Help along the way . . . I'm a highly organized person & 8 years of homeschooling makes me a veteran. Add those ingredients to a great wealth of opinions & you've got a resourceful blog! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Mon, 9 Feb 2009 08:52:00 -0600 Mon, 9 Feb 2009 08:52:00 -0600 When life interferes with my plans, my first tendency is to throw a temper tantrum; however, since I’m not two years old, that’s not considered acceptable. Of course, I didn’t consider it acceptable when my two year olds threw temper tantrums either. Anyway, when life hands you lemons, do you make lemonade, or do you throw the lemons on the ground and stomp all over them?   Life has happened quite a bit at my house and in my homeschool recently, and I’ve been guilty of stomping on the lemons (a true confession for those of you who read my blog, Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom @ blogspot). The other day, my friend Wendy sent me this very convicting quote: “Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping it will kill your enemies [or even your loved ones]” (Nelson Mandela). Yikes! It’s time to start making lemonade. I decided to look for the spiritual lesson in all of this. I know I’m not the only one guilty of harboring resentment and stomping on lemons, so read on and let go of that resentment.   What do I miss when I’m holding tightly to my schedule in one hand and my resentment in the other? I miss cuddling with a little girl who will soon be too big to sit on my lap. I miss the opportunity to involve my husband in our children’s education. I miss the fun of additional family meals. I miss the blessings of relaxing with infrequent houseguests. I miss the blessings of serving my incapacitated mother. It sure looks like I miss out on many of God’s blessings!   Read the rest of the article at HOTM: http://heartofthematteronline.com/life-is-what-happens-when-you-have-other-plans/, a wonderful e-zine for homeschoolers. I’m thrilled to be contributing articles there about once a month. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/656153/ Mon, 9 Feb 2009 08:52:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/656153/ If you’re intimidated by the mere thought of homeschooling, wouldn’t it help to have an experienced friend guide you through the whole process? Whether you’ve got an eager four-year-old dying to learn how to read, or a stubborn sixth grader you’d like to bring home from the public school system, the Homeschooling ABC’s class is for you. Brew a fresh pot of coffee and get comfy as experienced homeschooling mom Terri Johnson comes over once a week for twenty-six weeks and sits down with you to help get you started on your homeschooling journey. Okay, Terri can’t come over in person, but she’s done the next best thing and written a set of weekly lessons that will be delivered straight to your inbox.   The Homeschooling ABC’s class covers a wide variety of topics about which new homeschoolers need to think: how to start, what to buy, how to teach, when to teach, where to find resources, who can help, why to write a philosophy of education, and so much more. Each topic is broken down into small, easy-to-read snippets so you won’t be overwhelmed. LOTS of FREE resources are included in the form of bonus freebies from other vendors (over $200 worth!), Web site links, and book lists. One of the best things is that you are given a short assignment at the end of each lesson to reinforce what you’ve learned and to give you guidance on the homeschooling journey. Terri doesn’t leave you guessing about anything—it’s all spelled out very clearly.   As a veteran homeschooler, I found some of the material to be oversimplified; however, a newbie homeschooler may be less intimidated that way. Much of the material is geared towards younger children, so if you’re homeschooling a high schooler, you may need some additional resources.   I know, I know, you want to know how many arms and legs such a great service costs. Here’s the good news: it only costs $10 a month, which is only $2.30 a class session. You will receive six months/twenty-six weeks of weekly lessons delivered directly to your e-mail inbox. If, for some strange reason, you don’t feel you’re learning enough, Terri offers a 100% money-back guarantee. The Homeschooling ABC’s class takes a big, scary topic and breaks it down into manageable, non-threatening pieces. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/655790/ Sat, 7 Feb 2009 22:10:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/655790/ History did not start with Columbus. The western hemisphere is not the only one on the planet. Missionaries from past centuries have present-day applications. Use the Sonlight Core 5 Eastern Hemisphere curriculum to unlock the mysteries of the Eastern Hemisphere and to instill a life-long interest in missions in your children.   Sonlight’s literature-based approach uses real books to inspire your children’s imaginations. Expect the textbooks to get dusty! Conversations replace worksheets and prepare your child for the dialectic discussions you’ll have in a few years. Sonlight is “the way you wish you’d been taught.” Adventure and excitement await you in your explorations of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Over sixty books are included (divided into history/geography, read-aloud, and reader categories). The books include classics such as The Hobbit and Around the World in Eighty Days, biographies of great missionaries such as Hudson Taylor and Mary Slessor, and books to capture your child’s interest in the Eastern Hemisphere such as Ships, Sailors, and the Sea and Teresa of Calcutta. My kids had dibs on half the books before I finished putting together the Instructor’s Guide!   If you’re into notebooking, you will love the complete portfolio your child will make using the Eastern Hemisphere Student Exploration Pages (answer key included). The 2008 World Book Deluxe Encyclopedia (for the computer) is its recommended resource. My daughter did not enjoy researching the different questions and had a hard time finding some of the answers, but that could be because she doesn’t enjoy research in general. The Exploration Pages are a wonderful tool to explore the geography, cultures, religions, background, leaders, and more of the major countries in the Eastern Hemisphere. You can do as much or as little of them as you wish.   