Homeschool Nations - New Jersey - Homeschool Blogger

Homeschool Nation Closing!!!

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 19:09:00 -0600

That's right.

Homeschool Nation is no longer going to exist. This was a tough decision for the Old Schoolhouse Magazine, but it had to be done.

I hope that all who read it found it helpful!

It will close as of November 6, 2009.

Robotics Things that are happening around New Jersey

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Jonathan Daudelin is offering robotics classes in Hackettstown, NJ from July 20-24, 2009 from 1-4 PM and July 27- 31, 2009 1-4 PM. Jonathan was on the team Built on the Rock that won the FIRST Lego League World Festival. This will be an excellent class and the cost is only $150.

The Landroids are offering classes to new teams in order to get them acclaimated to FIRST Lego League and the competition. Those classes are free at Livingston Community Center in Livingston, NJ. The classes are from 7-9 PM for 5 weeks. The Landroids have won the state championship and gone to the World Festival.

Open registration for all teams for the FIRST Lego League competition has begun and will continue until about mid-September or when all the slots fill. So, hurry, hurry!

The ENOCH Convention

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 05:41:00 -0500

Well, another state homeschool convention has come and gone. Guess who was there? Some FIRST Lego League teams and FIRST Robotics and FIRST Tech were all there. I met people from team Overdrive and Power Surge. They are the high school team. I saw the teams Say Watt? and Robot Rangers which are the FIRST Lego League teams. It was exciting to meet and talk to some of the old team members from Built on the Rock. That was exciting. There also may be an opportunity for more things to come with FIRST Lego League.

There were other groups that were there also. Historical Happenings did the Children's Program for the convention this year. What an outstanding job they did at not only taking care of our children, but also putting on a great show at the end! The team for the children's program was about history. Friday night , I know that they played like knights from the Middle Ages. Saturday morning, they ate beef jerky like a British soldier in the American Revolution. The afternoon session, they played games like in the 1800. And the evening session, they dressed up like soldiers in the Civil War. They marched around the whole convention hall. I did not know that this was going to happen. So, I did not get a picture of my boys in their army outfit. I am upset with myself.

I want to tell you that the keynote speaker on Saturday morning moved me to tears. She shared how we place these unrealistic expectations on our children and our homeschool. So many times we try to do it our way when we know that was not what God intended. Basically, my interpretation of her message is we tend to try to control the situation too much when we need to step back and let God mold and shape our children. It was a hard message for me because I know I needed to hear that.

I attended a class that was my favorite. Mark August, who is ENOCH's legal liaison, did a class about homeschooling teenage boys. The class was important for me because I am about to embark on pre-teen years. I figured that this was a good class for me to be in. He spoke about how many mothers give up and put their sons in public or private school once they are teenagers. He said, "the reason you homeschooled them when they were 6 years old, still applies when they're 16 years old." He said that they are really young men. So, for the rest of the session, he called them young men. It put things in perspective for me. They learn differently from girls, but that does not mean that mom cannot do it. I have heard of nightmare stories of mothers and their sons. I have also heard of the great success stories. I don't think that it is impossible just a greater challenge. If God has called me to it, then I need to step up to the challenge.

The convention was wonderful. If you missed it, I would suggets, to please try to support our state's homeschool convention. It is inspiring. It is great to be around other homeschooler. It is nice to hear others encourage homeschooler to keep moving forward.

Blessings!

It is time to register

Thu, 28 May 2009 06:04:00 -0500

Well it is open season for FIRST Lego League.

Registration for the FLL competitions have begun. I received a few emails from people interested in registering for the robotics competitions.

Well, here is the website: https://gofll.usfirst.org/

I have already registered my team for this year. The registration opened May 4th. It will close about Mid-September or when they fill up whichever comes first. I would suggested that you register soon. If you have trouble registering or need help in getting together a team, please contact me. It would be nice to see more homeschoolers in the competitions.

The ENOCH Convention is coming

Thu, 14 May 2009 07:55:00 -0500

The early bird specials are over. It is regular price now. However, they are doing lots and lots of specials this year.

They are having a Newbie special!!! That's right. A newbie special. If you are new to homeschooling you can get a $20 rebate off the entry fee.

For veteran's of the trade, like myself, they are offering a $3 rebate if you refer a friend. Who can I refer? I really have to think about it.

Well, the ENOCH convention is offering many opportunities for people to get rebates this year.

It is their 19th Annual Homeschool Convention. I have been going to this one every year since 2003. I have truly enjoyed listening to the speakers and gleening from other moms. It is a great outing for my family.

They now have an Enriching Children's program. So, while you are in classes learning information for teaching, they are in classes too. The theme this year is Historical Happening. It is for children ages 4-12 years old.

Come join in the fun!

