Our Homeschool Studio
Oct. 27, 2009
TOS subscriptions for $7.95-WOW and a new FREE unit study for autumn
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If you have read much of my blog or things I post on Facebook, you know I really enjoy my The Old Schoolhouse magazine. I was a huge fan of the magazine before I was blessed with being a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. I recently shared about the amazing deal of subscribing for $7.95 for a year. Now that great deal is back. The coupon code can be found here at the end of a great, encouraging article. We have been busy the past week and a half working on an autumn unit study/lapbook. I shared about this on Facebook when it first came out, but wanted to be sure to tell everyone here as well. This great study is called Autumn Treasures. It is the first in a new series called Download N Go. This is also from TOS and Amanda Bennett. It is free! You can download it here. We have never done a lapbook before and are really enjoying this one. I thought we could do it all in one week, as it is laid out in the study. Since most of my children are younger, it is taking more of Mama's help than I anticipated. We are learning and doing so much. This will only be available for a limited time, so get yours now.  We have also been incorporating some fun products into our schooling/life for review purposes. Look for those reviews coming soon. I think I am finally figuring out the ins/outs of how to do this blog. The two biggest things, SAVE and OFTEN :) I hope you are enjoying your autumn. |
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Sep. 11, 2009
A Free E-book from The Old Schoolhouse!
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Here is where you can pick up your own dose of encouragement! No matter where you are in your homeschooling journey, this book is a must read. Here are my official opinions. I know you all were dying to read this part  The New School Year: Planning Your Course and Letting the Lord Determine Your Steps (A Compilation of Encouragement) is an excellent book for both the seasoned homeschooler and the new one. The ideas and encouragement contained will apply to any family regardless of the style of schooling that you follow or the type of curricula that you use. Homeschooling families can learn tips from trusted sources who are still in the trenches—right with you, and those who have successfully completed their journey. You can learn how to organize your books and materials, how to prepare your schedule from a big picture perspective down to what should be covered each day and reminding ourselves of why we homeschool, who is The One truly in charge. This is one book that I will be re-reading each year. My only complaint is that it wasn't available sooner. Having started our homeschooling journey using Five in a Row, I am familiar with Steve and Jane Lambert. Their article includes many verses supporting our need to have a plan. We need not to plan every minute of our days, but to plan with room in our schedule to allow the Lord to lead us according to His will. Another article included in this e-book is from Amanda Bennett. Her name brings to mind, of course, unit studies. She shows how unit studies can allow for the flexibility that most of us need. She also reminds that just because our year may not go as planned does not mean that it may not be our best year yet! You may be thinking, like I am, how can I plan anything when I have little ones? In addition to our 3rd grader, 1st grader and kindergardener, our plans must accommodate and active 3 year old boy, his not-quite 2 year old sister and the new blessing due to arrive in January. The article from Malia Russell (from Homemaking 911) is just what I needed. She shows us how to manage a multi-level homeschool. From tips such as combining some grades for the same subject to using audiobooks, Malia lets us know it can be done. Terri Johnson is another contributor I have been gleaning much from lately via her website, Bramley Books (Knowledge Quest) and the e-newsletters I have received. She includes 5 easy steps to creating a schedule, awesome tips for organizing that book collection—and keeping it that way, and a way of keeping your student(s)'s schoolwork contained and accessible. These are great ideas that can work for anyone, regardless of whether you use textbooks or living books; have a room designated for your own library or have books crammed in a corner of every room; conduct school from a desk or snuggled together on the couch. The only author of this encouragement team I was not previously familiar with has written the best organizing plan I have seen. In my attempts through the years, I have read many books and magazine and online articles to try to become more organized. Cheryl Allin's plan has everything broken down into simple steps. Nothing seems intimidating at all (until perhaps I open that overstuffed filing cabinet). Phase one of Cheryl's plan is to organize your space. Once everything is neat and tidy (you know what you have and where you have it) you can plan your school year. After planning the most important task is to implement the plan. Sometimes this is the hardest for me. What if my plan is not working well? If I have reviewed these articles, then I should have all that I need to tweak my plan and be well on our way to a great year of learning with my children. The final part of this great book is from Ruth Beechick, someone I have come to respect as a voice of wisdom. She writes a gentle reminder that whatever curricula we choose is really a tool. There are many resources available, use them in the way that works best for your family, even if that means putting it aside. Remember, this is available for the low, low price of $FR.EE Here is the link again: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/TOSEBookSellSheets/The-New-School-Year/index_TheNewSchoolYear.htm |
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Sep. 8, 2009
Subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for only $7.95!
