Events, happenings, ideas, and meanderings about homeschooling in California. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 2 May 2009 19:20:00 -0500 Sat, 2 May 2009 19:20:00 -0500 65 Book Videos to Build Excitement for Summer Reading Books will fly off the shelf and straight into your students’ hands when they watch these quick video booktalks and book trailers. Reluctant Readers Summer Reading List Mrs. Heines suggests these titles to students in search of their next great read. Even the most reluctant readers will get hooked on these page-turners. Share your summer reading lists. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/685112/ Sat, 2 May 2009 19:20:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/685112/ Below are some fun Thanksgiving web sites to explore. You'll find crafts, the history of Thanksgiivng, coloring pages, dinner menu, top ten movies and more! www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/ http://holidays.kaboose.com/thanksgiving/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/619832/ Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:44:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/619832/   The room was brightly lit and cold. She was sitting at a table, across from an empty chair. She knew the questioning would begin any minute. The door opened and a man bearing a remarkable resemblance to Hugo Weaving walked in and sat down in the empty chair. “Mrs. Anderson,” he began, “we’ve been monitoring your homeschool. Apparently, you have been living two lives. In one life, you’re Katherine A. Anderson, homeschooling mother and wife in a respectable community. You have a homeschool curriculum. You have a schoolroom. You volunteer . . . to help out with your homeschool support group. The other life, Mrs. Anderson, is lived in your pajamas. Your kids are unable to complete their assignments, and if you can get them bathed and dressed before your husband returns from work, you consider it a good day. One of these lives has a future, Mrs. Anderson. The other does not.” She just stared across the table at this man. “Who was he?” she wondered. Why was he accusing her of these things? The man opened up a folder and began leafing through it. “As you can see, we’ve had our eyes on you for some time, Mrs. Anderson. I think that you should look long and hard at how you are failing in your role.” He pulled out a single sheet of paper. “Your son is 6 years old and yet he cannot read. Your 11-year-old daughter spends half her time daydreaming and staring off into space. She hasn’t scored better than a D on her spelling quizzes all year. Your teen, this . . . Melissa, I believe her name is . . . she hasn’t prepared for the SAT test. If you really loved your children, Mrs. Anderson, you would have your children at their desks and hard at work by 7:30 each morning.” Tears started to well up in Katherine’s eyes. Was she really that bad at homeschooling? “As far as your curriculum goes, you’ve switched back and forth from A Beka to Saxon to Bob Jones and back to Saxon again in just two semesters. I have to wonder, Mrs. Anderson, if you are teaching them correctly. How can you jump from curriculum to curriculum without causing your children to become hopeless, blathering idiots?” Mrs. Anderson made no effort to wipe away the tears that were now flowing down her cheeks. She knew all these accusations were true. There was nothing she could say to refute them. “Tell me, Mrs. Anderson. What’s it like, living in your pajamas? Do you enjoy being a slob?” His words began to cut deep, and somewhere deep inside her soul, a wave began to form. “How many times did you yell at your kids yesterday, Mrs. Anderson? Can you really say you love them if you treat them this way?” The wave began to build, quickly becoming a surge. Mrs. Anderson’s anger was rising above and beyond the shame and fears this man was exploiting. “Your best friend, Laurie, doesn't have any trouble getting her six children ready to go to eight different activities each week, yet you always manage to run late . . .” “That’s enough!” Her waves of anger burst over the dam and began to pour from her lips. “I don't have to listen to these accusations. I am a loving wife and mother, and I care deeply about my children. We may not get to every activity on time or complete every assignment, but we are trying. My children are well fed and clothed, and they are learning so much more than they would learn anywhere else. My son is a gifted engineer. He dismantled three phones last week to understand how the buttons work . . .” “You consider that school?” “Absolutely! He is learning mechanics and science. If I can get him to put things back together so that I can answer the phone, I’ll be all set. By the way, Melissa doesn’t need to study for her SAT test right now. She’s 14! We will prepare for it when the time is right. “Another thing. My daughter may not always study with perfect concentration, but she draws the most beautiful pictures. She understands forms and shapes so much better than her brothers or sisters do. She is a very bright girl, no matter what your files say.” These bold statements took the man aback. Mrs. Anderson’s outburst, though somewhat controlled, was clearly not what he had expected to hear in response to his accusations. “You say I yell at my kids, and that’s true. I do lose my temper when I clean a room and come back in thirty minutes to find it in worse shape than it was before I cleaned it. But your files don’t show the breakfast we had yesterday when we sat around and talked about three things we like about each other. I enjoy my children so much more than you could imagine. And we truly love each other. “I stay in my pajamas some days, that’s true. But we are at home and like to be comfortable while we do our work. Learning is more important than appearances.” “But are your children really learning, Mrs. Anderson? I show that you have lost ground every time you’ve tried to set a schedule. How effective are you if you can't even maintain a schedule?” “We may struggle sometimes. I admit, we don’t hit the mark with schedules, but we do a good job setting goals. We know what direction we’re