Go to their website at www.enochnj.org. See all the excitement!!

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Black Friday Sale!!!

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:06:00 -0600

Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine is having an amazing sale on subscriptions during their annual Black Friday Sale November 26 – 30. For those 5 days only, they are actually lowering their new one-year U.S. subscription price to $7.95! That's the price you would usually pay for just one issue at a bookstore!

This is their lowest price ever on the magazine and they want all of you to take advantage of this offer and share the info with your friends.

Please don't miss out. Your one-year subscription will pay for itself time and time again as you receive practical tips and Biblical encouragement to keep going strong in your commitment to homeschooling and to the Lord. Since it's a quarterly magazine, they even have a monthly subscriber's only E-Newsletter called Teacher's Toolbox that will give you seasonal teaching ideas and a free E-Book download! It's like joining a unit study of the month club! The free E-Books alone are valued at almost $250/year. It's really perfect for people who are homeschooling on a shoestring or just wanting to add in some little extras to your teaching.

Plus during the Black Friday Sale, they have all kind of bonus gifts when you spend $50, $75, $100, or $150. Some are electronic downloads that you can download immediately, while other are physical products mailed from various vendors directly to your home.

Visit The Old Schoolhouse store at: www.TheOldSchoolhouseStore.com

Order Yours Today! And don’t miss out on this great price!!

The FIRST Lego League competition around the state of New Jersey

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:54:00 -0600

The FIRST Lego League competitions are well on their way. There are several state qualifying competitions that take place around the state. The winners of those competitions will go to the state competition which is Decemtber 13th at Mount Olive High School in Mount Olive, New Jersey.

I took two teams to the qualifiers this year. They were rookie teams and I was a rookie coach. None of my teams made to the state. However, the winner of last weeks qualifier was a homeschool team.

Congratulations to the Atoms Family! Christine Schultz is the coach of that team and she helped train our team. So, this is very exciting.

Also, on Dec.13th, the Junior FIRST Lego League Expo will take place. The children will show off their instruments that track weather. My Junior team will go to the Expo this year. So, I wil get to see some of the Atoms Family.

The excitement continues.

A Poetry Out Loud Recitation Competition Sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation Partners with Discover Jersey Arts

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:46:00 -0600

The following information is from the ENOCH website at www.enochnj.org

What is it?

The competition’s goal is to encourage high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. Students will develop their public speaking skills, build self-confidence and discover the beauty of poetry. Students compete at a classroom level, school level, regional level, state and national level.

Learn more about the competition by visiting the Discover Jersey Arts website. Scroll down and click on Poetry Out Loud. You can also see last year’s competition if you scroll down to and click on Program History.

NJPOL has stated that any state homeschool organization can register as a “school”. This year, ENOCH of NJ is registered as a “school” with three “classrooms” [see chart below]. Additional “classrooms” can be added if there is a coordinator and a minimum of 5 high school students participating. If interested in sponsoring a classroom level or a school level competition, please contact the NJ POL Homeschool Contact, Carla Abrams before November 1st, 2008.

How is the Competition Structured?

Classroom Level: Students must prepare one poem. Competition date & location depends on the “classroom” – see chart below. The competition must have between 5 to 15 students in order to participate at the classroom level. This level of competition must be completed by December 30^th, 2008. Support groups can sponsor this level competition [see above]

School Level: Students must prepare two poems. The winner from the school will proceed to the appropriate regional competition. This level competition must be completed by January 20^th. State organizations serve as a “school” – ENOCH is sponsoring this level competition. Date and location will be announced soon.

Regional Level: Students must prepare three poems: at least one poem must have been written before the 20^th Century and at least one of the three poems must also be 25 lines or shorter. Competition date & location depends on the Region. The appropriate region is determined by the residency of the homeschool winner.

State Final: Same poem requirements as Regional level. Winners from each of the Regional competitions will come to NJN Studios on March 19^th, 2009 to compete for the title of New Jersey State Champion. The state champion will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to compete for the national championship. The state winner's library of choice will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. A state runner-up will receive $100, with $200 for his or her library of choice.

The National Finals will take place April 26-28, 2009 in Washington, DC. The 1^st place winner receives a $20,000 scholarship; the 12 finalists each receive a $1,000 scholarship and $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books for their library of choice.

Who is Eligible to Compete?

This exciting new program, which began in 2005, is open to all students in 9th to 12th grade. This is the 2^nd year that the competition is opened to homeschoolers in NJ. Homeschoolers will begin the competition at the “classroom” level. In order to have “classroom” competitions, ENOCH approached three homeschool support leaders across the state and asked them to coordinate the competitions [see chart]. Students interested in competing would register with the “classroom” closest to their home. The competitions are opened to all homeschoolers in New Jersey – you need not be a member of a NJ homeschool support group to participate.

