Holiday Hunt Week1 - Enter to Win a 12 Days of Christmas Devotional!
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in Contests
Attention, Super Sleuth Homeschool Moms!
Join our Holiday Hunt!
We're holding several holiday scavenger hunts here on HSB. Once a week for the next three weeks, you'll have a chance to join in the fun each week! (One entry per family per week, please.)
All of the entry details and clues for the first week are below, so please read them carefully.
The Prize!
The prize is this wonderful Christmas devotional--The 12 Days of Christmas: A Guide to an Old Tradition with a New Purpose by Linda Coates and Leslie S. Kelly
The 12 Days of Christmas helps families discover that Christmas Day is the kickoff for the celebration, not the final affair. The twelve-day adventure begins on December 26. In it, you will learn more about the tenets of the Christian faith through wonderful stories and meaningful activities, and create new traditions to last you and your family a lifetime. By uncovering hidden meanings in the old classic Christmas song, Linda and Leslie bring you a new and exciting way to finish one year and begin the next.
You have until midnight EST Friday, November 13, 2009, to send Tan your answers.
At that point, we will conduct a random drawing to determine a winner from this week’s submissions to receive The 12 Days of Christmas by Linda Coates and Leslie Kelly - a Christmas devotional.
Again . . .Each week one winner of our random drawing will win a copy of the beautiful Christmas devotional from Linda Coates and Leslie Kelly, entitled The 12 Days of Christmas: A Guide to an Old Tradition with a New Purpose.
Each day of this devotional has scripture, discussion questions, activities, a prayer, a devotional story, and points to ponder. Your family will delve into the true meaning of Christmas, starting with Day 1-December 26. This is truly a beautiful and meaningful way to celebrate the birth of Christ.
"Whose birthday is it anyway? Have you ever wanted more from the Christmas Season? The Twelve Days of Christmas is more than just another Christmas book. It is a way to recapture what has been lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas so that this year it can be different. This inspiring book will help you discover that Christmas Day is the jumping point for the real celebration, not the final affair . . . The Twelve Days of Christmas is a beautiful way to finish one year and begin the next and to celebrate Christ's birth by giving our gifts to the One who has given us the greatest gift of all." Tate Publishing, http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60696-260-2
1.This company is known for their quality films. Find two that films or one film collection on their site that your family would enjoy. List their url/Web address.
2.This company was voted #1 by Homeschool.com in 1994. Provide their url/Web Address
3.See if you can find who sells the book The Big Book of American Trivia, Over 3,000 Questions and Answers. Please send us their url/Web address.
4.Go here for some amazing photos of birds, bears, and other critters. Send us the url/Web address.
5.Find a wide selection of construction or farm machine on this site. Tell us which one is your favorite and send us the link to one of your favorite machines. (Must include the link.)
6.Find Sketchy Adventures, it’s free! Send us the url/Web address.
7.The author of this website has traveled to 46 states and several Canadian provinces to encourage home educators over the past twenty years and look forward to lots of fruitful ministry in the future. Please send us their url/Web address.
Okay Fans, you can do this! Be sure to email your answers to me at thogate@thehomeschoolmagazine.com to be entered into this contest.
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in tamingchaos
This week is home economics week on The Front Porch.
Home Economics in the schools is really an institutionalized attempt to replicate the home, so as homeschoolers we have the perfect environment to impart "home ec" in the same, effective way that life skills have been learned through the ages--passed down generation to generation, parent to child, in daily "on the job" training.
As we tame the chaos of meals, clutter, cleaning, budgets and mending, we can apprentice the children alongside us. Relationships are strengthened, they absorb valuable skills. Additionally, household efficiency is increased as the whole family shares in the work!
Homeschoolers have the luxury of being able to learn home-economics in context as a natural part of life. There are great curriculums to help lend a systematic approach or provide additional dimensions to the natural family-style training, but the beauty of home-economics in the homeschool is the seamless practical application aspect.
As you tame the chaos, draw your children along side you--whether they are 18 months or 18 years. Gradeschoolers can help calculate costs as you shop in the grocery store and get an idea of living within a budget. Give a small child a button to sew onto his own scrap of cloth as you tackle the mending basket. Make the same muffin recipe three times in a row with your 8 year old, having her do more of it herself each time. (Then do it a 4th time as only an observer, and on the 5th see if she can do it entirely on her own!) Encourage a child to organize a cupboard or drawer that's gotten out of control.
Older children can try their hand at managing a month of meals, and grow into budgeting confidence as they handle finances for their hobbies or entrepreneurial endeavors.
Domestic Chaos Tamer and Homeschool Mom of Five,Dellwrites about home, heart and hearth.
