Homeschool Idaho

Homeschool Legislative Day @ Capitol

2011-12-09T15:29:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again!

The Idaho Coalition of Home Educators is hosting its annual

LEGISLATIVE DAY on February 1, 2012.

On Legislative Day, ICHE hosts a formal pie reception for the legislators in the Idaho state capitol building in Boise, Idaho.

Pie's are donated by home educators like you. Displays of school work, art work, projects, and photos are also provided by home educators like you. Music performances are also provided by home educators...like you.

The Legislative Day is an opportunity for legislators to view homeschooling in a positive light.

If you would like to help by providing a display, pie, musical number, etc...please see the ICHE website and contact the appropriate person listed.

The deadlines for signing up are fast approaching. The first being Dec. 19th for musical numbers.

Check out these great pie recipes and photos from past Legislative Days.

Please Teach Punctuation

2011-11-14T21:02:00.001-08:00

More 2011 Homeschool Trunk or Treat Photos

2011-10-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

A Mom sent in some photos she took at the 2011 Homeschool Trunk or Treat...enjoy!
Click on photos to enlarge.

Time4Learning Reviews

2011-10-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and forsummer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

Check back next month for reviews on Time4Learning from Idaho Homeschoolers.

2011 Homeschool Trunk or Treat Meridian, ID

2011-10-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

Another successful Homeschool Trunk or Treat!!

Click on photo to view larger...

FREE? Do the Math!

2011-09-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

This year seems like most of my homeschooling friends are on as tight a budget as the public schools. Fortunately there really is such a thing as a free education still, you just might have to do some leg work to find it. I came across a few complete math curriculum and a few supplements for FREE. Well, maybe it'll cost you some time on the computer and some printer ink.

CSMP- Complete Math Curriculum for Grades K-6
I love how the lessons are laid out in a no-brainer kind of way, which makes it super easy to teach. It's pretty scripted for you. Includes student workbook pages, blackline masters, and even some Math storybook

North Carolina Public Schools- Math Resources
Add in a few supplements, like math games, worksheets, etc and this could be a complete math curriculum. The Week by Week Essentials are in a friendly flexible format. The Strategies resources are a great way to cover specific concepts.

Homeschool Math- Website has quite a few ads but lots of information and free resources too. Website is owned by the author of the Mammoth Math Curriculum.

NCTM Math Lessons and Resources- Designed for use by math teachers this site has a wealth of lessons and ideas to make math engaging.

Living Math- This incredible site shows you how to teach math minus a textbook and workbooks. Lots of great books listed here.

Khan Academy- Never heard of this site? What planet are you from?! This amazingly free resources serves up teaching videos on math concepts.

Math is Fun- The name of this site says it all. Providing basic math instruction for K- 12 in brief text lessons with visual aids and interactive practice problems. Even include printable worksheets!

SparkleBox- It's like math BLING! Free printable to supplement your math lessons.

XP Math- Quality math games listed by concept

K12 Station Mathematics Links- Math links listed by grade level and then concept.

Bruce's Math Stuff- Some great printable math games and posters here

Pizza Hut Book-IT Program for Homeschool Families

2011-08-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Orders are taken on an individual homeschool family basis only. Homeschool group orders are no longer accepted. Each family must submit their own individual request.

Deadline: The 2011 enrollment deadline is September 1st., however, we will continue to accept enrollment requests on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.

NAMPA, ID Homeschool Curriculum Sale

2011-07-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

Homeschool Used Curriculum Sale



	THIS SATURDAY July 9th 9am -2pm Nampa Christian High School 11920 W. Flamingo Ave. Nampa, Idaho


	Don't miss this sale, with thousands of homeschool items available. For details and information on how to consign items or volunteer for the sale, visit www.classicalathome.com. Consignment is on Thursday, July 7th. Please invite all local friends to this event.

Recipe for Fun: Bubbles

2011-06-27T01:11:00.000-07:00

Bubble Recipe:
6 cups water
4 cups liquid detergent
1 cup corn syrup (Karo, etc.)
Add a drop of food coloring to make rainbow bubbles!

Combine the ingredients in a bucket and allow them to sit in the open container for a day. The longer they stand, the better.

Music Lessons

2011-05-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

" Who's your piano teacher?"

"Anyone know an affordable guitar teacher?"

Below are a few resources, please add yours in the comments!
Put your city first and then your resource for music lessons and any comments that may be helpful.

Make a Joyful Noise Music Studio
Private Piano Instruction

“…My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7b

My name is Erika Esquivel, I am a homeschool graduate, and I have played the piano for six years. I am passionate about music, and wish to pass on my enthusiasm for playing the piano to others.

Make a Joyful Noise Music Studio o

Publish Post

ffers beginner instruction to children who aspire to learn to play the piano.

Studio hours are from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Tuition is a flat rate of $48 a month. Lessons are 30 minutes each.

Telephone 208-442-0207
Address:
4017 Winterberry Dr.
Nampa, ID. 83687
E-mail: stylngirls@msn.com

MERIDIAN
Piano and Guitar Lessons:

Beginner keyboard and guitar lessons in Meridian

Accepting all ages

Special needs children welcome

Rates:$5 for 1/2 hour

$10 for 1 hour

Call 585-4890 or e-mail learn2playmusic@ymail.com

to schedule lessons.

Also see listings on the Homeschool Idaho Website

15 Fascinating Facts About the History of Homeschooling

2011-05-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

15 Fascinating Facts About the History of Homeschooling

from http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com

May 18th, 2011

Homeschooling appeals to a surprisingly broad range of families, each with their own unique motivations for pursuing the method. Despite the myriad misconceptions about students’ social aptitude or ability to perform once they hit college, it remains an unyielding component of the education industry. But homeschooling gets so bogged down in theory and curricula, many take little time to ponder its extremely active, controversial history. By no means is this list even the slightest iota comprehensive, but it does pick out a few interesting, relevant tidbits.

