I have created a list of internet links that the girls will use for their studies.  This is just a small list, but it gives them the information they will need.

You can have the best laid plan but sometimes the library will not have the books you are looking for OR they will sometimes be checked out.  The internet sites will help the study stay on track and progress in a nice manner.  They can read the information and take notes, just like with a book.  They can write their reports or essays that will be edited first then recopied (if needed) for their notebook or eNotebook.

Here are some of the internet sites that I have found
Ancient Egypt Internet Sites

I hope these will help you.
Blessings,
Lisa

My girls are reading Jane Eyre for their Classical Book Club.  I was thrilled when our library offered this.  It's an activity that helps me with their schooling and they LOVE it!  Even if there were not part of a book club, Jane Eyre was on my MUST read list.

We have a booklist, some they actually would like to read and some they MUST read.  This system has worked well for us over the years.  It keeps us focused and they loved to try and finish the list.

Here is a site that offers a FREE Study Guide for Jane Eyre
http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmJaneEyre02.asp

If you are looking for another book, google the title or free study guide and look at the results.  You'll even find books (the whole book) that you can read online for FREE!

Blessings,
Lisa

Library time!!

TruthQuest gives me a ready to use booklist with grade level reading (see why I LOVE TruthQuest).  If your curriculum does not offer this, this is where you may need to make your own.  You really should have one.  It will save MAJOR time in the library.  Remember most libraries have their data base online so make use of your early morning or late night surfing by requesting or looking up books on this subject. 

1. I make sure that each child has their copy of "checklist for writing an outline".  They will use this checklist to help them take notes on the books they read.

2. Each child gets a copy of the Book Log form.  This helps them with organization skills.  They keep track of the books they check out of the library (with due date) and they can make notes if they need to check a book out again at a later time.

Let the fun of learning begin!  When the girls and me get home we take some time to go through the books we have found.  I will assign to them the ones they need to read on their own and some will be for group time.  We use our study outline to help us stay focused.  The girls are to use their checklist outline while reading their books and listening in group time.

Some families like to go through the whole study first then build their notebooks.  We like to study a section and then build at the end of each section.  There is NO right or wrong way here.  It's what works for you family.

While the girls read they will make notes also of pictures they would like to have scanned to use in their work.  I also make them use their own drawings throughout their project.  Every report or journal entry MUST be handwritten FIRST!  I will edit their work.  They will then type their entry into the computer or sometimes they like to scan their paper in to be used in their creation.

If you are doing just a regular notebook project, all the same steps I use.  All reports have a first draft, goes to the editing room (that would be me!).  The second draft is for book entry, unless their work is not neat.

Remember.  You are NOT on a timetable here.  This is your project.  What works for one family may not work for yours.

Blessings,
Lisa

We are using TruthQuest History “Ancient Egypt & Ancient Greece”.  Below is a link to their site.

http://www.truthquesthistory.com/

The reason I chose TruthQuest:

· Michelle Miller has a great layout that works well for our family.

· Booklist is provided

· She includes her famous “Big 2 Beliefs”

Remember:  If you don’t have TruthQuest, don’t worry, eNotebooking can be use with ANY curriculum and so will the steps I share with you. 

I map out on paper first the things I need to do or set up like:

· Software I use:  Publisher, Word, PDF 995, Scrapbook Factory and PrintMaster

· Regular notebooks, pens and pencils

· Library Book Log {I will give you the form I use that you can download}

· My guide to our study—TruthQuest has this mapped out for me (thank goodness, now I can spend my time with other items that must get done!)  This is something you will need to do if your curriculum does not provide this.  It will help you stay focused on the study.  TruthQuest offers the table of content for download if you would like to take a look at it.  http://www.truthquesthistory.com/store/pdf/EgyptGreeceTOC.pdf

Step 1

1. The first thing I like to do is set up our school Icon on my desktop.  This is where I store ALL information on our subjects. 