The kitchen is obviously a great place to teach Home Ec. My teaching style for all subjects is very relaxed and this one is no exception, as a matter of fact, I seldom think about teaching Home Ec. My girls help out in the kitchen and the home with whatever is needed. They learn basic cooking, cleaning, menu planning, shopping, etc. by participating in the daily routines of the household. As of yet, there has been no "Home Ec. curriculum", and though it might not be a bad idea for some families, I doubt it will be the way we go. I do have plans for all of the girls (Mom included) to create a Home Journal which will contain recipes for cooking as well as cleaning (love those natural cleaning products), and whatever other "home keeping" things that we decide to put into them. I certainly wish that I had started out with one of those when I first attempted to create a home years ago. It would have saved lots of time and tears, not to mention money!
My 11 year old daughter probably has more cooking and homekeeping skill than many young ladies twice her age. She, like her Mom, enjoys cooking and can frequently be found perusing a cookbook for a new treat for snack time or dessert. I believe that is because she has someone at home with her to first of all model this, cooking is fun in our house. And since a maid has yet to appear in our home to clean up our frequent messes (though no one would complain if she popped in this morning), someone (and that means everyone) must learn to do the house keeping. And finally, she has time to practice and develop these skills during the course of her homeschool day.
We had a conversation over the weekend with the mother of 2 young men who were in my husband's youth group a few years ago. She said both of her boys are still unmarried and living at home. They have no desire to get married and move away from Mom because none of the girls they know can cook! She told us that one young lady blew up their microwave attempting to make a grilled cheese sandwich! An extreme example, of course, but so many young people today simply do not have the basic skills for running a household. I understand this dilemma, because though I could cook, I was sorely lacking in the other areas of home keeping when I moved away from home and started a household of my own. It took some real effort on my part to learn exactly what all went into running a household, especially when that household included children.
I find it interesting that Titus chapter 2 equates the aged women teaching the younger women to be keepers at home (sounds like home ec. to me) with sound doctrine.
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Titus 2:1-5
My best advice for teaching Home Ec. is to simply include your children in the day to day tasks of the home. Let them help with the grocery lists, menu plans, cooking, cleaning and so forth. Give them lots of opportunities to practice and develop these skills as they grow. Living and learning together is a blessing, and the skills they learn will bless their future families as well.
Catherine Love lives in the heart of Texas with her husband Carl, and their 3 daughters, Sarah, Hannah, and Cana. They enjoy cooking, gardening, and learning new things as they live a lifestyle of learning together. You can read Catherine's Kitchen Adventures and more on her blog- Seeds of Love.
Do you want to see God work in your life? Get out of the boat!!!
I am making a major move in my life that I’ve dreamed about for at least a year. What did I do about it this last year? Pretty much nothing. No wonder nothing happened.
Get serious!
That’s what I have done lately. I decided that I needed to do the many things I needed to do, so that when the doors opened I would be ready! Was I ready? Am I ready? NO!
So how can God do anything if you are not ready?
Now I am out of the boat (have been for a couple weeks at least) and walking on the water.. moving forward. One thing I never do is look back (another great lesson to save yourself from sadness, heartache and regrets) and I am not getting back in any “safe” boat! I’ve waited for this for too long, and even though I have been sooo blessed where I am, I know God has even better for me!
Get out of the boat! If you sit on the shore you go nowhere!
Josh & I got our spacers on today. Josh was not happy about it. He still does not want to get braces. I told him, 'tough Twinkies" he still getting them .
Two of my spacers already busted. I'm going to have to go back tomorrow. Bummer! I haven't had anything hard or sticky. Some noodle soup, cookie & scrambled egg.
Regarding school; I think I have decided not to combine everyone with My Father's World Exploration to 1850. I have thought hard and long about this and would like to combine them for History, Science & Bible but I can't see when I can pull everyone together. I am going to do Bible together though. We can do that first thing in the morning like we do now.
Today, my dad came by. He loves visiting he grandchildren. I usually have the children do a lighter load of schoolwork on Monday because most times my dad comes and he stays for four hours. As long as we get math and language arts done with some reading we call it a school day.
The children still need to finish. once quiet time is over they'll finish their school.
The children like Time4Learning. We use it basically for Language Arts only. The program is great but I don't like how much time the children are spending in front of the computer. Annette, Caleb & Brent each spend about 20-30 minutes on their lesson and 20 minutes at the playground. The playground is online games. Some are educational and others are just for fun. Normally this would be okay since the first half is learning. What I don't like is Lance & Ethan watch all three of them. If you add that up it's a lot of watching the computer. For me computer is equal to T.V. time. I feel like half of Lance & Ethan's morning time is in front of the computer watching their siblings. I am not sure but I might pull the plug on T4L.
Annette, is doing well with it and she is the one I mainly wanted it for. I asked her if she would still like to continue with T4L. She said either way is fine. She prefers T4L because she does not have to write. She did complete all of Level 3 and has started level 4.