Education in the United States and Europe was largely homebound until the 1830s: Even then, education was not compulsory in the former until 1852, implemented by the "Know-Nothing" Party in Massachusetts. Religious and ethnic minorities excluded from the policies on the grounds of their alleged intellectual inferiority and some crazy talk about a Catholic conspiracy to overthrow the government responded by continuing homebound classes. The Mormon community especially resisted required government schooling until 1915.
The Native American community was one of the most vocal detractors of compulsory education: And, to nobody’s surprise, proved one of the most marginalized demographics once the United States began passing compulsory education laws. In yet another display of wrecking the indigenous ways of life under the wrongheaded nomenclature of "progress," such legal measures drove stakes into their traditional schooling methods — which, of course, long predated the standardized style.
Growing Without School was the first periodical about homeschooling in America: Founded by John Holt in 1977, this newsletter allowed homeschooling parents to connect with one another, exchange ideas and learn about the issues affecting them. It ran for 24 years, ending in December 2001 for financial reasons and leaving behind 143 issues in its archives. Much of the content celebrated the controversial "unschooling" method, which sports a highly flexible, student-directed curriculum with minimal structure.
Both the left and the right have historically embraced homeschooling: Their reasoning may be different, but homeschooling is one of the few things both the political left and right have historically supported. John Holt, Growing Without School founder and author of numerous books on unschooling and homeschooling, pulled from many 1960s/1970s anti-establishment philosophies. His right-wing counterpart was former U.S. Department of Education employee Raymond Moore, who touted homeschooling’s religious potential during the same era.
Raymond Moore and his wife Dorothy conducted some of the homeschool movement’s most influential studies: Along with John Holt, the Moores were the most influential figureheads of the homeschooling movement in the 1960s and 1970s. They sunk numerous resources and teamed up with representatives from the World Health Organization, Harvard University, Cornell University and other educational and research institutions in the interest of studying the method’s impact. Some of the findings, most especially the ones tying numerous learning and development disorders to compulsory state schooling’s completely inflexible, homogenous structure.
Better Late than Early was published in 1975: One of Raymond and Dorothy Moore’s most influential findings centered around the role of parents in early childhood development. Their 1975 smash Better Late than Early revealed the results of intensive studies across different cultures and socioeconomic brackets. They made the argument that kids were not really psychologically or emotionally prepared for structured schooling until ages 8 through 10. Homeschooling advocates latched onto this information and used it to tailor curricula around their children’s natural development and foster tighter filial bonds.
The number of homeschooled kids at least doubled between 1990 and 1995: Thanks to the efforts of John Holt and Raymond and Dorothy Moore, homeschooling received a bevy of mainstream attention and, subsequently, support. The April 2005 issue of The Home School Market discussed how the number of parents teaching their children outside the education system doubled from 400,000 to 8,000 in the half-decade between 1990 and 1995. However, the Homeschool Legal Defense Association put the number at 1.23 million, accounting for families who rejected joining relevant organizations and kept largely to themselves.
Homeschooling was once illegal in most states: Prior to the 1960s, parents pulling their children out of public or private schools were held under truancy laws in almost every state. Oklahoma was the only one with no penalties levied homeschooling families until the practice drew mainstream acceptance. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association claims that thousands of families fled "underground" in order to utilize the method.
State vs. Massa was the first significant court case to rule in favor of homeschooling: This 1967 landmark New Jersey hearing ruled in favor of homeschooling families and paved the way for mainstream acceptance. Laws requiring students to receive an education either in school or "elsewhere than at school" for a specific amount of time were pivotal in the ultimate decision. Homeschooling advocates pointed out that the movement itself qualified as such, and the court eventually stated, "This court agrees with the above decisions that the number of students does not determine a school and further, that a certain number of students need not be present to attain an equivalent education." (Massa at 256).
The HSLDA was founded in 1983: As one can probably imagine, the Homeschooling Legal Defense Association hosts its own fair share of controversies — not the least of which revolve around its largely fundamentalist Christian leanings. But despite one’s views on religion and education, the organization still enjoys considerable political influence and plays a significant role in homeschooling history. Michael Ferris, an attorney, founded the nonprofit in 1983 with the hopes of providing legal counsel to homeschooling families butting heads with their respective states. The organization charged $100 a year to represent the needs of participants, and by 2000 supported a membership of roughly 70,000 families and 250,000 kids. All that in spite of dwindling legal issues aimed at the homeschool demographic.
Many exceptionally successful people were homeschooled: Despite homeschooling’s mainstream acceptance, some stereotypes persist regarding their social and professional abilities. Presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, John Adams and John Quincy Adams were all homeschooled before going on to lead the United States, as was Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. More creative kids will be happy to find out that Frank Lloyd Wright, C.S. Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, Virginia Woolf, Ansel Adams and plenty more all grew up in such an educational environment as well.
1983 tax laws allegedly increased the number of homeschooled students: Exact figures are difficult to come by, but changing tax regulations in 1983 drove many students in Christian schools back into their homes for an education. Parents upset at the denial of financial breaks to institutions practicing racial discrimination yanked their kids out of the private system and turned to homeschooling instead. Many could not afford the subsequent tuition hikes in the schools too stubborn to accept other races, either, and considered it their only available option.
Charlotte Mason inspired the Parents’ Education Union in 1886: With the publication of Charlotte Mason’s Home Education, the Parents’ Educational Union (later the Parents’ National Education Union) sprang up around 1886 in England. Exact dates and detailed information are both difficult to come by, however, and there doesn’t seem to be much information about it available online. In the book, the author compiled her lectures and presented a comprehensive outline of childcare and education spanning from birth to 9 years of age. Mason also launched the "Parents’ Review" to unite members and spread information about liberal home education, which she edited until her 1923 death.
The first college designed for homeschooled students opened in 2000: Purcellville, Virginia-based Patrick Henry College began with 80 students in the fall semester of 2000. While the institution doesn’t accept homeschooled students exclusively, its campus and liberal arts and government-centered curriculum cater mostly to their needs. Though groundbreaking in this regard, Patrick Henry College favors Christian applicants.
Homeschooling was legal in every state by 1989: Despite being a largely accepted education option, homeschooling was surprisingly not legalized in every state until 1989. Much of the reticence stemmed from the fact that this particular strategy involved no qualifications whatsoever. Even parents without a high school education could still serve as teachers to their kids — a concern which led many policymakers and parents to look upon homeschooling with skepticism. To address this issue, some states — such as Ohio – made sure to pass legislation regulating what students must learn before graduation.

Welcome Home Vogal Biking Family

2011-04-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about the Vogel family from right here in Boise? They left Boise in June of 2008 and traveled with their bikes to the top of Alaska. Since that time they have been cycling south through two continents and now have completed their journey all the way to the tip of Argentina! Along the way they have cycled through 15 countries and over 20,000 miles.

The family consists of mom, Nancy, dad, John and twins, Davy and Daryl. (Who I think just turned 13.) Nancy would like a big group of homeschoolers there at the airport to welcome the twins back to Boise. They have now set the Guinness World Record for the youngest people to cycle the Pan-American Highway! Nancy had this to say about their trip and homeschooling on the road:

Who are we? "We" are just your normal, everyday, American family who happens to be following our dreams and chasing rainbows. We are adventure seekers and modern-day explorers who are limited only by our imaginations - and we have very vivid imaginations! We learned early to live life to the fullest; to grab life by the horns and enjoy the ride.

And we have learned the value of time. They say time is the greatest gift one can give their children. Time is why we made the decision to quit our teaching jobs and join the ever-burgeoning ranks of homeschoolers; we were tired of spending more time with other parents' kids than with our own. So here we are - endeavoring to spend as much time as we can with our precious children. Time is passing quickly. We can never go back. We can only take advantage of every moment we have.

Please send this out to all your homeschooling friends, and join me at the airport on Monday April 4th at 11:00 p.m. (I know that is the only downside to this whole thing.)

For more information on the Vogels, please see their website www.familyonbikes.org.

If you would like to join me, would you send an email to anissarobert@aol.com?

Thanks,

Anissa Faddis

Homeschool Deal: Family Fun Magazine

2011-04-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Family Fun Magazine - $3.95/year

FamilyFun Magazine
Cover Price: $34.90
Our Price: $9.99 ( from Pinching Your Pennies)

Use code: 5965
*$3.95/year (up to 3 years) w/code!

The Perpetual Housework Cycle

2011-03-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

As Winter slowly fizzles out and signs of Spring are popping up throughout Idaho, many of us are thinking of starting Spring Cleaning. I thought you all may enjoy this article written by a homeschooling friend of mine on The Perpetual Housework Cycle.

The Perpetual Housework Cycle: Practical advice for juggling housework and homeschooling

By Wendy Roberts

Disclaimer: The author in no way claims to have a clean house and confesses that at anytime her house could be engulfed in complete and utter chaos. Her only qualification for writing this article is she has cleaned every mess a child under 13 can make for 13 years.

“Housework, if you do it right, will kill you.” Erma Bombeck
“Housework done wrong still blesses your family.” FLYlady

It is a challenge to many homeschoolers to juggle the work of homemaking with the work of homeschooling. Having our children home all the time makes our house cleaning needs different then others.
Popular house cleaning ideas assume that children will leave the house for 4-8 hours during the day. So children will not be changing clothes, playing with toys, or eating in the home for a few hours each day. As homeschoolers this is not the case. Our children are always home doing the things children do best which regularly ends in chaos.

After 13 years of motherhood and seven years homeschooling I have finally found peace. Struggling with the continuous chaos and work I realized that homemaking is a Perpetual Housework Cycle or PHC. The PHC is the rotation of chaos-work-clean-use-chaos-work-clean-use. The more in your family and younger they are the faster and more furious this cycle spins.
It is ridiculous to say “Here is the perfect dinner. Now dinner is done and we will never eat again.” (Even the day after Thanksgiving we eat again.) It is also ridiculous to say “Here is the perfectly clean kitchen, now it is done and I will never have to clean it again.”

Here are 5 lessons about housework:

1. Clean 1 hour everyday before dad gets home.

My Mothers house cleaning advice has always been “I would clean the house for 1 hour everyday and then bundle the children up and leave the house so it would stay clean.”
One hour is the magic number in my house. One hour every day it is enough, but not so much that I feel like a martyr when someone spills or makes a new mess. And each day I get a little farther into the organizing and sorting that piles up.

One hours worth of cleaning before dad comes home is a deadline without which housework might be procrastinated forever. It makes dinner time more pleasant for me, I am not worrying about the house. I feel better about myself as a wife, mother and homemaker. My husband is happier coming home to a clean house rather then chaos.

If you have children about 7 and up they are old enough to really add to your ability to get things clean. I have 3 children over 7 and so each day that they help me we actually get 4 hours of work done for my 1 hour.

2. Your house work is never done so it is never to late to do it.

House cleaning is never done. It is always waiting to be done again or more thoroughly. The thought that house work is never done used to be very depressing to me until I realized it was a cycle. It is never “too late” to start cleaning a mess that is bugging you. I don’t mean you should stay up cleaning until all hours of the night trying to get it done, because it won‘t. It will wait for us to have enough energy to do it.

Looking at house work as a cycle has helped me realize that although my work will be undone in only a few minutes under my children’s active and creative care, that doesn’t mean my work was in vain. The cleaner it was to begin with the easier it will be to clean up again and thus the farther from Chaos we are.