going, and we do a good job, even if we don’t end up completing our workbooks. If anything is out of line, it’s my own expectations.” An idea began to form in her mind. “What? We are not to blame, Mrs. Anderson!” “Of course,” she thought, “it all makes sense now.” Katherine looked straight into her accuser’s eyes as she spoke calmly and deliberately. “I know who you are! You’re my own expectations. You’ve been trying to trap me.” “Nonsense. We don’t need to trap what we already own.” “You don’t? Then you would have no problem if I made pajamas the standard school uniform?” “Uh . . .” Suddenly, the man became quite anxious. “And you wouldn’t mind my going to thrift stores to buy more phones and other things for my son to dismantle?” “Wait . . . this isn't what we wanted. Stop!” “Why? Don’t you want to hear about how we’re going to stop going to so many activities and start spending more time together as a family? I've got some great ideas, including a bug collecting expedition and a board game night.” “Board games don’t constitute an education! They . . .” “Oh, yes they do. Colors, numbers, counting, reading, and strategy all work together to educate my children. And the best part is that they don’t even realize it’s school.” The man was becoming transparent, and he was quickly fading from view. “But what about your curriculum? You can’t change in the middle of the year! It’s . . . ” “I can change our curriculum whenever I think we need to. If something isn’t working, we can try something else. That’s one benefit of running your own school. I would rather find something that works than have my children suffer through an entire year of work that doesn ’t meet their needs.” She could see that the man was livid and shouting angrily, but now, along with his appearance, his voice had faded. He was almost gone from view when she said, “Oh, by the way, school starts at 10 a.m. from now on.” With that, he disappeared. Mrs. Anderson was about to scoot away from the table when she awoke with a start. Rolling across the screen on the television in front of her were credits for a fantasy film about people fighting the forces of artificial intelligence. She quickly pushed the “off” button and headed upstairs to bed. After all, she had a bug hunt to plan tomorrow.     Steve Walden lives in Colorado with his wife, and together they homeschool their three children (ages 12, 9, and 5). Steve is a freelance writer and editor. When he’s not blogging at www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/SteveWalden, he’s searching for new opportunities to write about a variety of topics, including homeschooling, coping with disabilities, and connecting with God. Steve’s desire is to help others rediscover God as their first love and the source of their strength.     If you enjoyed this article, then you should consider subscribing to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. You will find each issue to be jam-packed with articles of particular interest to homeschoolers. Special Offer! Purchase a NEW, U.S., one-year subscription at normal price ($25), and receive the Summer 2006 issue which actually has this story in it. Your new subscription will begin with the Fall 2008 issue. Be watching for details of an upcoming writing contest sponsored by TOS. Get those writing gears turning in your head because you will definitely want to take part in this contest – not only will the winners receive some fabulous prizes by some awesome homeschool vendors, but their work will also be published in an upcoming E-Book and a future issue of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/616407/ Sat, 8 Nov 2008 10:01:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/616407/ The busy Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons are rapidly approaching!   With schoolwork, meal planning, laundry, church, extracurricular activities, and other demands, the homeschooling lifestyle can often be a hectic one. Could you use some fresh ideas for making the holidays special while keeping school going with the children? Do you want your children to remember more about Thanksgiving than just pumpkin pie? Have you been looking for practical tips for adding unique and budget-saving touches to your home? Are your kids starting to grumble about doing their math lessons? Why not take a break from the books and just have some hands-on fun with math? We've got help for you! Our two new E-Books are packed with ideas to help you schedule fun family time into your holiday activities. Homespun Holidays and Amusing Mathematics instantly and affordably put creative holiday and math suggestions right at your fingertips. You'll love being able to download them instantly, so you can dive right in to all of the creative ideas. Make your holidays more special and your learning time more fun! Homespun Holidays: Fall and Winter   More than 80 pages, jam-packed with imaginative ideas, mouth-watering recipes and entertaining activities. . . "A little this, a little that, wrapped up in eighty-some pages and tied up with a bright bow... Homespun Holidays, Fall and Winter is lavishly illustrated with colorful photos,  ... you'll find ideas for crafts, homemade gifts, foods, hospitality ...even a few seasonal poems. Homespun Holidays, Fall and Winter is the perfect read for this time of year." - Jean Hall Traditions - Bring you and yours closer to each other and the Lord. Home decorating ideas - Welcome signs, trash bag wreaths, candy-themed decor you can make with your kids, how to make your own decorative scarecrows, window paintings, just to name a few. Tips for entertaining - We share ideas on how to celebrate the holidays without losing your good cheer. Games - Make holiday travel smooth sailing with our fun game suggestions. Book reviews - Cozy up with your children and a good book. We've included some reading recommendations and complementary activities. Seasonal poetry - Add humor and inspiration to your holiday season. Gift ideas - No-sew scarf, fabric gift bags, layered-in-a-jar cocoa drink mix, and more. Craft ideas - There are craft ideas for all ages. Make treat bags, holiday piñatas, 3-D paper snowflakes, and ornaments. Hints for recycling old holiday cards, and making nativities are also included, and that's only the beginning! Most treasured holiday recipes - In addition, we've peered into our staff members' kitchens across the country and found their most treasured holiday recipes. No need to waste hours online looking for Christmas gift ideas, recipes, decorating tips, and craft activities for your children. It's all in Homespun Holidays for less than $13.00. That's the price of just one gift at the discount store! November Planner Module: Amusing Mathematics When does 2+2= FUN?  