Caleb & Brent REALLY like it. I do like all the phonics review. Maybe we'll continue with if for this year or half the year
I don't have time to reread my post today, so I'll have to check for mistakes later.
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in Contests
Ready for some questions in Math? There are three age categories of questions today. Be sure to email the answers to me at thogate@thehomeschoolmagazine.com.
Correct answers will be entered into our drawings at the end of the month. We will be giving away two gift certificates to the Schoolhouse Store.
Elementary (Grades 1-5) What 3 consecutive integers will add up to 27?
Middle Grades (Grades 6-8) The town of Hippity-Hoppity has a population of 17,480. Five percent of the people are one-legged. Half of the remaining population goes bare-footed. Sandals are the only footwear. How many sandals (not pairs) are worn in Hippity-Hoppity?
High school and adults: A boy agreed to work one year for $240 and a horse. At the end of seven months he quit and received $100 and the horse. What was the value of the horse?
Alrighty, email me your answers. Also on the email, I will need your name, age, state you live in, and email address. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
To enter you must live in the US. Click here for full contest rules.
Classical Education ~ Teaching From a Place of Rest, Pt. 2
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in classical
As my children become older and my teaching load increases due to more students, teaching from a place of rest seems quite inviting to me. It is like an oasis in the middle of a teaching storm. I yearn to be able to teach with a sense of calm and peace. I think I have reached the tip of this iceberg but I am always eager to listen on conversations (usually cyber ones) that deal with rest.
As I noted a few weeks ago, teaching with a sense of rest can mean many things. It can mean a sense of contentment with how you are teaching your children and the curriculum you are using. It can also mean paring down the subjects you are teaching to the bare minimum. This concept scares many homeschooling moms. This idea is equivalent to academic suicide to the minds of many. This flies in the face of modern education. Today in public schools, the students' days are filled with numerous classes that are not just academic in nature but vocational as well. The premise for this is that the schools are trying to prepare the student for the world and a job, hence, computer classes, home ec. classes, welding classes, etc. In overloading the student in this manner, we are increasing the odds that he or she will not be able to learn anything very well. The basics will be pushed under the rug, so to speak, to make room for the extras. Therefore, we end up with young adults that do not know much about anything. We, then, wonder why Johnny can't write or read when he graduates high school.
When we focus on the basics and a few extras, we have time to teach in a thorough and effective way. When your child is doing the basics of math and language arts (grammar, spelling, writing, lit. study, vocab) plus the extras of foreign language (some are doing 2 or 3 different language studies) and content subjects (history, science, geography, etc,) there is no wonder that it is taking them much longer than 6 hours to get their school work done. Also, what are they truly learning?
Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Lee Simmons and The Latin-Centered Curriculum by Andrew Campbell speaks to simplifying our academic expectations of our children. In doing this, we can teach more deeply and effectively. There is a sense of rest in teaching this way. Also, teaching this way requires trust. We need to trust that God will fill in the gaps in the way that only He can. Trust is key in rest.
The first few years of our homeschooling was chock full of various subjects like geography, science, vocab, Latin and Spanish plus all of the CM variables of picture study and composer study and we haven't even gotten to the basics yet. Our days were full and I taught with a cloud of pressure hovering over me the entire time. When we didn't finish all of our plans (which happened regularly) I felt like a total failure. Another consequence to this kind of schedule was children who were burnt out come the end of the first term. They were beginning to hate learning. This is not how I had envisioned our homeschooling to be. Again, failure.
It has taken me a few years to clue in, but I am seeing now that less is better. I am able to give more time to my kids to teach them. We do not have time pressures anymore. Our frantic, crazy days have been replaced with a relaxed, calm atmosphere. It is a soothing balm to my soul.
Our days are now focused on math, reading, writing and grammar. We do one content subject which is history. We do science but in a very relaxed manner. We will not do science as a formal subject until my children hit Grade 7. I do teach Latin to my children but it, too, is done in a relaxed manner as my children are dyslexic and foreign langauages are tricky for them. We also do Plutarch, Greek Mythology, Poetry, Recitation, and Shakespeare but they are done one a day. Even this sounds like a lot but it is do-able for us. We do not feel the familiar pressures of days gone by. There is that sense of calm and peace that I have been trying to attain for the last 5 years. I am sure that I will always have to strive for this rest every year that we homeschool but I think I am up to the challenge.
Julia lives on the Canadian Prairies with her husband, homeschooling their 3 children (10,8,6) and is attempting to give them a Classical Education. You can read more at her blog.
I am a homeschooling mom of four boys and have always homeschooled. I plan to use this blog for discussion on various curriculum, books, read-alouds, organizing and anything else to do with homeschooling. Feel free to add your comments!
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