3. Never clean so well that you or your children can’t live at home anymore

I have to watch myself that I don’t tell my children by word or action “Don’t live here I just cleaned”. We have to be careful that we keep our home a place where we all feel comfortable and that cleaning is only to increase that comfort. When we become obsessive about cleanliness we are actually contradicting the whole purpose of cleaning, Which is to make our home warm, loving and comfortable for those we love and ourselves.

An example of this happened when I was a child. We got new carpet in our home. My brother came in the house with mud on his feet and walked on the new carpet. My mom horrified said “Don’t walk on the new carpet”

My brother laughed and said “ Ok, mom we won’t walk on the carpet”
My mom laughed with him realizing that the purpose of carpet is to be walked on. And said “Take off your shoes.”

The carpet wasn’t more important then my brother but he also needed to be responsible to help keep it nice for everyone.

4. Clean the play areas first.

I used to start cleaning in the guest areas of our home. I would run out of energy for the play areas of our home. It seemed that this was a good idea because the play area would become messy so fast that my work would be in vain.

Cleaning the play area first buys peaceful play. Children love to make a mess but don’t like to play there. They will stay in the play room for hours once it is clean.

If I haven’t cleaned their play areas for too long then they will infiltrate my guest areas with their play to get out of the chaos.

5. Have everyone help

“Train your children to work. I believe in the gospel of work. Train them to assume responsibility. Provide opportunity for service to one another and to their parents. Chores are blessings in overalls. Their value remains long after the duty is done.”

A. Theodore Tuttle Conference Report, April 1970, p. 87
We must enlist our children in our cleaning efforts. Without them “busily engaged in a good cause” we are bailing the ocean while the dam continues to break.

Working children are not off making a mess some where else. Anyone who has been cleaning the bath room and found their toddler in the kitchen fingerpainting with honey, oil, eggs or syrup-hopefully not all at once-yes, I have found a toddler in each one of these circumstances- will soon be sold on recruiting even the littlest in your cleaning.

How do you do it? Habit is the key to enlisting your children’s help. If you are a sporadic cleaner then expect a fight every time. I have found that the first day I make them do 1 hour it is like pulling teeth. There are 2 reasons for this:

• the house is a mess and their jobs are harder.
• they are out of the habit and think maybe they can weasel out of it.

The second day in a row that they do their hour it is easier because they did their job yesterday and so they are able to pick up that days layer of chaos in a much shorter time and go on to other jobs, they are also getting used to the expectation and so fight me less about helping. The third day there is no fight. We all just get the work done and there is very little effort from me as far as making them do it or following up on them. It reverts to a war zone if I let them off and try to start it up again.

Although house cleaning with a house full of home schooled children can be overwhelming we need to remember that our children are our greatest treasure. The precious little time we get with them will be over all too soon. Our housework won’t be done until our children are grown and gone. But just as we will miss them, we will surely miss the messes they made. It will be all too quiet and clean. We’ll have to invite the grandkids over to help us feel at home once again.

Other Resources for homemaking:

http://www.juliemorgenstern.com/ My favorite book by her is “Organizing from the inside out.”
http://www.cleanreport.com/ Don Aslett has some great ideas for simplifying cleaning.
http://www.flylady.com/ FLY stands for Finally Loving Yourself. This is a great resource for the homeschooling mother of many
http://www.noblechild.com/index_kitchen.html Cheri Logans website a fellow homeschool mom of 10 children shares great tips and ideas that work in their family.

Wendy Roberts is the homeschooling mother of seven. The Roberts family has been homeschooling for 7 years from Atlantic to Pacific. Their most recent adventures in learning include Juggling, a field trip to Death Valley, and Chinese New year. You can join her yahoo group for homeschooling a large family at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homeschoolingahouseful/

PE in the Winter

2010-12-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

Idaho has lovely cold weather winters, complete with snow, ice, and inversions. This type of weather equals cold, miserable, windy, wet and muddy outdoor play. Our family always sinks into a sort of hibernation mode and it is harder to get the kids out to play and be active. To keep us motivated and away from the TV, I try to look for opportunities for us to get out and be active.

The community offers a few solutions for a fee. The pools at the local Recreation Center and YMCA are always a big hit. In our area we are also fortunate to have a few Bounce house places like Monkey Buisness in Boise and Jumpin Jungle in Nampa. A new place opened this year in our town, an indoor trampoline park, called JumpTime. It makes for a great indoor workout and tired kids after.

For a lower cost winter workout, we will rent different children's workout videos from the library. Some old favorites of ours are Sesame Street - Elmocize and Yoga Kids. For some more recommendations check out this article.

Other cold weather options take advantage of our lovely Idaho snow. Sledding, tubing, hiking, snow shoeing and cross county skiing are all great workouts.

What sort of winter PE activities do you do in your homeschool?

The Idaho Science and Aerospace Scholars (ISAS) Program for Juniors

2010-11-30T10:15:00.000-08:00

Pass it on, this is also available for homeschoolers. Contact Val below with any questions.

Dear Parents:

The Idaho State Department of Education is pleased to inform you that the SDE has a NASA grant to provide a program for students who are interested in science, math, aerospace and engineering. The Idaho Science and Aerospace Scholars (ISAS) Program is a competitive program that challenges Idaho’s high school juniors to take an engaging online course in Space Exploration that teaches a broad range of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills aligned with Idaho Content Standards. The course was developed by NASA, Idaho Digital Learning Academy and the State Department of Education. Based on their course performance, students may be selected to participate in an all-expense-paid, week long residential Summer Academy at Boise State University and NASA Ames Research Center in California. If your student meets the qualifications he/she has the opportunity to participate in this outstanding program. Information about the program and applications are available at http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/science/ISAS/index.htm

The applications are due December 20th. Should your student be selected, he/she would enroll through IDLA at his/her local public high school for the coursework. If you have any questions about the application process, please feel free to contact Val Schorzman at 208-332-6920 or VJSchorzman@sde.idaho.gov or Sarah Poe at 208-332-6956 or spoe@sde.idaho.gov We hope your student has an outstanding year.

Sincerely,

Val Schorzman, Ed. D.
Idaho State Department of Education
208-332-6920
VJSchorzman@sde.idaho.gov

Soapy Science

2010-10-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

We got this great idea over at Latter-day Homeschooling blog. She found it in a book called Blast Lab or under a second title Super Science Lab by Richard Hammond.

Soap Monsters

Basically you need:
bar soap (no strong scents) We used Lever 2000 because we had it on hand
knife
plate
paint
paint brushes

Cut the soap into a chunk. Place on plate and microwave for up to 2 min on High. Let dry for 30 min to an hour. Add details to your monster with paint to make it come alive.

Some tips we learned when doing this project

use smaller pieces of soap (you could quarter one fullsize bar and get good sized monsters)
No need to microwave for a full 2 minutes just stop the microwave when you are happy with your monsters look, if you do for full time you risk burning the soap and it smells REALLY bad
Place outside to dry ( it was cool here so they set up faster)
Use dry brushes with the paint, the water makes the soap dissolve

This was a great project for learning about the nature of water molecules. We watched this little video over at TeacherTube before we started to review. Then I wouldn't let the boys paint the monsters until they told me why the soap turned into a monster. They were all able to tell me. I think this is much more graphic way to show that water molecules expand when heated then other experiments we have done.

Idaho Insects: Katydid

2010-09-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

Meridian, IDAHO

We found this big guy doing his best to blend in on my mums this morning. The boys and I enjoyed watching him walk about. He was very large- about 2 inches long.

COMMON NAME:

"Greater Angle-wing Katydid"

SCIENTIFIC NAME:

(Microcentrum rhombifolium)

TAXONOMY:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
   Class:Insecta
    Order: Orthoptera
     Family: Tettigoniidae
      Genus: Microcentrum
       Species: rhombifolium

OTHER NAME(S):Greater Wing Katydid

Here are some more Katydid facts and links:

Graphic Organizer for Katydids

Minibeasts teaching resource PDF on insects

Detailed information on Katydid

Photos, life cycle, sounds

Photos

Learning Science

2010-07-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

Learning Science is a free interactive science website full of science resources for grade K-12. The website is divided into seven categories; Science Inquiry, Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Science and Technology, Science and Society, and The History and Nature of Science. Each section lists grade level appropriate topics, with web resources for learning about that topic. All resources are web based, of high quality, and interactive.

The site also includes a Tools to Do Science section, with a list of helpful science tools to use online for gathering and collecting scientific data. This section also includes rulers and graph paper to print.

Music: The battle of the car stereo

2010-07-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year, long car rides to vacation or camping destinations and the battle of the car stereo begins anew. What to listen to? After we've listened to the audio books, the Grammar songs, I've been booed for turning on talk radio, and almost fell asleep at the wheel listening to Mozart- I reach for the cheesy kids music, because that's what they love. If you have no cheesy kids CDs, I envy you. My kids love this silly stuff and so does my husband.