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Homeschooling is a Labor of Love, and the Old Schoolhouse™ Magazine is celebrating your hard work as a parent by putting their one-year print subscriptions on sale! For a very limited time, you can subscribe or renew for $7.95! (US only). International customers can subscribe to the digital edition for only 7.95! You can buy a gift sub for friends, too! To gift a subscription: 1. Go to the one-year subscription page (uS only) 2. Scroll to the bottom of the page. 3. Enter the name, address, email, and phone information for each recipient 4. click "Add this to my cart". 5. The information will display in your cart and simply proceed to check out. There are only 2000 of these available, and they are going quickly! Your subscription begins with their Fall Issue. If you live in an international location, you can subscribe to their digital edition for only $7.95! It's the same great content as their print magazine, except it is instant and interactive! Here are the two links: Digital Hurry, this is a limited offer! |
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Aug. 8, 2009
A new school year--are we ready?
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All of the public schools in our area have started back or will be in the next week. Does this mean we need to as well? We have been doing some fun things that count as school, but are not intentionally schooling yet. We have been working with some of the things that we have received as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew--reviews to start in a few weeks . My plan is to keep adding in a subject or so at a time every week. I hope to have everything fully going for the week by the week after Labor Day. The children have no problem adjusting to more 'schooly-type' things each day. The main hold-up is Mama having things prepared and organized. I plan to implement my own version of Sue Patrick's Workbox system to start the official school year with. I will hopefully be reviewing her book for the TOS Homeschool Crew and will have a chance to do it 'right' as well. I know that having things ready for the children that they can do on their own will really help when I am trying to do too many things at once. We are Charlotte Mason style homeschoolers. I like to use things that I find from Simply Charlotte Mason. I like the schedules that they have shown to able to have my children working together for some subjects. I also like to use reading lists from them as well as Ambleside Online. I have looked over AO's schedules and it seems to much for me to try to keep up with for the number and ages of my children. Did I mention these things are free and cover all ages/grades? I love that! We started Mystery of History vol. I last year. We made it as far as the first semester point in the book by May. We took many 'rabbit trails' and spent longer on some lessons than the schedule from the book showed. I love that about homeschooling. It is our own schedule we are keeping. If something is interesting, we can spend longer. If something is not or we have covered it elsewhere in some other way, we can move quicker. I plan to pick up where we left off with MOH. Well, actually, we will spend the next few weeks skimming over the first portion to review where we have been  .You can follow along with us if you like. I will be posting reviews for many fun things as I get them completed. It should be a fun year! You can see what other homeschoolers are up to by checking out this fun link through The Homeschool Lounge.  |
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Jul. 5, 2009
A new entry in the WannaBe series from The Old Schoolhouse--Doctor
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We have really been impressed with this series of e-books. These are wonderful studies into many different career options for our children. There will be forty different books when the series is complete. Right now The Old Schoolhouse is offering a special for the first 10 for only $49. These books are normally $8.95 each so this is quite a savings! This special price is good through August 30, 2009. You can see the full information on this page. These e-books are like having your own in-depth visit with someone in this profession. These are great unit studies the whole family will enjoy and learn from. The WannaBe Doctor e-book includes in-depth information on the education and daily experiences of a pediatrician. There are also activities covered to round out the unit study through copywork, math, and science. The science focus is on the eye and includes some fun experiments. I did not find any creative writing exercises which we have seen in other WannaBe selections. This could easily be added by the parent using the included coloring pages as story starters. One of our favorite parts of this fun, well put together series is the selection of activities for an end-of-unit party. You do not have to plan a party to have fun with the suggestions. There are directions for games, ideas for fun foods, decorations and more. This wonderful e-book also has listed further resources for an even more in-depth study of the medical field. We are looking forward to the future release of additional e-books in the WannaBe series from The Old Schoolhouse. They have proven to be a great fit for our family. All ages can learn and have fun together. I hope your family enjoys this series as much as mine has. |