2. I then create a folder called Ancient Egypt.  Inside this folder, I start out with folders labeled “pictures” and “websites”.  Our family LOVES to cook, so I also include a folder labeled “recipes”.  At the end of each notebook we create, we make a cookbook for that study.  This is just something we do, you DO NOT have to do this. 

3. Now I go to work collecting pictures to put in my file.  I start with Google images first (WARNING:  I would not recommend you letting your children google images.  Sometimes it will pull up some very inappropriate pictures).  Since this will be used for just our own personal use, I don’t have to worry about copyright issues.  You don’t have to find ALL your pictures in 1 day.  I take several weeks gathering images of our notebooks.  You can add to your folder whenever.  Also don’t forget programs like PrintMaster, Print Shop, etc.   They have some great clipart that you can use.  Also Microsoft Clipart online had some great ones as well.

4. How about those websites.  I make a folder in my bookmarks/favorites file and label it.  Then I google ancient Egypt and go to work.  Not all sites will be suitable, so just save the ones that work for your family.

Download Items:

Book Log

Checklist for Outline  

For those who are thinking of trying eNotebooking and those who have been eNotebooking, I wanted to share our project with you.  I will be blogging a step-by-step from start to finish for those who would like to join us.

We will be using TruthQuest for studying Ancient Egypt.  The girls wanted to do an "Indiana Jones" style journal.  I made the Title page for their journals.  This outlines what we will be learning about.

If you are trying to find something interesting for science let me share this site with you.

Museum of Vision: Educational Resources

An educational program affiliated with the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The Museum of Vision has published on its website 3 curriculum guides which focus on the human eye, perspective and how the brain processes images like optical illusions and 3-D."

When you get to the site you'll see the 3 guides that are in pdf files:

1. Eye Openers — Describes the basic concepts of vision, anatomy of the eye, optical illusions, binocular vision, etc.
2. Art and Vision — Describes how artists create the illusion of 3-dimensions by exploring the basic concepts of vision, size scaling, overlapping, atmospheric perspective and linear perspective.
3. Animal Eyes — The animal kingdom is full of amazing eyes. Discover eyes that look like yours, and eyes that are wildly different. Join scientists on their exciting quest to understand how animals actually see.

Click on any one and the pdf file opens to reveal a well-formatted education guide with interesting text and colorful photos and illustrations. You can review it online or print it out to use offline. Every guide provides interesting discussion points and fun interactive activities.

In addition to the free guides, this website houses online exhibits. From the menu on the left side of your screen, under "Ophthalmic Heritage & Museum of Vision," click on "Exhibits." A new page opens. Look for the words "Online Exhibits" and click. A new page opens with a menu of online exhibits to explore.
Blessings,

Lisa G.

I would like to share Jan Brett's site with you.  http://www.janbrett.com/activities_pages.htm

This site is FULL of great activities that you can print out and build lapbooks/notebooks with your preschooler or even older children (I love her pages).  She has everything catagorized and you will spend quite sometime here downloading and printing out pages of WONDEFUL fun and learning.

Blessings,

Does your child struggle with penmanship?  Mine would rather type it out than print it out.  So I need to make sure they get their daily helping of penmanship.  I wanted to share this site with you.

Handwriting for Kids
This website offers basic instruction and free practice worksheets for learning to print and write in cursive. It has links to additional websites that contain information, hints, printable practice worksheets, different styles and methods of printing and handwriting, as well as shopping carts for handwriting books. This site really provides everything you need to teach your kids how to print or write cursive.

eNotebooking tip:  If you have a child that just has horrid penmanship not matter what they try or do, why not download a special font just for them to use to type out their papers.  There are TONS of cool fonts that can be had for FREE!!  There are even fonts that look like handwriting.  Remind the student to get creative with their work.  Here is a link to a great site with free downloads and their fonts are catagorized which makes for easy finding!  http://simplythebest.net/fonts/

Blessings,

Have you thought of a family Blog? This is a WONDERFUL way to not only keep intouch with family but your children will develope great writing skills plus manage and maintain a blog.