I found this new band, Dream Jam, in my email inbox and gave them a listen. Although obviously kiddy music, it's fun and upbeat with catchy and clean lyrics. A sure fire way to stop the moans of "He's touching me!" and "Are we there yet?"...or at least a momentary distraction.

Dream Jam Band 'Leave It In The Soup' With Smart, Engaging Kids Album

Math problem: When you add four music teachers and four entertainers, how many members of the Dream Jam Band do you have? The answer is 4, because Francine, Barry G, Maestro C, and Erin the Red are all music teachers AND entertainers who infuse the invigorating kid and family-friendly songs on 'Leave It In The Soup,' out July 13th (Dream Jam Productions), with a spirit of wonder and curiosity.

The Dream Jam Band's positive lyrics and bouncy rhythms encompass a broad range of influences, from The Beatles to Mozart, Duke Ellington to Woody Guthrie, and bring all members of the family to the party. All songs on ' Leave It In The Soup' are written by the band, played on 20 different musical instruments and produced by award-winning songwriter and producer Rick Chertoff (Cyndi Lauper, Joan Osborne, Ron Howard’s The Grinch). They span the spectrum of rock, pop, blues, hip hop, sing-a-longs and classical, reflecting the band's belief that young children can synthesize musical ideas in a way that enhances learning.

Standout tracks on 'Leave It In The Soup' include:

- The upbeat sing-along rocker "Have A Party When You Get The Blues"
- A Mozart-derived operatic ode to Velcro "I Can't Tie My Shoes"
- And, a surf rock-inspired fan favorite "Bad Hair Day" featuring Maestro C on the saxophone

Listen to streams of these songs at:http://bit.ly/DJB_Samples <http://bit.ly/DJB_Samples>
Known for their musicality, theatricality and inventive stage costumes, the Dream Jam Band will premiere a new stage show at the International Children’s Festival at Cleveland's Ohio State Theater on May 7th and 8th. They will travel to the House of Kids at Irving Plaza in New York City on May 15th, and will continue to tour through the summer and fall.

The Dream Jam Band's self-titled first album, released in 2008, featured 11 original songs, two of which, “Nicky Nicky Knock Knock” and “Look Around,” reached Number One at SiriusXM satellite radio. The album was named to NPR's Top Ten Children’s and Family Albums List, won four Children’s Web Awards and received extensive airplay on kids’ programming across the USA.

For more information on the Dream Jam Band, please contact Rebecca Shapiro (rshapiro@shorefire.com<mailto:rshapiro@shorefire.com> ) or Elizabeth Lutz (elutz@shorefire.com <mailto:elutz@shorefire.com> ), 718.522.7171.
http://www.dreamjamband.com/<http://www.dreamjamband.com/>

---

Idaho - How Social Workers Will Investigate You Now

2010-06-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

This is from the HSLDA website

June 10, 2010
*How Social Workers Will Investigate You Now *

The Idaho Department Of Health and Welfare (DHW) has issued a new checklist
that tells social workers how they should investigate homeschool families
accused of educational neglect.

After discovering early this year that DHW had used the opportunity of the
passage of a good homeschool bill, Senate Bill 1017, as an excuse to change
its guidelines for investigating homeschoolers, Idaho Coalition of Home
Educators’ board of legal advisors, CHOIS’ Linda Patchin, and HSLDA Senior
Counsel Scott Woodruff spent several months working to make changes.

DHW listened carefully to their concerns. As a result, the new checklist
provides meaningful protection against frivolous accusations. Here are a few
highlights.

If a caller reports that a family is homeschooling, the DHW representative
will tell him that homeschooling is legal and does not constitute
educational neglect. If the caller gives detailed, credible evidence that
the child is not receiving instruction as required under law, a social
worker will open an investigation. But if the caller does not provide such
evidence, no investigation will be opened.

If an investigation is opened, the family will be given the opportunity to
show that the report is not credible, or show evidence that refutes the
report (such as their curriculum, or test scores, or lesson plans, or a
description of educational efforts, etc.). This will result in the case
being closed.

The checklist also provides social workers a list of examples of what is *
not* evidence of educational neglect, including:

- A child who is learning at a slower rate than others of the same age
- Use of an unconventional curriculum, schedule, or teaching methods.

The “Guidelines for the Assessment of Claims of Educational Neglect,” the
document’s formal name, changes the landscape in Idaho. Any guidance you
previously received may therefore no longer be helpful. If a report against
your family gets through the initial screening process and a social worker
shows up at your door, an excellent strategy would be to seek individualized
guidance promptly before responding.

*HSLDA Social Services Contact Policy*

We desire to advise our members in every contact with a social worker and/or
police officer in investigations resulting from allegations of abuse or
neglect. If homeschooling is an issue, we will represent our member families
until the issue is resolved. On Fourth Amendment unreasonable search and
seizure issues, HSLDA will advise our members whenever the privacy of their
home is violated by forced or coerced entry for the purpose of an
unsubstantiated investigation. HSLDA membership benefits do not extend to
court actions resulting from non-homeschooling matters. However, in
circumstances where there is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment,
HSLDA may, as we have done in the past, choose to take the case in an effort
to establish legal precedent.

Cute Condor Couple Moves In

2010-06-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of living in Idaho is the amazing bird watching opportunities and the fact that we are the home to a large population of birds of prey. If you have never seen a hawk soar and scream or seen a peregrine falcon perched along the road, you are truly missing out. Idaho is home to the World Center for Birds of Prey (it is on the south end of Cole Rd in Boise and well worth the drive).

This past weekend they hosted a Grand opening for the new Condor Habitat. I am a Condor fan, I think they get a bad rap because of their humble looks. Condors are very interesting birds. They are extremely helpful in eliminating waste from carrion ( think about how you love to see road kill on the side of the road..eww.Thanks for taking care of it Condors!!). They are also huge! They have the largest wingspan of any bird of prey-at 9 feet. They are larger that the bald eagle and way smarter! The most important fact is they are a endangered species so the work at the Center is very important.

The two birds now housed at the center will be used to bred new Condors to release into the wild. It is all very exciting!

If you'd like to learn more about Condors or other birds of prey check out the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, ID. Admission is only $7 General and $5 for kids. It is a great family outing or homeschool fieldtrip. They also have some great educational programs you can schedule for school, homeschool, or scout trips.

Also check out the educational resources provided on their website.

Below is our FAVORITE Condor book, the illustrations are incredible.

Nearby Homeschooling Conferences

2010-06-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

Now that the one big conference in Idaho is over, if you missed it or want more here are some nearby homeschooling conferences you may want to attend.

Washington Homeschool Organization Convention is being held on June 18-19, near Seattle, WA. It features guest speakers; John Taylor Gatto and Catherine Levison. This conference is extremely affordable with no preregistration required…just pay at door http://www.washhomeschool.org/convention/admissionprices.html

California Homeschool Network is hosting a conference August 5th - 8th, 2010 near Disneyland California. http://californiahomeschool.net/events/expo/familyexpo.htm

Utah Home Educators Association- Saturday, June 12, 2010 in Salt Lake City, UT

http://www.uhea.org/

California Tri-County Homeschool Convention http://www.tchen.org/faq.html

July 9th and 10th in Santa Rosa, CA

Oregon Christian Home Education Conference will be on June 25 & 26, in Portland, OR.

http://www.oceanetwork.org/calendar/conference/index.cfm

Homeschool Association of California Conference http://www.hscconference.com/

August 19 - 22nd, 2010 in Sacramento, CA.

Building a Bottle Bird Feeder

2010-06-03T00:39:00.000-07:00

by Jacob Deckard, age 9

One day my mom took out our wooden bird feeder. I thought I could make one out of a bottle! Here is a good way to make a bird feeder.

1. Gather supplies.

You need:

A plastic bottle with a cap
Sharp scissors or knife
A stick
A rope

2. Our first feeder's seeds sprouted, because the moisture did not drain so poke small holes in the bottom of the bottle. Be careful not to cut yourself.

3. About 1-2 inches from the bottom of the bottle, make holes for the perch. Insert stick and make holes bigger, if needed.

4. Cut holes above the perch for the birds to get the seeds. Holes should be slightly bigger than the seeds.

5. Tie tether or rope around the top of the bottle, where the cap is, and tie a loop for hanging.

6. Carefully fill the feeder with sunflower seeds using your hands as a funnel or get a real funnel.

7. Replace cap and hang in a high tree.

8. It may take three weeks for the birds to find it. Be patient.

Submitted by Renae Deckard @ Life Nurturing Education

Just For Fun: Spelling Fleas Game

2010-05-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

Check out this fun Spelling Fleas Game with your kids. It's a Language Arts Flea Circus.

