

...Wholehearted Christian children come from homes led by wholehearted Christian fathers and mothers. We must take the gospel to the nations, but the home will always be God's primary tool for reproducing believers in the world. And it all starts with your heart.

~~~Clay and Sally Clarkson, in Educating the Wholehearted Child: A Handbook for Christian Home Education

Educating the Whole Hearted Child

You may have seen it, but in case you didn't, here's the link   to a neat story about a homeschooled whiz kid.

A seventeen year old homeschooled kid has customized two cars to run on electric power, completely rechargeable through a regular household outlet. He figures charging both vehicles adds only $10 a month to his family's electric bill.

Pretty cool, huh?   Makes me if I wonder if I should tweak my lesson plans a bit for the coming year.....

Homeschoolers who try to do everything that advertisers and others say they need soon find themselves overloaded, so they must look for ways to simplify the curriculum...Start by using the Bible as the main textbook. It leads your children to eternal salvation and leads them to making good use of their lives while here on earth. Beyond that, it leads to a better academic education than the humanist and pagan and other approaches the world uses.

~~~Dr. Ruth Beechik, from

A Biblical Home Education: Building Your Homeschool on the Foundation of God's Word By Ruth Beechick

How about  getting in and out of a curriculum fair in less than two hours? No kidding, that's all the time I spent at this year's fair. I skipped workshops (hubby was sick) and I was much better organized this year.  Our local group allows for free internet  download of workshops after the event, so I decided just to wait on those.

Here are my tips on a speedy trip to the fair:

1. Pre-pay with the sponsoring group if possible.   Our local group, SMHEA, allowed folks to register and pay dues early. They had contacts at local umbrella schools with everything needed to register at testing time in March. This allowed me to skip much of the line to get into the fair.  I'd like to tip my hat to the SMHEA folks---they know what they are doing and make getting in and out EASY. Very well-run affair.

2. Leave the kids at home.  If possible, you can get around much faster  if they aren't stopping every two mintues going, "Hey Mom look at this!" Most years they go with me when I can devote all day to looking around because I want to see what interests them. This year, when time was short for me, having them doing chores at home was much more helpful.

3. Bring pre-printed labels with name, address, phone, and email information. It's easier to quickly stick a label on an email or newsletter sign-up sheet than to have to try fill one out with lots of people milling about. 

4. Bring a wagon,  wheeled cart, or baby stroller  to haul the stuff you buy. It will save your back and keep you from having to make several trips to the car to deposit things.

5. Get a map of the facilities and vendor locations ahead of time.  This way you can circle the location of the vendors you HAVE to see and number them in order of the stops you need to make. Leave the vendors you merely wish to browse for last.  Follow this order when you get to the fair. Then  the "have to do" stuff will be out of the way quickly and you get on to browsing!

6. If you are ordering textbooks, get the publishers catalogs ahead of time.  Browse the catalog and fill out the order form before you get to the fair. We always use A Beka math and like Bob Jones booklinks. I couldn't find any used this year, so I had to buy new. I had my forms filled out  down to the subtotal lines before setting foot in the facilities. DON'T GO AHEAD AND FIGURE TAX. Sometimes different states will tax certain items and not others. Let the representative do the final figuring on taxes! 

7. Make a shopping list.  Sometimes I just want to check things out before buying. There are, though, some things that are much better to buy at the fair, especially items like textbooks which often feature no shipping charges when ordered there. 

When you make the shopping list, make a page for each student's planned curriculum [I just write mine on notebook paper].  Highlight the things you need to buy at the fair. On a separate piece of paper, make a list of all you need to buy or want to look at and beside them write the price of these items from booksellers like Rainbow Resource , Shekinah [they match prices], or Christian Book Distributors . Remember, some of these sellers may not charge sales tax [depending on where you live] and offer free shipping on large orders as well as better prices than you'll find at the fair. At the fair you may find higher prices, pay sales tax, and may even have to pay shipping!  Be prepared to compare.  Be sure to staple you shopping lists, label page, vendor map, and workshop shedule together. 

8. Do the textbook shopping first.  Get your map of the facilities. Get there early. If you have pre-registered hopefully you'll be near the beginning of the line.  Get to the tables and grab a representative before they get busy answering questions with other folks who need more help/time from the rep. 

This year I was able to make five stops in about thirty minutes [A Beka for math, Alpha Omega for an extra set of art workbooks for the Thomas Kincade course from last year, Bob Jones for  a Booklink study guide, Miller Pads and Paper for handwriting and graph paper pads that were just a $1.50 each, and the Doorposts booth to get a copy of Plants Grown Up--which also happened to be on special  cheaper than  the Rainbow Resource price] . Then I had time to browse the fair for some other things I needed. 

Granted, our local fair is smaller in scope than a large convention, but this kind of planning can make navigating a larger convention  easier as well.   Happy shopping!