I have my children write out on paper their newsletter. I will edit it, then they type it on Word, after one more edit from me, we then copy and paste it into our blog spot. Don't forget to add pictures to your bolg.
Let your family see the SUPER projects your children are doing.

Since I save all their newsletters in Word, I print them out and make a nice "Year Book" for our family.

To Blog or Not to Blog....This is the question!

Have FUN everyone!!
Blessings,

Most homeschool families are on limited budgets.  I always try and find a fun and interesting place for us to go on field trips but we were limited because of our budget.  Well thanks to the internet I have been able to take the children to TONS of places, even overseas!!!

If you have not tried a VIRTUAL Field Trip, you don't know what you're missing. 

We can take a virtual tour to France, India, England, Canada, etc.  I don't have to pack a bag, get passports or find a sitter for the family pet.  It's not the same as being there, but hey it's FREE and our family LOVES VFTD (Virtual Field Trip Day).  You can plan them around lessons or just go somewhere fun and have the children write about it OR make an eNotebook.  Let me help you get started.

Seasons Around the World
The Adler Planetarium has designed this multi-media animated presentation to help kids understand seasons and why they are oppposite in the northern and southern hemispheres of Earth.
http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/education/resources/interactives/seasons.shtml

Have FUN!!!
Blessings,

I must admit that math is NOT my strong subject.  Thank goodness my husband "shines" in this area!!   Still, with daily life and making ends meet our time can become limited.  I would love to say I'm one of those families that have it ALL together  You know, ...Clean house, dinner always ready on time, the prefect homeschool schedule, etc.

I needed help and I'm not ashamed to say it.  The 2 items I have found that made a BIG difference with my children are:

1. The Quarter Mile.  The children can pick if they want to horse race or car race their way into learning math facts.  I just love this program and I have the children spend 30 minutes every other day doing different math drills.  http://www.thequartermile.com/
2. Teaching Textbooks.  This is like having a tutor at the push of a button.  My youngest child does math first thing in the morning now, where she would hide when I told her it was time for math.  I feel this was a wonderful investment for our family.  They have animated lectures with lots of real-world applications.  There is audiovisual solutions for every single problem.  The feature I like best is their automated grading on homework and quiz problems.  http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/

Remember... Not every product will work with every child.  This is something that helped our family and I'm sharing with you.  Take a look if you are troubled with math and evaluate their products for yourself.
Blessings,

eNotebooking can be a fun thing for us parents also.  Don't worry if you're not computer savvy.  The library is FULL of books on computers and their programs.  Challenge yourself to learn a new program.  Start a blog, create your own website, etc.

If that seems a little TOO much to get started with, make your own personal journal to give to your children.  I have created "Our Family Cookbook and Traditions" book to give to my girls.  You can make this in any word processor program.  I have put our favorite family meal recipes with stories to go with them like, Mother's first meal she made Father while dating.  You get the idea.  I will use clipart I have on file or I will take pictures of the actual dish.  I have pictures of my daughters first pie she ever made.  She was SO proud that day!

Tell about certain or all family traditions that you have.  Use photos of your own or scan in old pictures of your family.  My grandpa was famous for his Chicken and Dumplings.  When he passed no one had his recipe, not even my grandmother.  My grandpa's sister sent me her recipe with a sweet note saying that tthis recipe was not near as good as my granpa's but it's something for me to try.  I have scanned in my great aunt's note along with pictures of my grandpa with her chicken and dumpling recipe.

I hope I have your creative juices flowing!!  Remember, this is not a project that has to be finished in a week.  I'm still working on our Family cookbook and I add to it all the time.
Blessings,

With SO many different computer programs and not everyone uses the same products how can you share an attachement if that person can't open it?  Make it into a PDF file.