Play fast and fun games and work on spelling, verbs, discrimination, and comprehension skills.

Good for age 8 and up.

The Amazing Spelling Fleas Game

20 reasons to Homeschool

2010-05-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

http://mommylife.net/archives/2009/07/04/20%20great%20reasons%20to%20homeschool.jpg

FLUSTRATION

2010-05-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Artist Study: Claude Monet

2010-05-04T19:06:00.001-07:00

Woman with a Parasol: Madame Monet and Her Son, 1875, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

This term on Ambleside Online the Artist Study is on Claude Monet.

Great Resources for this artist study can be found listed over at Fisher Academy. (Thanks Amy)

Oscar Claude Monet was born in 1840. He was the founder of the French Impressionist movement. The Impressionist style was named after what he titled one of his paintings- Impression, Sunrise.

Impressionist paintings usually include visible brush strokes, natural settings, open composition, light at different times of day, everyday subjects, people in motion and in different positions,and varied angles. Most Impressionist painters painted en plein air, which is a French expression that means "in the open air". They believed that the natural light and fresh air added to this paining style. Other Impressionist painters include; Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Mary Cassatt.

Got cords?

2010-05-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

Brilliant use of common office supply:

Sure, I could send them to school...

2010-04-30T11:19:00.001-07:00

I Could...

I could send her to school,
And from 8:00-3:00 have no clue.

How many times she laughed,

How many times she learned,

How many times she questioned,

How many times she understood,

How many times she wanted more information,

How many times she bounced in her chair from excitement,

How many times she was proud of something she did.

I could send her to school and she could get her exercise and sunshine,

In 20 minute doses, if she had on the right shoes, and no one
misbehaved and everyone was quiet.

I could send her to school

And let her eat the processed high fat, low nutrition fare they feed
millions of children a day,

if she had enough time to eat and didn't talk too loud and if no
one grabbed her food.

Or...

I could homeschool her.

by Karen Cagle
http://homeschoolgirls.net

Reader's Theater

2010-04-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

A fabulous homeschooling mother in my area hosted a Reader's Theater activity for the local homeschoolers. It was held at a local library and we were asked to bring snacks to share. The only cost to the host was the copies of the scripts and her time and energy. This would be an extremely easy homeschool event to host for your local community.Suggestions:

ask that participants be independent readers
have parents bring dress up clothes and possible props
assign 1-2 older children to be leaders and lead group in practicing
try to have as little adult input as possible

Here are some resources for scripts:

Readers Theater Scripts and Plays
Readers Theater Editions of comedy stories
Whootie Owl's Reader's Theatre Play Scripts
Scripts from Storycart.com
Stretch-A-Book offers a whole book package with scripts, etc.

A Day in the Life...

2010-04-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

One of the first homeschool books I ever read was Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days by Nancy Lande. This book did not recommend curriculum or tell me the best how-to homeschool method. It did not describe the newest educational philosophy or teach me about my childs learning style. I believe what it gave me was more valuable than even those. This book teaches you about the very essence of homeschooling. The spirit that moves seemingly unrelated families to remove their children from traditional education and school them at home. The peace and love for learning that can only be found within the walls of a homeschooling home.

The book is broken up into chapters one for each of the 30 homeschool families who wrote about what a day in the life of their homeschooling looked like. Although these families all school in different ways, with different curriculum's and philosophies, you cannot help but come away feeling the shared community between them all. I highly recommend this as a must read homeschooling book.

Nancy has put out a new book called Homeschool Open House, were she interviews 55 homeschooling families. I have not read it yet, but I assume it will be just as good as the first book.

California Here I Come, Right Back Where I Started From

2010-04-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

We're moving. I'm pretty sure packing boxes is a PE activity for homeschoolers, right? And let me just say- I feel bad for anyone helping us since I've been a teacher and a homeschooler and those must be the two worst people to move... the books alone...

I suppose this will be my last post on here as I will no longer be an Idaho Homeschoolin' Mom- but I will be lurking around checking on all of you so keep it up! And come visit me at The Active Family blog!

Wilbur Wrights Birthday

2010-04-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1867 Wilbur Wright of the Wright Brothers was born.

Learn more about Wilbur Wright at the NASA website.
Find our all about the Wright Brothers and get lesson ideas at the Smithsonian website.
Take a look around these online exhibits from Discovery featuring a first flight simulation, tour of where the brothers lived in Kitty Hawk, and 3D views of 1903 Flyer.
Make your own airplane (paper airplane) with these 10 great plans

Happy Birthday, Leonardo da Vinci

2010-04-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

On this date, April 15th, in 1452 Leonardo da Vinci was born. Leonardo da Vinci was a famous artist, scientist, and inventor. Check out this online exhibit about Leonardo Da Vinci, his life, and works at the Museum of Science website or these great Power Point presentations on Da Vinci with addition student and teacher resources.

I Will Survive-Homeschool Version

2010-04-14T21:19:00.001-07:00

This is cute!

Webster Dictionary Published

2010-04-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1828 the Webster Dictionary was first published

Everything Homeschooling: A Review

2010-04-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

All out of clever lesson ideas?

Have no fear Everything Homeschooling is here!!

I stumbled upon this site a few years back after reading the book Everything Homeschooling Book by Sherri Linsenbach. Which is also a great resource to have on hand for your homeschool.

Everything Homeschooling is truly a unique and versatile site. They provide a few free resources-the blog, a newsletter, many free lesson ideas, and an activity idea calendar.

The best part is for a mere $15.95 you too can have access to an entire homeschool curriculum for your whole family. No Joke! The site membership gives you access to the real gem of this site. The lessons!

The lessons are listed under grade level grouping- Grades K-2 Lessons, Grades 3-6 Lessons, Grades 6-9 Lessons, or Grades 9-12 Lessons. You will need to modify the lessons for your child's ability in each grade grouping. This grouping makes it easy to teach multiple kids as your Kindergartner and 2nd grader can be learning the same topics but at their ability levels.

The lessons are further grouped by week. There are 30 weeks of lessons for each grade level grouping. The lessons consist of list of ideas and web resources under subject headings for the entire week. The subjects are listed as Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Life Skills, Health, Safety, Arts and Music. The lessons are not planned out on a day to day bases. You will need to decide what to do on what day of the week. Depending on your teaching style you can use the lessons as is or modify them by planning ahead and adding in your own resources and books.

You could feasibly use Everything Homeschooling as a stand alone curriculum and be quite happy. The lessons are extremely well rounded and cover a large variety of topics.

We use Everything Homeschooling in our home as a supplement. It has been extremely handy during holidays and summer vacation times when we do light homeschooling. Or just on those days when I have nothing planned for school. I'm a huge fan of the Christmas and Thanksgiving Units offered. They have saved me so much work!! I can just log on and teach the kids with minimal to no prep time. More than anything when I feel my homeschool ideas running low, just looking at the lesson ideas sparks my creativity and gets us excited about learning again.

There are a few negative things I can think of when using Everything Homeschooling. If you are using it as a stand alone curriculum you are possible going to need to plan ahead a bit and pick and choose what ideas you will use for the week and when. Lesson text and resources are largely web based so you may need to print or be teaching near your computer. You may also want to be comfortable with your children accessing the internet.

Overall it is an extremely handy site- simple and easy to use. No fuss!
It is definitely worth the $15.95 a year for membership.

Oh! Did I mention the 100% money back guarantee? I'm serious! They have one.

Everything Homeschooling

Thomas Jefferson's Birthday

2010-04-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today date in 1743, Thomas Jefferson was born. Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd U.S president and also one of the founding fathers of our nation.

Thomas Jefferson learning resources online:

Author Beverly Cleary's Birthday

2010-04-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today is author Beverly Cleary's Birthday, she was born on this day in 1916.

You can check out her website here: The World of Beverly Clearey

Clearey's books were written for children about other children just like them or characters they themselves could relate to. The stories are told in an engaging, entertaining, and easy to read way. Most of her books are written at a 2nd or 3rd grade reading level and make ideal first chapter books or just plain fun reading.

See all her books published here.

Learning resources for Beverly Cleary's books:

Virtual Field-trip: 360 degree Tour of Sistine Chapel

2010-03-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

Sistine Chapel Virtual Tour
This is a 360 degree view of the Sistine Chapel. I think it if created from digital photos and a computer. However they made it-it is amazing! I love the ability to zoom in on the details of the architecture and the paintings. It takes a few minutes to load up, but it WELL worth it. (FYI: There are of course nudes in the paintings on the Sistine Chapel)

Lesson Ideas and activities for the Sistine Chapel:
Michelangelo Art
Family Fresco
Homeschool Art History on Michelangelo

Idaho Prospector Club

2010-03-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

When I started hunting for resources to teach my own children about the state we now call home, I stumbled across a familiar name: Idaho Prospector Club.