Classroom	Date	Location	Contact Person	Snow Date
North	12/1 @ 7pm	Bethlehem Church, Randolph	Carla Abrams	12/8
Central	12/9	First Baptist Church, Metuchen	Susan Smith	12/11
South	12/6 @ 7pm	Faith Alliance Church, Sewell	Judith Risser	TBD

Students interested in competing should check out the Frequently Asked Questions for Student on the Poetry Out Loud Website. Parents should check out the Frequently Asked Questions for Teachers there. Obviously, all the questions do not pertain to you as parents, but they do address some matters you need to be aware of.

Questions about the Poems

Can students choose poetry outside of the poems in the anthology?

No. The POL website includes an online anthology of more than 400 poems that will continue to expand. The students must choose their selections from the POL database. This anthology will also be available in hardcopy form and will be distributed to schools & classrooms participating in the official contest.

How much do the Poetry Out Loud materials cost?

The program materials for Poetry Out Loud are free. You may access these online at no cost – audio segments, the poetry anthology and video segments. The three “classrooms” will receive the free hardcopy materials [poetry anthology, audio CDs] which each student will receive upon registering.

How does one register to compete?

Interested families need to print out the Information Packet to register their students. This packet will be available online as soon as the dates and locations are finalized. The packet includes the official student registration form. You must mail the form to the appropriate “classroom” coordinator. The student registration fee goes towards the facilities used for the competitions. Deadline for registration is November 26^th, 2008.

If you have questions, you should contact any of the classroom coordinators.

The above information was taken from the ENOCH of New Jersey site.

ENOCH Winter Week

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:38:00 -0600

ENOCH of New Jersey will hold their winter week at Shawnee Mountain in the Poconos, Pa. The week is from January 12-16, 2009. If anyone is interested click on this ENOCH link.

Apparently, Shawnee Mountain is giving a discount to people who will sign up before Dec. 29, 2008. A family can get a discount on skis and ski lifts, etc. It sounds like a fun time especially if you enjoy skiing. If you don't, maybe you will after a fun-filled week at Shawnee.

The Old Schoolhouse Newsletter

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:30:00 -0500

We just wanted to take this issue to encourage each of you (in the U.S.) to get out and vote next Tuesday. I know that it can be hard to get away from the house to go vote, but, with so much at stake, it's worth the effort. In fact, maybe you could even call a few friends from your support group and set up a playdate so that moms could go out to vote while the kids are playing.

As the quote says, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

There are a lot of other great words of encouragement and helpful links in this newsletter about the election and election process, so I'm just going to give you some updates on all that is going on at TOS.

We have two great contests on the HomeschoolBlogger Front Porch. You can win a copy of The Quest for Thunder Mountain or the new Homespun Holidays E-Book.

Homespun Holidays will be available for sale in our Schoolhouse Store next week, but you can get your very own copy for FREE with a new 2 year U.S. subscription this week. Offer ends October 31, 2008. Be sure to let your friends know.

Has your family been enjoying this fall weather by creating an interesting leaf collection? We'd love to show off your photos in our online gallery. Read the details and submit your photos by November 7, 2008.

Oh, and the Schoolhouse Store staff has been really working hard. They've already put up the November free E-Book in the store. You can go ahead and download your copy of the Letter Links eGame. It's a $6.95 value!

You can also save over 35% on our November module, Amusing Mathematics E-Book this week only. They sent me a copy to look over and I think it may be one of our bestsellers. It's filled with delightful brainteasers and at only $5, you can't go wrong!

Enjoy every minute!

THM Editor

P.S. Check out this month's Classical Astronomy e-newsletter for details on some exciting events in the sky Friday and Saturday night. Subscribe to the Classical Astronomy newsletter and have information emailed directly to you or join the Classical Astronomy Yahoo Group for more discussion!

Mercy Every Minute
Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

This subject reminds me of a story in the Bible about some folks who wanted a ruler other than God. They just had to have a king. And not just anyone - they wanted someone who looked good and sounded good to lead them. Who cares if he was godly or not, they just wanted a king like the other nations had. We all know the story of Saul and his own demise (if not, read 1 Samuel chapters 9 - 31).

Today is not much different. Many want leaders and rulers who look good and sound good whether or not they are good, godly men and women. We need to heed our history and look to God for His appointed ones.

I won't tell you who to vote for, but what to vote for. Vote for biblical morality and righteousness. Do not vote for anything God would not vote for; or that which would go against His commands.

If a candidate does not believe in the sanctity of human life, don't vote for them because the Bible says that all life is God breathed and knit together by Him; made for His purposes. If a candidate believes in stealing from one to give to another, don't vote for them, for the Bible says that stealing is sin. If a candidate says that parents don't have the right to choose the educational direction for their children, don't vote for them because the Bible says that parents are mandated to teach their children.

