A Heart For Home - Homeschool Blogger

Cool Bloggy Giveaway

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:23:00 -0500

For those interested in saving some money, here is a really neat giveaway! Check out For Such a Time As This.

If You Love Apologia Like We Do - Check This Out!!

Wed, 20 May 2009 12:43:00 -0500

Apologia is now producing notebooking journals that accompany each of the elementary science books. Both Botany and Astronomy are now available. You can see samples on the Apologia website here:

These journals are beautiful spiral bound notebooks that will save you time and money. You won't have to print and keep up with your child's notebook pages, buy and maintain page protectors, or purchase and compile binders...everything that makes notebooking time-consuming and labor intensive for mom. Also, your child will adore having their own notebooking journal.

Each of the notebooking journals include:

A daily schedule for those who like to have a plan or would like their children to complete the book on their own
Templates for written narrations, the notebooking activities and experiments
Review Questions
Scripture Copywork, with both print and cursive practice
Reading lists and additional activities, projects, experiments for each lesson
An appendix with beautiful, full-color, lapbook-style Miniature Books
Field Trip Sheets to keep a record field trips
A Final Review with fifty questions the students can answer either orally or in writing to show off all they remember and know at the end of the course.

See the sample pages here:

Botany: https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=128

and

Astronomy: https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=127

Jeannie is giving away four Astronomy Notebooking Journals and four Botany Notebooking Journals to bloggers who post about this on their site. Visit her blog to learn more about this contest: www.jeanniesjournal.com

The contest ends on in one week on May 29th! That way I'll have the weekend to send them before I go to the Illinois conference.

So blog away!

Awesome Contest! Win a Complete Rosetta Stone Package!

Thu, 14 May 2009 11:40:00 -0500

We use and love Rosetta Stone in our homeschool. Here is a chance to win your very own set:

Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.

This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)
This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.

To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://Jeneralities.com and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!

You Might Be A Country Girl If...

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:05:00 -0500

You REALLY want to win this contest! We started raising chickens last year and are really enjoying it. We built nesting boxes last year without really knowing what we were doing and have realized we made a few mistakes. We have been wanting to replace them lately and would love to get some of these! How cool! If you want a chance to win some of these awesome nesting boxes, pop over to Life on a Southern Farm and enter for a chance to win!

$100 Walmart Giftcard Giveaway!

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:30:00 -0600

How about $100 gift card to finish up your Christmas shopping? I hope I win! I could really use this card and I bet you could too . Pop over to Common Sense with Money and enter for your chance to win. Merry Christmas!

Wonderful Jane Austen Era Patterns

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 13:27:00 -0600

As homeschoolers we love to do things that bring what we are studying to life. My oldest daughter and I both love Jane Austen, so recently we ordered the "Elegant Ladies Closet" pattern from Sense and Sensibility Patterns . It arrived quickly and we were so pleased with the quality. We have not completed the project yet, but are excited to see the final product. Now it even easier to use these patterns as they have just made them available as e-patterns available for instant download! What a cool idea!

Another Great Giveaway

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 13:00:00 -0500

Over at Fishbowlsense you can win a lovely set of Bath and Body stuff in the Coconut Lime Verbena scent (which is my absolute favorite). Check it out :o)

A Birthday Giveaway :o)

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:53:01 -0500

Kathy at Teaching Good Things is celebrating her 43rd birthday by having a giveaway everyday this week! hop over and check out what neat things she has planned.

Birth Control's Effect on Our Culture

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:18:00 -0500

I came across a great article posted by Jess over at Making Home that so precisely captures my feelings about birth control and the world's attitudes about children. Here is an excerpt:

"If a two-year-old in a family of seven children has tantrums or is wearing mismatched clothes, it's because "the mom is spread too thin". But if that same child is the only child of two doting parents, it's because "bless his heart; he's a normal two-year-old" and because independent little two-year-olds love to pick out their own clothes.

If a mother of three children is exhausted as she's pregnant with her fourth, it's likely to be met with an "I told you so" attitude from those who have already inappropriately shared their thoughts about family size. And she rarely gets sympathy. More likely, she'll get a "you made your bed, now lie in it" perspective from most of the people around her. But a first time mother struggling with morning sickness gets sympathetic comments and offers for how others can help.

And lest you think I'm just whining as a mom of four, I'm really not... I'm just stating things the way I've plainly seen them. And these are things I hear from many of you, my friends and readers."

I also am a mother of four and have experienced similar reactions too. I remember venturing out with my newborn fourth and my three older kids to Target. We got into the elevator with some other folks and by the time we reached the second floor and got off I whispered to my husband "do you feel like the circus just came to town and we're it?" It was the first of many times that our "large" family garnered some strange attention and attitudes. Definnitely an interesting topic and Jess' article is a great read.

100 Days Until Christmas

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:02:00 -0500

Does that scare you? It scares me! I love the holidays but it's still summer. We're still in the 90's around here. But, every year I do vow to get my act together and have a relaxed, well-prepared Christmas season. This site promises to help us do just that. Today they kick off their 100 Days Till Christmas countdown. I'm game.