My memory traveled to 4th grade. I could almost hear the whispers spreading our class conspiracy. If we asked questions, sometimes we could get Mr. Vaughn distracted telling stories instead of assigning homework.

I thought we tricked our teacher, but the joke is on me. My perception of school was homework and books. Now I realize it is much more. I was inspired in that class. Fuel was added to my already growing interest in history.

I remember how excited I was when our Idaho Prospector Club newsletters came. Sometimes they were printed on light green paper, sometimes yellow, and, if I remember correctly, even pink on occasion. A simple legal-sized paper folded in half pulled me into a story. It gave me a sense of belonging. I was in a club! I was learning about the land and people closest to me.

The roads I traveled with my family morphed into wagon trails in my mind. I imagined Lewis and Clark traversing the wilderness I sped across in my mother's Buick.

I don't see the big, round sticker that labeled me a 4th grade Idaho Prospector, but newsletters all the way back to 2003 can be downloaded and printed out. It isn't quite the same as getting something in the mail, but I suspect my children might enjoy being in this club as much as I did.

Written by Renae @ Life Nurturing Education

Field trip: Idaho State Capitol Tour

2010-03-12T18:09:00.001-08:00

Today we took a tour of the Idaho State Capitol Building arranged by the Treasure Valley Homeschool Meetup group. It was a great field trip! The capitol looks all shinny and new. They did so much restoration and took great care to maintain the historic look of the building interior. (See awesome pics below-House is Blue, Senate is Red.) We had been to the Capitol before the renovations and it looked old, worn out, dimly lit, and yellowish. It looks amazingly bright and light now. All that shinny white marble, white paint, and skylights making it glow.

Geography Idea

2010-03-12T15:52:00.000-08:00

For several years I've been meaning to place a world map on our kitchen table and cover it with clear vinyl. I finally made a stop at the fabric store (I don't go there very often you see) and purchased the vinyl. The kids love it! We have already had some great discussions during meals about the world at large, current events and history. It's a great item for the Leadership Education home. What other things like this have you done to your home?

Free Grammar Lessons

2010-03-08T12:29:00.000-08:00

The Daily Grammar Blog offers free grammar lessons, You can view all the lessons in their archive for easy planning and use.
http://www.dailygrammar.com/archive.shtml

Why Homeschool?

2010-03-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Check out this cute video from the Eclectic Homeschooling Blog

A Few Math Resources Online

2010-03-07T15:59:00.000-08:00

Just sharing some of my Math bookmarks:

MEP Math- Free complete math curriculum- for more information see this blog article

Khan Academy- Math instruction videos (also many other topics) these can be fun introductions for your children.

Living Math- Using living books to teach math concepts, great book list by concept

AAAMath- Like an online math text and workbook

Homeschool Math- Many. many math resources, links, worksheets, math blog roll

That Quiz-math quizes- handy site with quick math quizes to assess student knowledge

MATH GAMES

Timez Attack- Multiplication game- free version (thanks Tarasine)

Printable Math Games @ I play Math Games.com - Great resource for a huge variety of printable math games by grade level or topic

Math Worksheet Generators:

SuperKids Math Worksheet Creator
Lizard Point Math Worksheet Generator
The Math Worksheet Site

Homeschool Freebie: Grammar Land

2010-02-28T18:54:00.000-08:00

Homeschool Freebie is offering a free download of the classic story book 'Grammar Land' , published in 1878. Download and print here

A Walk With Charlotte: You ARE Qualified to Teach Your Child

2010-02-26T22:41:00.000-08:00

My greatest fascination with Charlotte Mason's writing is her ability to ooze truths throughout her books. You always come away feeling either inspired by some new truth or having an old truth reaffirmed by her thoughts.

I have always felt that education naturally falls into the stewardship of parents. From their earliest infancy we are charged with teaching our children, how to eat, sleep, talk, interact and love. But for some reason society at large has continued to take that stewardship away from the parents earlier and earlier. Experts tell us what we DO NOT know about our children. They tell us what is really best for them, and how when and what they should be taught. How eager some of us are to get them to a school-able age and then send them off to be taught by others thinking nothing of what is being taught or why- so long as we do not have charge of it.

When in reality the responsibility of overseeing that education is solely the responsibility of the parent. There are many ways to facilitate that education...but the ultimate responsibility lies with the parent.

It is great to see mothers taking back their stewardship by joining the ranks of homeschooling and many many more realizing that schools are not ultimately responsible to educate their children and taking the necessary steps at home to supplement and support their child's education in proactive ways.

"It is a great thing to be a parent: there is no promotion, no dignity, to compare with it. … But then entrusted with such a charge, they are not free to say, “I may do as I will with mine own.” The children are, in truth, to be regarded less as personal property than as public trusts, put into the hands of parents that they may make the very most of them for the good of society. And this responsibility is not equally divided between the parents: it is upon the mothers of the present that the future of the world depends, in even a greater degree than upon the fathers, because it is the mothers who have the sole direction of the children’s early, most impressible years. That is why we hear so frequently of great men who have had good mothers - that is, mothers who brought up their children themselves, and did not make over the gravest duty to indifferent persons.“The mother is qualified,” says Pestalozzi, “and qualified by the Creator Himself, to become the principal agent in the development of her child; … and what is demanded of her is - a thinking love … God has given to thy child all the faculties of our nature, but the grand point remains undecided - how shall this heart, this head, these hands, be employed? A question the answer to which involves the futurity of happiness or misery to a life so dear to thee. Maternal love is the first agent in education.”We are waking up to our duties, and in proportion as mothers become more highly educated and efficient, they will doubtless feel the more strongly that the education of their children … is an undertaking hardly to be entrusted to any hands but their own. And they will take it up as their profession - that is, with the diligence, regularity, and punctuality which men bestow upon their professional labors.That the mother may know what she is about, may come thoroughly furnished to her work, she should have something more than a hearsay acquaintance with the theory of education, and with those conditions of the child’s nature upon which such theory rests."
Home Education by Charlotte Mason, pages 1 - 3

Bare Bones Homeschooling

2010-02-25T21:16:00.000-08:00

I had a new homeschool Mom call me up for a bit of advice. She wanted to know what she should do to homeschool in her current situation. They will be living up near Idaho City in a small RV for the rest of the Spring and Summer. They have no computer, no electronic devices, no money really, no space and they want to homeschool their 12 year old daughter.

My first reaction was shock. I honestly could not imagine homeschool without the internet or a whole room to store all my neat homeschool stuff in-or so I thought. In helping this mother I realized how very little we really NEED to homeschool. Sometimes we are so consumed by the newest math software or the best science kits that we can lose sight of how simple homeschooling really can be.

This mom was mostly concerned about missing something in her daughter education. I recommended the What Your ___ Grader Needs To Know book series by E.D Hirsch because it is cheap, easy to find, and offered a great overview for all the subjects so she can see what she has or hasn't covered in her daughters education.

Thinking on it, the only other recommendations I had for her were access to a library for good books and making sure her daughter was doing some sort of reading, writing, and math each day. Other than that just looking for educational opportunities around them, like all the amazing nature up there, and facilitating learning things her daughter was interested in were my only other thoughts. Throw in some minimal school supplies and you've got yourself a fully functioning homeschool.

What about you? If you had to suddenly be a homesteader and could only bring what you could fit in a back pack what would you take to homeschool your kids?

The Hagerman Fossil Beds

2010-02-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a field trip in the Magic Valley Area today (Twin Falls). We went to the Hagerman Fossil Beds Visitor Center and saw the state fossil, "The Hagerman Horse." This was a fun little field trip, but I wouldn't recommend it until spring time at least. Included at the Visitor's Center is all the information that you need to tour the area and see fossil beds, views of the Snake River and the Oregon Trail. The Visitor's Center is free.

While you are in Hagerman stop at the Malad Gorge and enjoy what I consider one of the "7 Wonders of Idaho." They have a lovely park nearby perfect for a picnic. There is a $4 car fee.

This is a great thing to do if you have a 4th grader studying Idaho History. Happy Field Triping!

Goal Setting

2010-02-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

In our home we have kids that sometimes don't want to do anything! I have some boys that can be volatile with their emotions and have break downs when it is time to practice the piano or do a math page for example. After lots of tears (on my part) here is what I've found successful for these kids....

At the beginning of the day before breakfast I have a short interview with the child. They have a clipboard and we structure their whole day. We first put in our plans for the day. For example our day today looked like this:

8:30 breakfast
11:30 Lunch
12:00 Leave for older sister's scholar class and boy's social play while we wait
4:00 mom gone for visiting teaching (which is just me visiting a neighbor)
6:00 dinner
7:00 family reading time (this varies depending on the day, today it's after dinner)

So he had his structure. Then he put in when he wanted to do things. He had the control. He inserted when he would read his scriptures, free reading, when/what he wanted to do for exercise, practice the piano, and do his chores. Then he inserted things he wanted to learn that day. Today he had down wipe board math, wipe board spelling, chess, and blog post to name a few.