One of the best features of the Sonlight Core 5 program is that the lesson plans are already done—a real timesaver. It will take you several days to read through the information and to figure out how the program works, but it is worth it. Another feature I appreciated was the ability to choose between a four-day and a five-day schedule (you do have to choose for the whole year, not one week at a time). The extremely comprehensive Instructor’s Guide advises you through every step in the process from setting up your three-inch binder (a bit intimidating at first) to knowing which questions to ask when (and the answers!). Far more material is included than most people would use in a year, but think of it as an all-you-can-eat buffet: choose what fits best with your family and leave the rest.   Sonlight’s Web site offers newsletters, articles, and e-mails to help you teach more effectively. They also offer an exclusive forum designed to make available 24-hour contact with fellow parents and experts. If you purchase the complete Core curriculum (Instructor’s Guide, all the books and other resources—about $650), you will get ten percent off of all your purchases for a whole year, and enjoy other exclusive benefits. Not sure it’s for you? Sonlight offers a 100% money-back guarantee—for eighteen weeks! Sonlight is a complete curriculum experience. We especially enjoyed studying the Middle Eastern country where a family member is currently serving the Lord. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/653808/ Mon, 2 Feb 2009 21:22:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/653808/ Calling all frustrated teachers of reluctant writers: WriteShop has the solution to your child’s “I don’t know what to write about” dilemma! WriteShop has created StoryBuilders to jumpstart your child’s creative juices. They’ve solved the “Oops, I forgot to put the setting (or plot, or character trait, or character) into my story” excuse, too. StoryBuilders are FUN, creative, nonthreatening helps that will have your reluctant writer asking to do more. They’ll also have your creative writer begging to use them. My 10-year-old reluctant writer actually got excited about her writing assignments from StoryBuilders and requested to use more than one card from each element to spice up her stories. The WriteShop StoryBuilders are e-books that you print out onto cardstock (either a different color of cardstock for each element with black ink, or white cardstock with colored ink) and cut apart to make a deck of cards for each basic story element: characters, character traits, settings, and plots. Each StoryBuilder set is theme-based, so you can choose just one that fits your child’s interests or buy all three—they’re only $7.95 each. WriteShop StoryBuilder e-books come with a teacher’s guide to help you utilize them to their best advantage for your children. Each story element has forty or more cards, enough to last for a loooong time without having repeats. Since I have neither colored paper nor a colored-ink printer, I printed mine on white cardstock with black ink and then colored them to indicate which element they were. Check out the box in which I store all my StoryBuilder card decks. This method makes it easy for my daughter to choose which theme and which cards for each element she wants to use for each story. Want to try a StoryBuilder for FREE? The World of Animals StoryBuilders is being offered for FREE (for limited time only) at The Old Schoolhouse Store: http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=62_128&products_id=2530 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/651977/ Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:20:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/651977/ Students can have FUN while learning to write a REAL novel and get a high school English credit in the bargain! Sound like a novel idea? Not if you’re using the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum. The One Year Adventure Novel is for high school students who love to write. It’s also for students who hate to write, and for all those who fall in between. The creator of the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum focuses more on the process than on the mechanics, although those are certainly not neglected. The writing process is broken into small, manageable DVD lessons with workbook and writing exercises to reinforce the concepts. Quizzes are even included, although you are certainly free to eliminate them. Students also study a number of classic adventure novels (to fulfill the literature part of the English grade) to give students direction and goals at which to aim. Online forums give instant peer feedback and support. If you’re worried about piloting your writer through the process because you are not a writer yourself, have no fear, clear guidelines for critiquing and assigning grades are given. Never has a curriculum been so anticipated or enjoyed as the One Year Novel at our house! I haven't seen my daughter this excited about school since kindergarten! It is well worth the $199 price tag. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/651511/ Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:59:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/651511/ Remember the review I posted a while ago about a great online math program called ALEKS? You can try it for one month for FREE! Go to www.aleks.com/webform/pr-87 to access your free trial. ALEKS stands for Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces. Here are the features: complete curriculum solution for math (no textbooks or supplements needed), artificial intelligence targets gaps in student knowledge, assessments, and individualized learning for students in grades 3–12, automated reports monitor learning progress, unlimited online access, FUN. Enjoy! Then, come back and tell me how your kids enjoyed using ALEKS and the feature you most appreciated about it. The fun homophone program I blogged about a few days ago is offering a special, limited-time coupon for $10 off your purchase to celebrate its launch. Hurry on over to www.all-about-homophones.com to purchase your CHEAP copy today! To receive the discount, visitors to the site need to enter "FUN" in the customer code box during checkout. The coupon code is good for one week only, through February 2, 2009. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/650580/ Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:20:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/650580/ Everyone wants to save money these days, but do you struggle, as I sometimes do, knowing where to cut corners? Are you looking for innovative ways to save money? Molly to the rescue! Molly’s Money-Saving Digest for February is packed chock full of practical tips you can do to prepare for the coming spring, as well as pragmatic ideas you can use now. I love to plan and am eager to try the homemade cleaners and repurposing suggestions. Pour yourself a hot cup of tea, curl up in your favorite chair, and get ready to chat with Molly about the basics, gardening (yes, in winter!), homemade cleaners, and an inspiring story of a family who set a big goal and achieved it. Here’s a convicting quote from their story: “Experience has shown us that, as much as many people say they want to do something, very few are actually willing to meet whatever grubby, everyday challenges need to be met in order to actually move toward the goal.” So, the question is how much money do you really want to save? Molly’s Money-Saving Digest for February 2009 is coming soon to The Old Schoolhouse Store (use the store link on the right side of my blog). Check out Molly’s Web site at www.econobusters.com for more money-saving tips. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/648850/ Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:30:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/648850/     “Mom, Mom, come here my peace for the school play! Can you help me decide what to where?” “Yes, I’m looking foreword to seeing you act. Don’t practice so much you become horse!” It’s not a complement if someone asks if you die you’re hare. The plain with the American Idle in it crashed into the see.   Yikes! Have you seen similar erroneous sentences in your children’s writings? Do YOU struggle with its versus it’s or your versus you’re? I have to admit that those last two are my personal pet peeves in others’ writings. Struggle no longer! From the creators of All About Spelling come a brand new offering to help with word usage dilemmas: All About Homophones.   All About Homophones is a multi-grade, multi-learning style curriculum designed to take the pain out of teaching about words that sound alike, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Have fun with games, cards, graphic organizers, worksheets, and more while teaching homophones in an engaging, relaxed, easy-to-remember way. The Tool Kit also contains a huge list of homophones separated by grade level to make it easy to make sure your kids are learning the appropriate words.   The All About Homophones Web site includes FREE samples and how-to-teach articles. The creator is so sure that you will absolutely love All About Homophones that she offers a thirty-day, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. You can purchase a hard copy for $29.95 and an e-book version that you can download right away for $27.95. Either way, it’s a bargain for a great tool you can use with all your children for many years. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/647889/ Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:47:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/647889/ “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6–7 NKJV). “Blessed is the man . . . his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night . . . he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:1–3 NKJV). That’s what I want for my children. Isn’t it what you want for your children? Discovering a Christ-Like Character by Deeper Roots Publications will provide you with the tools to help your children develop the Christian maturity they will need to stand firm in this world. Discovering a Christ-Like Character is not fluff; it delves much deeper than a fill-in-the blank workbook. The lessons are comprised of memorization, journaling, reading, thought-provoking questions, and “cool activities” (according to my teenager). Each lesson also includes beautiful artwork, maps, prayer suggestions, and an unreached people group profile. It can be used for a full credit on a transcript for high schoolers. The lessons in this Bible curriculum are designed first to help young teen students focus on Jesus Christ and to come to a deeper knowledge of His character, and second, to enable them to personally develop a more Christ-like character. The lessons cover eight different aspects of Christ’s character with which young teenagers most often struggle. The Deeper Roots Web site says, “We believe that Christians only become truly like Christ by growing in knowledge and relationship with Him. Our part is to study God’s Word and obey it; God’s part is to conform us to be like Christ (Rom 8:28–29).” By taking time to discuss each lesson with your children, you will be discipling them and mentoring them in the most effective way towards growing deeper Christian roots. Deeper Roots curricula were written for homeschoolers. Student books are $19.95; teacher books are $28.95, and the bundle is $62.45 (includes a student book, a teacher book, and one set of Matthew DVDs). The Web site has FREE samples and highlights their many other Bible curricula choices for all age groups, and encouraging books for homeschooling moms. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/647297/ Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:49:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/647297/ As a homeschool mom (or dad!), have you ever wished for an online service or Web site to meet your needs, but been unable to find one? Or, have you found what you needed, only to discover that you couldn’t afford it? Do you have a great idea for an online service that would benefit the homeschooling community, but you don’t know how to implement it? Now is your chance to tell someone who has the opportunity to make your dreams come true! A homeschool mom received a grant to build a Web site to provide services to the homeschooling community for FREE! The best part is that she wants to know what YOU want! So, take a short, seven-question survey and let your voice be heard. http://www.surveymk.com/HomeschoolMom http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/644353/ Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:33:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momishome2/644353/