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Jun. 5, 2009
WannaBe series from The Old Schoolhouse
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The WannaBe series of E-books from The Old Schoolhouse is a fun introduction to what children may want to be when they grow up. The intended age group is 5-10 although my younger son (3) really enjoyed the Firefighter selection. In addition to the information given on the occupation, many activities are included to make a mini unit study. TOS (The Old Schoolhouse) is running a special right now to buy the first 10 in the series for only $49. The regular price is $8.95 each so this is a great price. It is only thru June 30th. There are others planned in the series as well. Check it all out here: WannaBe Special In the selection about being a chef, two chefs share their stories about what they do and how God has lead them there. My eight year old daughter and I enjoyed reading about the areas in which chefs may work. We learned about the different avenues that can be taken to become a chef. After reading the personal stories, my daughter was able to see how God can use you anywhere. Cooking is not just a job, but can be a means to reach the lost in the world. My daughter has been helping me in the kitchen for some time. As I am seeing her interest in cooking growing, I try to give her more opportunities to practice her skills. So many things can be practiced and reinforced through cooking. If the Lord does lead this daughter into an occupation as a chef, this e-book will have been instrumental in our understanding of this career field. My daughter and I also enjoyed doing the activities. I printed some of the copywork pages as well as most of the other activities. Some of the things we did orally. We read the story casually while at a family picnic. I was impressed at how much my daughter knew and remembered. We have not yet completed the science experiment, though it looks like a lot of fun. We will definitely be doing it once we have some balloons. My daughter was not excited when she saw that there were math 'problems' that went along with this study. Once we started working on them, she decided even these were fun, too. She thought math was something that is always just hard, though we try to make it as fun and pain free as possible. She usually doesn't realize we are 'doing' math because I rarely announce it ahead of time. I made the mistake of saying 'these are some math questions' instead of just keeping it part of the conversation. We follow mostly the Charlotte Mason philosophy in our learning. We found this unit study to fit in well. There are also many references given for further study. We plan on making this study of cooking an on-going unit study. We have really enjoyed WannaBe Chef. We will be sharing this with all of our children. The copywork and handwriting practice pages come in both manuscript and cursive. This study adapts well to many ages. Thank you TOS for another great e-book that works well for all of our children. |
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May. 4, 2009
WeE-books from The Old Schoolhouse
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I have read some of the new WeE-books from The Old Schoolhouse-a wonderful collection of quick reading, easy to download mini e-books. There are currently over 40 titles to choose from, each at just $1.95. They are written by a variety of authors--Dr. Ruth Beechick, Deborah Wuehler, Dr. Carl Wieland, and others recognized from the pages of TOS and the homeschooling world at large. Just in a quick perusal one can find WeE-books covering specific topics such as the Iditarod or entymology; WeE-books directed at parents or meant for their students, young and old. Their are WeE-books focused on specific subjects--arithmetic or history--or broader subjects--classical education or the state of public schools for Christians. I have also seen titles covering natural cleaners, summertime boredom and homeschool graduates persuing careers or college. I know not all of my friends homeschool. Many of these selections are not exclusive to homeschoolers. If you are curious about homeschooling, most of the selections I have read have at the end 2-3 pages covering how to begin homeschooling with links to further information. I encourage you to check into WeE-books. There are many titles to choose from and only $1.95 each, you may want more than one. Oh, I almost forgot my two favorite things about any E-book. They usually take up little space on your computer and you only need print them out if you want. I haven't printed any of these WeE-books yet. I just noticed that I can download covers to put in a binder making my own book of WeE-books. It will probably get as much use as my homemade recipe book :) Thanks for reading this. I hope you enjoy your new WeE-book! |
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