He also chooses a reward for the day if he is successful. Today he choose 30 minutes of Wii Olympics. He clearly understands the contract and the reward.

The day does necessitate me being more flexible. At the meeting I've agreed to the "terms" of day. Then is my chance to say, "I can't play a game with you at that time. You'll need to choose a different time. Here is when I could be available."

The magic of the whole thing is that it's his idea. He's responsible for the success of his day. He's planned his day when he's happy and unstressed (before the day really begins). I've seen a lot of success with this. He loves packing his clip board around and checking things off of his list. This child will always be challenged with motivation and emotions. I've tried to create a system that I can guide him though so that as he gets older he can recognize how he can be successful despite any challenges. The skill set will be ingrained.

What things have you done in your home to encourage motivation?

I'm a new contributor....

2010-02-16T07:07:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! I'm a new contributor to this blog. I've enjoyed reading all your great ideas! We live in the Twin Falls/Magic Valley area of Idaho. We've been homeschooling for over six wonderful years! We have four children. Our oldest is a girl, age 11. We have three rowdy boys ages 10, 9 and 7.

Our homeschooling method involves the Thomas Jefferson Education model. Some of you may be familiar with that. My strength and love is to create systems for success within the home school home. A lot of my posts will be geared toward that end.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your home schooling experience.

Click to view our Leadership Education Blog.

Fairy Tales

2010-02-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

We're studying the Middle Ages right now and we just finished a mini-unit on fairy tales. We read lots of fairy tales, of course, like these:

and Rapunzel; The White Witch; Jack and The Beanstalk; anything by the Grimm brothers...

The two oldest boys wrote their own fairy tales and words cannot express how proud I am of them. I bought some fairy tale-themed scrapbook paper that one of our sons used to make his into a beautiful 8x8 bound book.

We did the Evan-Moor Pocket Books for Fairy Tales:

Here's a picture of our oldest making his elf for The Elves & The Shoemakers:

Super cute project, by the way, for multiple ages (we had 2 2yr olds, a 4 yr old, a 7 yr old and a 9 yr old make the pocket books. it was a fun family activity daily for a week).

Don't forget to watch some movies, too!

Alice in Wonderland Unit Ideas

2010-02-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

Disney has a new Alice movie coming out in March. Although it looks a bit scary for the under 10 crowd, it is still a fun theme. The imaginative characters, chaotic storyline, and random impossibilities make the Alice story universally loved by children and there vivid imaginations.There are many versions of the Alice story out there in publication and film-any of them would serve as a great jumping off point for a fun Wonderland Unit.

Unit Resources to be updated as new items are found.

E Text of book -Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

View The ORIGINAL Alice written and illustrated by Lewis Carroll-it is one of the links on the bottom

About the author Lewis Carroll

Project and Unit Ideas:

Amazing Wonderland Expedition Kit- I'm thinking PROJECT!
The Many Faces of Alice 4th grade unit example- I love the script idea!!
A Study Guide for Alice
Alice in Wonderland Unit for 3rd Grade PDF

Lapbook resources:

Alice @ Homeschool Share
Sample lapbook

Math

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum Math
Time (White Rabbits Watch)

Lots of fun clock resources here
Worksheets and activities from Handwriting for Kids
Time worksheet generator
Online analogue interactive clock
Another online clock both digital and analogue

Math Games with deck of cards

Social Studies

Geography-Mapping Skills: Create a Map of Wonderland-include the tree, the hole, and all the places named in the book, a map key and compass rose

Life Skills and Character Topics

Time management
dawdling

Poetry

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll - read aloud on YouTube
Jabberwocky text

Math: Money

2010-02-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

Printable Money for teaching math

Coins

color coins from abcteach
black and white coins from Scott Foresman PDF file

Bills

color bills- SINGLE PRINTABLE PLAY MONEY PAGES
color bills

Teaching Reading

2010-02-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

Below are some FREE websites that I have found particularly helpful in teaching my children reading skills and phonics.

Phonics Games

these are games you will need to save to your computer and then print out
for parent/teacher

Free Reading

this site is a wealth of resources for teaching reading, writing, and vocabulary with activity ideas, printables and lesson plans
for parent/teacher

Starfall

interactive videos, games, books, printable worksheets
for child- can use site independently

Literactive

just register for a ton of free leveled reading materials and printable worksheets,

Storyline Online

celebrities read-aloud picture books online
activity suggestions to go along with books
for child/parent- child could use independently

Sillybooks.net

animated books that read aloud to child
lesson plans for some books

Reading Rockets

many, many articles on literacy
lesson plans, book suggestions, and resources
for parent./teacher

Poetry: Cinquain

2010-02-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Niagara

by Adelaide Crapsey

Seen on a Night in November

How frail

Above the bulk

Of crashing water hangs,

Autumnal, evanescent, wan,

The moon.

Lesson Resources on Cinquain Poetry

Lesson plan from Reading A-Z

great for multiple grades as you can use the modified version for younger children

Another great lesson resource from In Our Write Minds

Graphic Organizer in PDF from Read Write Think
Sample Cinquin Poems (PDF) from Read Write Think
PowerPoint Presentation files on Cinquain Poetry ( you will need to have Power Point)
Interactive Instant Cinquain Poetry Maker
Information on Adelaide Crapsey the creator of the Cinquain poetry form

Our Work:

1st Grade boy

3rd Grade boy

6th grade boy

Owl Moon

2010-01-29T21:34:00.001-08:00

I am using Evan Moors Literature Pockets Caldecott Winners, Grades 1-3

with Ian (3rd) and Kaleb (1st).

Here are some of our projects from Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.

Ian loved this book. It has beautiful illustrations and the story is very poetic and descriptive.

To extend the book a bit we did look up some owl photos and sounds on the internet, but did not take it any further than that. You could do a whole Owl unit branching out from this book. I try not to get carried away sometimes.

We focused on the story elements and the art of the illustrations. This book contains a great deal of simile, which we had a discussion on. My favorite was "...and the snow below it was whiter than the milk in a cereal bowl." The illustrations are amazing, you feel like you are there in the cold woods with them. My favorite illustration was when the Dad shines the flashlight on the owl they have found.

This is the picture Oliver (4) painted while sitting by us.

These are Kaleb and Ian's Owl Moon style illustrations.

These are their owl drawings.

Did someone say fieldtrip?

2010-01-27T22:16:00.001-08:00

I just love a good fieldtrip. Don't you?

I sometimes wish we never had to learn math and reading and writing and instead all we needed to do all day was go to really neat places and have loads of fun. I could get used to that.

SIGH.

Today we went on a great field-trip organized and hosted by the homeschool charter school we are part of-IDEA. It was incredible.

First we visited the Boise Art Museum and got a great art lesson about quilts. We learned about several elements of design, including contrasting color, symmetry, pattern, and texture. We were able to study some beautiful antique American quilts. Quilting is truly an amazing art form.

Then the kids got to make their own quilts, using sticky board and fabric scraps.We were short on time for that activity. I thought the kids did great whipping up quilts so quickly. It was surprising to see after all the talk on symmetry and pattern that a majority of the kids preferred to make crazy quilts.

Crazy Quilts are pretty fun to look at!

Here are Josef and Ian's quilts.

After the Boise Art Museum we headed over to the Idaho State Historical Museum. There we got a very entertaining talk on the story artifacts tell us about history and human progress. The kids participated in an activity were they had to try to identify the use of unknown artifacts. This was fun! Some of the interesting ones were

an atalatal,

old pot scrubber,

an ox lead,

(which went in their nose and looked like a clamp with a leather strap attached-OUCH!)

a laundry scrubber ,

and some pressed tea bricks.

Overall, it was a day well spent learning new things.

The bonus was we received free tickets to come back the Art Museum as a family. Maybe when Levi is back in town we will go again. They are setting up a new exhibit-Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon. Who doesn't LOVE robots?!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Resources

2010-01-18T01:10:00.000-08:00

Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day.

Below are some resources you may find helpful in your homeschooling today:

I Have a Dream Speech - Video, Audio, and Text Transcript
The King Center Website
Timeline

Activity Ideas

Notebooking Pages

Lapbook Resources

A huge thanks to all the websites that have provided these free resources for the use in educating our children.

You didn't just say that...did you?