When you have Amusing Mathematics... "Bravo! My ten year old son finished his chores in record time just to get back to the math riddles and tangram exercises. The math riddles were so much fun, he thought they were from Boys' Life. The rhyming copywork pages are perfect for my first grader to learn number formation and monetary values. What a fun, value-filled package for all the children in my family. So interesting, so much fun they won't even realize they're learning! - Michelle Smith "Magical" math brain teasers - Amaze friends and family with "magical" math games. Guess birthdays, speculate as to the number of siblings someone has! Puzzles and tangrams - Give their brains a real workout with ancient Chinese tangrams. They might think a puzzle with only seven pieces would be easy, but they'd be wrong! Pattern block fun - Use the pattern block templates for some added fun. Shhhh! There's no need to tell them they're learning about geometry and fractions. They'll think they're just having fun! Currency and exchange rates - What's Morocco's money called?  How much is a dollar worth in Peru?  How many ways can you think of to tell time?  Games, activities, and projects to help your children learn about the many methods of telling time. Fun copywork pages help your children learn about kitchen measurement. (They'll need this information when cooking the delicious recipes included in this module!) Printer-friendly multiplication and addition drill sheets, puzzles, coloring pages. And, of course, the answers are included! For only $7.95, all the planning is done for you. Just download, print, and enjoy! So, during this busy time of the year, let our our Amusing Mathematics module, or any of our other modules, keep your school planning easy and fun! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/616406/ Sat, 8 Nov 2008 09:57:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/616406/   Greetings! You already get our current issue for free and 6 great bonus gifts with our Fall Subscription Special, but  for one more day, we're going to give you even more! We have about 200 more of the Homeschooling with Heart tote bags left just for people who subscribe with our Fall Special. And when you subscribe online, we'll mail your tote bag, the current issue, and your postcards for redeeming the physical gifts right away. You're going to LOVE our Fall issue. It's at the printers right now and it's chock full of articles. Just look at some of the topics in this issue: Homeschooling the high schooler Transcripts Homeschool fathers Homeschooling through interruptions Homeschoolers on the farm And just in time for the holiday season: The lost arts Frugal cleaners & gift ideas The Me-Time Myth The adventure of serving God at homeschool In fact, I can give you a sneak peek of our staff's Twelve Days of Christmas. It's sure to get you in the holiday mood! So go ahead and invest in a two-year subscription to TOS. It will encourage and inspire you, as well as help you save money in the long run! You're going to appreciate: Reviews that save you from spending money on curriculum that's a bad fit for your family Examples of what's working for other homeschool families Free unit studies Special freebies and coupons from advertisers Monthly online Teacher's Toolbox with free downloadable curriculum items Plus, if you subscribe today, you're going to be sure and receive one of our fabulous Homeschooling with Heart tote bags. It all adds up! The tote bags are going fast though. We're down to the last 200 and they should be gone today. *Offer for new U.S. 2 year subscriptions only. (Military overseas included) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/605085/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:54:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/605085/ A Blessed Heritage: Educational resources to foster understanding of the spiritual and racial heritage of children of color wwww.blessedheritage.com A Blessed Heritage strives to provide children of color with a Biblical understanding and awareness of who they are and whose they are.  Their vision is to instill in them academic excellence and pride in all that God has created them to be.  Their products include character training and history studies. The studies are done by reading books suggested in the literature guides. I'm interested in buying Nurturing Christian Character Through the Black Experience designed for ages 10 and up for my own study! As the adoptive mother of four daughters from Ethiopia these products intrigued me and made me cheer out loud that something is out there for them in the way of history. Even though the experiences of those African-Americans that have been here for hundreds of years are not their experiences they can only gain in knowledge by studying what people from their continent have gone through and what they may encounter in their life here in America. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/597204/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:56:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/597204/ http://www.hslda.org/docs/link.asp?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elatimes%2Ecom%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fla%2Dme%2Dhomeschool9%2D2008aug09%2C0%2C858947%2Estory http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/572138/ Sat, 9 Aug 2008 09:17:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/572138/ Need informaion on homeschooling thru high school? Home School Legal Defense has some great updated information on their site: Topics include: Develop a Plan, Recordkeeping, Go to: http://www.hslda.org/highschool/brochures.asp for more info!   