Homeschooling for 3

I am no neophyte to math software. Long before I became a mother I have been using math software to help my myriads of nieces and nephews. One of my favorite math software providers was Davidson and their really cool "Math Blaster" program back in the 1990s. But that was then and this is now. Quarter Mile's Appeal to My Children My children have enjoyed my older Davidson games because it had lots of cute songs and animations. So, although my son is a big fan of horses, I wasn't sure how the girls would feel about The Quarter Mile Math racing game where their only choices are race cars and horses. And at first glance the interface is a lot less flashy than what I've become accustomed to with some of the internet-based math games that they kids have played over the years. So, after installing it on my own computer, I started sharing it with the gang. Now Jade is my up-and-coming diva, so I her reaction was very interesting. When she first saw the splash screen she...

So sorry about the late notice, but I was busy working and hadn't checked out my Freebie of the Day * until just now. Anyway, Terri Johnson of Homeschooling ABCS is having giving away the first 5 lessons of the Homeschooling ABCs class . The first lesson will be given away on Monday, August 3rd, so if you're still running ideas through your head about your families' up and coming school year, this would be an excellent opportunity to see what she has to offer. As Terri states on her sign up page for this offer: "Our mission is to encourage and equip you to have the best school year yet!" And that's the reason for this hasty post -- I really believe that we all need to bless each other with whatever resources we can, especially the free ones during this challenging economy. I seem to be moving into the reviewing mode, so if you miss the deadline, never fear! I will be sure to share my take on Terri's teaching methods, ideas and even which type o...

As some of you know, I am returning to my traditional homeschooling roots this year. I did my experimentation into cyberschooling and found it lacking. But I also live in PA, one of the high documentation homeschooling states (also known as "Big PA in in the neck states") so I've been wondering how I was going to pull a curriculum together to present to the Lords of Education so they'll go away. So, once we made our decision to get away from cyberschools I began looking at different curriculum. I have been looking at complete year curriculum as well as a more eclectic collection of resources. But now I don't have to look any further because I just discovered The Old Schoolhouse 2009-2010 Planner ! First off, let me confess that I have not been the most organized homeschooler. I've purchased programs to keep records on the girls work, I've set up schedules (that I then proceeded to ignore after about a week), and changed my mind a couple of times during the...

Hi, I just got an email about a brand new book series called "When I Grow Up I Want To Be ..." that I thought might be of interest. I have to wait until my husband gets paid ("Thanks Dad!"), but I'm definitely going to get this one. The thing I like about it is that it discusses a variety of jobs (i.e., Firefighter, Veterinarian, Chef, Military, Doctor, Police Officer, Missionary, Artist, Pilot, and Farmer to name a few) from a practical standpoint. They discuss how much money you can make at these professions, the skills you need, the actual day-to-day tasks, etc. My daughter, Jade, wants to be a Firefighter (well at least for the last year or so) and I think this will be an excellent introduction for her. After we read it I'm going to take her to a firehouse so that she can do a little fact finding of her own! Anyway, the special pricing only lasts until the end of the month, so you should check it out soon.

Since I'm back in the saddle as a traditional homeschooler, I've been surfing around for inspiration. This article caught my eye and I thought I'd share it with you too! The point that made me feel terribly terrific about returning to my homeschooling ranks is found in point number four. (By Terri Johnson – co-author of Homeschooling ABCs – an online class starting this month for brand new homeschoolers) We’ve all seen it… or, at least, heard about it… the homeschooled child who wins the geography bee, or the one who graduates at the age of 15, or the one who excels in musical accomplishments… Now, obviously, a student does not have to be homeschooled in order to accomplish one of the feats above, nor does every homeschooled child excel in such notable ways. However, every homeschooling parent desires for success in teaching their children at home and launching them into the world to become all that God has intended for them to be. The flipside to this statemen...

Well I've gone and finally done it. After two years of fighting with myself over the cyberschool issue, I'm now free! Free from artificial deadlines, stress and other things that have just made homeschooling no fun. So now I'm enjoying the process of finding materials to use with my girls for next year. So far I've invested in Math Mammoth , some board games (Kismet/Spill & Spell, Predicting Outcomes, Geography games, etc.) I'm going to use Susan Wise's history series "The Story of the World". The only thing I'm lacking (so far) is science, but I guess I'll figure that out along the way. I'm actually thinking of teaching cooking as a science course. I have this book that I picked up called "The Art, Techniques, and Science of Good Cooking -- The New Making of a Cook" by Madeline Kamman . Since my family enjoys following the Bible in One Year program, so we'll continue doing that. The kids like drawing pictures about the...

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...

Hi, this just arrived in my email today and I thought I'd share it with everyone: We are pleased to make you aware of CurrClick's Black Friday Freebie Giveaway and Homeschooling Through the Holidays Sale , in advance of the general public. Black Friday is about savings, this season is about being frugal and CurrClick is and always has been about helping you trim your education budget. That's why this year, beginning Friday the 28th at 10 AM EST, we're inviting you and your readership, egroups and co-ops, to our biggest Black Friday Giveaway and Homeschooling Through the Holidays sales event yet, offering 28 COMPLETELY FREE TITLES from our most popular publishers and dozens of your favorite holiday education titles up to 85% OFF! This Friday, November 28th, put on your pajamas, put away your pocketbooks and "head over" to CurrClick's best ever Black Friday Freebie Giveaway and Homeschooling Through the Holidays Sale! **Look for these graphics on our homepa...

While in the children's section of the library my eye fell upon a book entitled " The Dragon's Lair (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme) " As I am a fantasy reader and was looking for something light to enjoy I picked it up for myself … and fell in love. The book is set up as a restoration of archeological records and they tell the story of Ven Polypheme as he goes through his life as an explorer, adventurer, and journalist for the High King. As has been my misfortune of late, I began the series at the end – "The Dragon's Lair" is actually Book 3 in this series. The other two books are " The Thief Queen's Daughter (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme) "– Book 2 -- and " The Floating Island (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme) " – Book 1. Because I do have younger children I checked to see if audiobooks had been created for the series, but not as of today. The story itself is fast-paced, sometimes funny, sometimes scary, but always...