As you are teaching your children the process of the elections, don't forget to teach them who should set the precedence of the elections. In other words, don't forget God and His Word. It is the most essential voter guide there is to give us wisdom in our electoral decisions. That coupled with prayer and repentance may bring our land the healing it desperately needs.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

~Deborah

Contest Central
For the month of October

The Martyr's Victory: A Story of Danish England

Historical Fiction Book

A small portion of the review:

The Martyr's Victory, by Emma Leslie, begins by introducing us to Egbert, a young frail Saxon living in the country of Mercia. He is continually scorned and laughed at by his family and the world. Resolving to run away and die in the woods, he meets an elderly monk who invites Egbert into the church's realm of safety. Forsaking all he has ever known, Egbert follows the monk, Osric, to a new life at the monastery. There he learns to read, write, and copy the scriptures.

But danger arises as the savage Danes of the north threaten to destroy the monastery and all of Mercia. A meeting is held in the church and it is decided that six monks shall venture to the Danish lands bringing not only the seed of grain, but also the seed of truth found in the Word of God. Egbert wishes to come along but cannot, because he is too weak. Told that he, and several others, may join the party of six in about a year's time, he is content to remain.

Upon arriving in Ea, an island in East Anglia, the six monks meet a young girl named Elswitha. They soon find out that she has just escaped from being sacrificed to Odin, their false god. Later in the village, Osric encounters a Danish warrior who has been drastically wounded in a single-combat battle and now believes that he is destined to die. As he is a skillful leech, Osric uses all in his power to work to cure the unfortunate Dane. Will he succeed? If he does succeed, will it help in saving Mercia from the warlike Danes? Will Osric's faith impact the Danish people? And what will happen to Egbert? Find out in The Martyr's Victory!

Read the complete review online and enter for a chance to win The Martyr's Victory: A Story of Danish England.

TO ENTER:
Email SeniorEditor@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com with your name and mailing address and the subject, "Martyr's Victory" for a chance to win*.

Congratulations to our September winner, Jennifer Sikora from Kentucky!

Schoolhouse Spotlight
Angela Quigley, Director of the Schoolhouse Store

Are you looking for a great way to learn about the election process with
your kids?

When citizens elect a president, who is also called the Chief Executive and
Commander in Chief, they are choosing who will lead the nation. Students will learn about the presidential election and follow the 2008 election process as they complete a lapbook using The United States Presidential Election 2008 Project Pack from In the Hands of a Child.

Get this item for 20% off through the rest of October!

To find other election related sale items click HERE.

~Angela

It's Just Common Sense
Ruth Beechick, Curriculum Specialist

Before watching the presidential election returns, help your children understand something about the electoral college that is specified in the U.S. Constitution:

Each state shall appoint, in such a manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress (Article II, Section1, from paragraph 2).

How many electors in your state? Each state specifies how its electors are chosen and how they can or must vote. In 24 states the electors are not bound to vote according to the ballot counts in their districts and in 27 states they are bound by law or pledge to do so. This totals 51 because Washington, D.C., is included.

With this system it is possible at times for a candidate to lose by the electoral college votes, yet to receive more of the "popular vote," the count of all individual ballots. For this reason there are often attempts to change the law, all of which have failed so far. The slogan "one person, one vote" sounds fair to a lot of people.

But think through that popular vote system. Presidential candidates could campaign in a few large cities and gain enough votes to win. And while in office they could direct most benefits to those areas to keep their support, and the rest of the country would be neglected.

You and your children can cheer or groan as the state votes are reported on election night, beginning with the eastern time zone. The official results occur later when the electors transmit the state votes to the president of the Senate.

--Ruth

The Familyman
Todd Wilson, Familyman Ministries

Election time is where the homeschool rubber meets the road. Do we really believe God sets up kings and presidents and that "He's got the whole world in His hands". . .or do we show our children by our gloom and doom predictions that all we've taught them about God is a bunch of hooey (to use the Greek word)? To hear some Christians talk, you'd think that God steps down from His throne on November 4th.

We can teach them all we want about God through reading the Scriptures and memorizing Bible verses. . .BUT they LEARN the most from the way we live when "school" is not in session.

We don't watch TV, but on November 4th, we plan to plug in the TV and watch the presidential coverage. I'm sure we'll cheer on our favorite. . .but afterwards, no matter who walks away as winner, we will pray for our new president and thank God for setting him in place. Then no complaining.

Oh, here's one more thing to leave you with. . .the absolute truth is that what takes place in YOUR house is way more important than what happens in the White House.

Be Real. . .and trust God,

Todd

PS - There's an interesting discussion going on at the Familyman Forum about Halloween and Trick or Treating.