This is easy to do and you don't have to buy expensive software either.  There are TONS of free PDF converters online now.  My favorite one that I use is PDF995  http://www.pdf995.com/faq.html

I'm not the most organized person.  In fact, I struggle in this area.  Notebooking and eNotebooking has helped me in learning organizational skills.

I started looking at my computer as one BIG file cabinet and the individual folders I made were the drawers.  I'm the head librarian and my computer is my dewey decimal catalog system.  This has served me well.  It takes a little time to set up but well worth it!!  Remember...Rome was not built in a day.

A big challenge I found was keeping my bookmarks or favorites for web sites organized.  After spending 20 minutes trying to find a web site, I knew there had to be a better way.  Just as I made file folders on my computer I made them for my bookmark/favorites.  Another great way to keep online sites organized is using an online bookmark site.  This way you can access your bookmark/favorites even if you are not on your computer.  Here is one that I use.

Portaportal   http://www.portaportal.com/

You can google online bookmarks to find TONS of other sites.  Another great feature with some of these sites is that they will let you share your bookmarks/favorites with friends and family!
Blessings,

I have to say that Bible is my favorite subject to teach.  I have never really stressed over how to plan out my time here.  However, I'm always asked about this subject like:

• How do you know when to teach what?
• Do you start at the beginning and end at the end?
• How young do you start memory work, etc.

My rule of thumb has ALWAYS been...There is no such thing as "too young".  Even though a 2 year old may not know all the words to your daily blessings over food, they do understand that we take time before each meal to say "Thank you to our Lord" for what He has provided.  Some may say that saying "Thank you Lord for this food, Amen" is not very thankful.  When your teaching your young one to praise and send thanks to the Lord, that is sweet music in His ears.

Saying the Lord's Prayer everymorning before they beging their day or Psalms 23.  You will be surprised at who quickly they memorize these verses.

I wanted to share with you a place that I have used for our Bible time.  The girls could not wait to receive the booklet in the mail.  It's called "Keys for Kids"
http://cbh.gospelcom.net/kfk/home.php

I have created a key template where you can write verses the children are trying to learn so they can take them where ever they go.  Laminate and bind them together for longer use.  You can find my template at my YAHOO group.
Blessings,

Instead of your child creating their school work in a notebook or lapbook, they will be using the computer.  They will type out their reports on the word processor adding pictures or clip art where they like to make the eNotebook their own (just like in notebooking).

I make the girls write out their reports first.  This way they get handwriting practice and there is NO spell check available to them .  This will also help them with their typing skills.

I let the girls use their own pictures they take with our camera, computer and internet graphics they find as well.  I also will scan in their own drawings to be put into the eNotebook.  If I print out the eNotebook, I will bind it or hole punch it and place in a binder.  If I print out the eNotebook I will leave blank pages so they can add their own drawings as well as some handwritten work.

The great thing about eNotebooking you can make the creation how you like.  ALL computerized or half computer half hand made.

I'm working on an ebook "A Beginner's Guide to eNotebooking" with step by step instructions and illustrations so you can see how I set things up for our school on the computer.  I will let you know when I have finished it and give you a link to download it as well.

Blessings,

I have created this blog for those who may be interested in taking their home education to the next level using the computer and internet, but not quite knowing how to get things started.

eNotebooking (electronic notebooking or computer notebooking) is taking your childs' creation and putting an electronic "twist" to it.  eNotebooking does NOT mean that your child will be in front of the computer all day.  You the parent have FULL control over the time they spend.  It's a new way for them to show (express) what they have learned.  Some families are already doing this, others may not like this way.  This is the FABULOUS thing about homescholling, you get to do it YOUR way!!

I will be sharing with you how I set up our school for eNotebooking.  The items we use, how we use them and our favorite products.

For those that may or may not like the idea of eNotebooking (but enjoy notebooking) I have free notebooking items that you may enjoy on my YAHOO group.

I hope some of you will join me on our journey of eNotebooking!