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Showing posts from April, 2009

HomeWork – Juggling Home, Work & School

As you may know, I've been working on my own website about this very subject. Working from home, homeschooling and remaining sane is possible, but it takes a bit of time to get the balance just right for your family. So, when I read the eBook " HomeWork – Juggling Home, Work and School Without Losing Your Balance " I was excited. The project was overseen by The Old Schoolhouse and is a compilation of individual experiences, insights and stories of homeschoolers who are doing it all under one roof. It was refreshing to read how other families are dealing with the unique challenges that homeschoolers who work from home face. The businesses and stories are varied and very interesting. Some of the people interviewed are at the beginning of their homeschooling journey and are incorporating their preschoolers into the business as well as the educational routine. Then there are families that have older children who are not only helping their parents with the family business

Easy Fundraising Ideas

I am the first to admit that fundraising has always been something of a mystery to me. My first experience with raising money was last year when my daughter became interested in Alex's Lemonade Stand . It is a charity that raises money for pediatric cancer research. We held our Lemonade Stand event at a community street fair and did okay. But I've been wondering ever since how we could have done better. The book Easy Fundraisers for Your Homeschool Organizations has opened my eyes to the many different avenues to reaching our next fundraising goal. Carol Topp's book focuses on five easy (and effective) methods to raise money for your homeschooling groups, co-ops, etc. They are: Coupon and Reward Programs: General Mills has a program that works well with homeschooling groups and Carol tells you how to make this one of the easiest fundraisers you've ever seen! I wasn't aware that some grocery and retail stores will actually make donations to nonprofit organizations

The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Working from Home

I've been working from home for over six years so I think I have a bit of experience when it comes to this subject – the ups and downs of educating and working under one roof. But I recently read a Wee-book entitled "The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Being a Work-at-Home Mom" that has really helped me to refocus on my own purpose of working from home. And the author, Carol Topp, was able to do all of this in just seven pages – excellent for homeschoolers who have lots of young ones running around. J The point that really jumped out at me was the need for a simple business plan. When I started working from home I didn't take the time to setup a business plan, and that really caused me to stumble/bumble along for a long while. Although I knew what I was good at what services I wanted to offer, I didn't sit down and crunch the numbers, and amount of energy that it would take to be profitable. I've finally gotten a handle on it, but reading the simple ste

On the Wings of a Butterfly

Wow! That pretty much sums up my experience with Michelle Eichhorn's Wee Book "Science on the Wings of a Butterfly" . I am humbled and greatly appreciative of the way Michelle approaches the subject. I am not a huge science fan. (Probably too much time spent in those stinky science labs at school!) Even when I buy science curricula for my kids, I rarely use it. I'm quite content watching The Magic School Bus and doing science experiments on the computer. Needless to say, my husband is in charge of our families' scientific education. J From the moment that I began reading this particular Wee-book, I was enchanted. I know that sounds silly, but there's no other way for me to express it. Her descriptions and writing style really drew me into the subject and left me with a strong desire to know more. I actually checked my print out to make sure that I hadn't lost any pages! Her resource guide at the end of the book is really cool and my girls liked th