College Plan, Off to Work, Timeline: Keeping On Track.You Can Homeschool Thru High School http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/565666/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:25:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/565666/ http://www.ourlosbanos.com/homeschool/index.html For free homeschool resources please visit the above site. Free printables, downloads, and much more available! There's something for everyone. :) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/561332/ Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:14:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/561332/     This complete Home and School planner brought to you by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is now ready to download!   Click HERE to view a sneak peek of this planner!     We’re excited about our new planner and know that you will be too! We have taken ALL of your suggestions and ideas and compiled them into ONE fantastic planner, so that everything you need to plan in your life can be in one place, making your busy life as a homeschool mom just a bit simpler! In The Schoolhouse Planner, you can expect to find: • Calendars in various forms – yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily • Lists of holidays and places to record special days in your family • Planners for your homeschool – in various styles to meet your individual needs • Pages for both long-term and short-term homeschooling goals • Curriculum planning forms • Evaluation forms and test score recording sheets • A through-the-Bible in a (school) year schedule • Forms for recording Bible memory and other memory work • Logs for recording books read, movies and documentaries viewed, etc. • A field trip planning form and recording log • A sample science lab sheet and nature study sheets • A place to record extracurricular activities • Outside classes, co-op, and support group information and recording sheets • Household planning forms • Daily, weekly, and monthly household schedule charts • Grocery, menu-planning, and food logs • Various budget and financial planning forms • Garden planning sheets • An appliance and electronics inventory sheet • Vacation planning ideas • Address and telephone records • And much, much more! And, if that’s not enough, we’ve also included: • 12 “homeschool must-know” items, one for each month of the year • 12 essays from some of our favorite authors in the homeschool community – you absolutely won’t want to miss these! • 24 easy main-dish recipes from some top homeschoolers around the nation • Forms that are appropriate for preschool – graduation • A 12-year planning form, so that you can plan your child’s school career from beginning to end! • 2-page monthly calendar with BIG blocks, providing lots of room for writing in details each day If all of that isn’t enough to entice you, each month throughout the year, we will also be offering “planner supplements” that you and your kids will love! Our first monthly module will be available in July and will include all kinds of interesting information about popular holidays. These will not only be filled with great information that you will love including with your planner, but they will also be extremely affordable! What do the developers of the TOS Schoolhouse Planner have to say? Kris says: “Just this year, I had FIVE planners in my home and NONE of them had all of the forms that I needed to keep me organized for the year. When the chance came to help create a planner that would try to meet ALL of the organizing needs of ANY homeschooling parent, I jumped at the opportunity! I feel that we have created an incredible product: a planner that includes forms to help organize BOTH the "school" and "house" parts of the home. Of course, we couldn't have done this without the outpouring of ideas that came from our customers. Each email was read carefully, notes were taken and then Heidi and I spent hours and HOURS working to create over 85 forms, all available in ONE product that is easily downloadable from anywhere in the world! You can buy The Schoolhouse Planner and begin using it the same day! I hope our customers are as pleased with it as I am!” Heidi says: “I was so thrilled when I first saw the announcement that TOS was going to create a planner. To say that I was even more thrilled when I was asked to help create this planner would be an understatement. For years, I have looked for ‘the ultimate homeschool planner’, only to be disappointed by what is available on the market. I have continually made my own planning sheets to suit my needs. Now, not only were Kris and I given the opportunity to create what WE thought was the ultimate planner, but what YOU asked for in a planner as well. I’ve seen a lot of planners, but none with this amount of content. I am passionate about E-Books, so I’m thrilled to have this planner available in E-Book format. You might choose to print the whole planner, or maybe you will just want to print certain pages; it’s totally up to you. No two people’s planners will be alike; but each one will suit its owner’s needs. It is my hope that each one that purchases The Schoolhouse Planner will be as happy with it as I am, and will recognize the hard work and the heart that went into the creation of (what I like to call) ‘the Cadillac of planners!’” Click HERE to view a sneak peek of this planner! Attention MAC users:  In order to utilize all of the interactive features of this PDF you will need Adobe Reader which is a free download.  Click HERE for the Macintosh download area The download size of this pdf file is 8.2 MB.  If you have dial-up or a slower internet connection we have also provided the download in a zip file.  Please select below which version you would like to download. A link to download your E-Book will be available in your account upon checkout. Manufactured by: The Old Schoolhouse - AffiliateItem #: ebok-TOS-planner $39.00 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/560567/ Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:57:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/California/560567/