2010-01-15T00:14:00.001-08:00

Image by

http://www.flickr.com/photos/-bast-/ / CC BY 2.0

Today I was pretty much asked by a non-homeschooler...can I really be successful at homeschooling, all things considered? Apparently, they knew others that had given homeschooling a shot and given up. They seemed to think that was pattern amongst we overachiever type parents. Taking on too much and then throwing in the towel when the going gets tough. Surely homeschooling is an impossible task for any parent, right? I abhor that attitude. Parenting is not a competitive sport! When you compare your lifestyle to another you are doing a huge disservice to them and yourself.

Is it really something you can be successful at? My answer is a resounding YES! Like anything you are committed to and want to be successful at it takes a great deal of your time, resources, and all your blood, sweat, and tears. It is not a choice made lightly or a commitment made without sacrifice. Some people don't make it out of the gate. Some parents find it's not for one or more kids. And still others excel and thrive at homeschooling.

Homeschooling is a choice, just like, choosing a pediatrician or where to send your child for piano lessons. You as a parent have a -I believe- a God given right to choose how your child is educated. I think it is tremendous sad that we have let so called experts and leaders tell us that we don't know what we are doing. We have allowed them to second guess us to a point that we doubt ourselves and other parents abilities. They have convinced us that they know so much better and that we could not possibly know how to teach our child. Fortunately we live in an amazing county where not all our rights have been stripped away (yet) and YOU the parent get to choose how you want your child to be educated. We have many, many options these days. Education is no longer a 'One Size Fits All' world. There are private schools, charter schools, community schools, virtual schools, homeschooling, tutors, college course credits, and mentoring. Education comes in many shapes and sizes. Just like picking out Johnny's first tricycle, the choice is all yours.

Homeschooling can be a commitment or it can just be something you are trying out to see if it will work or see how long it will work. We started out just seeing how things worked. We did not feel the passion or the purpose immediately. We were interested in homeschooling, but we weren't sure we could REALLY do it. Well-somewhere along the line our interest became our choice and then our commitment. Like a marriage you don't give up on when the going gets tough- We have stood by our choice and committed our lives to homeschooling our children. ( and we like it!)

Is it easy? No.

Do I always love it? No.

Do my kids love it? Yes.

Do I doubt myself? Who doesn't!

Is it rewarding? Extremely!

Is it worth it? Yes

Is it for everyone? No.

Just like choosing between bottle or breast, vaccinations or not, disposable diapers or cloth. You would not go around asking every pregnant woman if they REALLY think they can be a parent? No! (unless you want to get punched in the face) You congratulate them, you acknowledge the huge commitment they have made, and you cheer them on to the finish line.

So I say...stop comparing my life to yours. My life is not yours and my kids are not yours. Unless you truly believe my kiddos are somehow being neglected or abused you have no civil rights to question my choices. I say quit looking for faults in other parents and stand by your own choices, your passions, and your family and I will be here to cheer you on. What are friends for?

P.S. If you can't say something nice, just be quiet and blog about it later.

Time4Learning: A Review

2010-01-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

We were able to try out Time4Learning in the month of December. This was an incredible opportunity during the holiday season, with all the activities, parties and family events in the month of December. Time4Learning became my partner for educating my kids. While I fluttered about decorating, baking, and wrapping gifts I simply sent my children to the computer each day to grab some much needed learning time, between cookie eating and holiday TV programs. I had them log in each day and do a minimum of one lesson from each subject. The subjects are Language Art Extensions (which are high interest stories that support skills), Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

I have four children, so I was able to try out a broad range of Time4Learning levels. We used PreK, 1st grade, 3rd grade and 6th grade.

Oliver (PreK)simply loved it! He gets a little left out sometimes as we work on homeschooling. This was great for him because I would log him in for him to do 'his school'. I'd let him pick a themed box to work on (choice is huge for his age level). He loved to show me how many boxes he had done that session. It gave him a great sense of accomplishment, the ability to make choices, and have fun. I loved that he was learning too!

Kaleb(1st grade) likes the Playground portion of Time4Learning the best. After he does his lessons for the day I let him play there for a while. It is a great reward and motivation for him.He also enjoyed seeing how far he moved along in the program by the visual check marks placed over lessons completed. The lessons were fun and entertaining for his grade level.

Ian (3rd grade) says he really didn't like Time4Learning, because you have to read a little and then answer questions and he felt like he hadn't learned enough to answer the questions. This is why I feel Time4Learning is a great supplement, but wouldn't be adequate as your only source for curriculum and instruction. He enjoyed the playground part of Time4Learning too, with all it's games.

Josef (6th) thinks it was pretty fun. This is a pretty good review since it takes a great deal to impress him these days. The lessons are very visual, exciting, and interactive. Time4Learning helped him review concepts we had been over in previous grades and was maybe a bit rusty at. While other high interest topics like Rome and Electricity and Magnetism kept him learning new things.

We give Time4Learning five stars for being a great homeschool supplement!!

An Organized Homeschool: File Boxes

2010-01-02T16:33:00.001-08:00

I love these storage boxes from Sterilite. The largest one can be used with hanging file folders. The other sizes are handy to for organizing manipulative's and supplies. A bonus is that they are stack-able. They are pretty affordable too, usually about $5 for the large size, a few places have had them for $8 which is still a pretty good deal for their versatility. The largest one measures 14 1/4"L x 9 1/2"W x 12 1/4"H
You could storage up to a 1 1/2 inch binder in them and still get the lid closed.

This is how I use them:

Sorry the labels aren't all pretty and crafty...we are all about not giving into perfection here.

I store them on an old rolling utility cart.

I find it very helpful and the boys like not having to look all over the house for their school work.

Got any other great products you use to keep you homeschool or office organized?

12 Days of Homeschool

2009-12-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

A little Christmas fun...homeschool style

So what about socialization?

2009-12-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

Got the Socialization Blues?

If you homeschool, you've probably been asked THE QUESTION.

What about socialization?

I have answered this question in many ways.

I've justified it by saying, "Oh, we get out lots we have homeschool friends, church activities, family stuff, lots of cousins. They have lots of interaction with other people...we are social...honest!"

I've down played it, " You mean you just send your kids to school to be socialized, hmmm."

I've been sarcastic, " Ya, mmm, I know, I sure hope they turn out ok. "

Well, rest assured we now have a great answer to that question-"What about socialization?"

RESEARCH!

Who argues with research!?

Check out this great article over at the Washington Times.
Home-Schooling: Socialization Not a Problem

And I say take that- lady at church with the disapproving looks and take that- distant relative that thinks my children will be 'damaged' by this experience. We've got research now!

Homeschool Grows Up - Homeschooling Grows Up is the largest research survey to date of adults who were home educated.

Fifteen Years Later PDF- A study of homeschooled Canadian adults.

Oh Yah! And take that Joy Behar...

Educational Opportunity : Play

2009-12-12T12:56:00.000-08:00

Visit their website under The Tour for more information: http://www.mctinc.org/

Missoula Children's Theater
The Pied Piper Audititions
January 18, 2010

Price:
Child $5.00
Auditions will be held for the Missoula Children's Theater production of The Pied Piper on Monday, January 18 at 4:15. All those auditioning should arrive early and plan to stay for at least two hours. Registration is $5.00 for Nampa residents and $10.00 for non-residents. Some of the cast members will be asked to stay for rehearsal immediately following the auditions. Parents are welcome to wait in the lobby for their child.
Students, grades Kindergarden through 12th grade are encouraged to audition. No advance preparation is necessary. Rehearsals will be after school the whole week for approximately four hours. The Pied Piper will be presented on January 23 at 2 and 7 in the Nampa Civic Center auditiorium.

For more information call Patricia at 468-4437.

Tickets for the show on sale soon!

Thanks for passing this along, Kelly (from DHSA)! http://deserethomeschool.blogspot.com/

If you have any educational opportunities in your area please pass them along!

The Link Magazine

2009-12-05T12:41:00.001-08:00

The Link: the Nations Homeschool Magazine offers a free full download of their magazine by email. Check out their website to sign up: http://www.homeschoolnewslink.com/

My favorite things about homeschool magazines, along with the new ideas from the articles are the ads. Yes, I love homeschool ads. I really enjoy seeing the exciting new products and materials coming available for homeschooling.

Because you know your feelin' crafty this December

2009-12-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

Arts_and_Crafts_book
Originally uploaded by PopKulture

When I was a kid, I was extremely creative. I would cut things up and refashion them into some amazing new creation, much to my mothers dismay. Fortunately for me, my kiddos have inherited this wonderful trait from me: the need to create. Since I'm not a huge fan of large messes, this can be a fine balance to keep, the creativeness and the cleanliness. I love quick easy and not so messy projects to spark our creativity. That is my main criteria for projects: maximum creativity, ease of project, and tidy technique. It's also important to keep in mind your child's skill and developmental level, don't choose complicated projects that aren't age appropriate. It's really not fun for anyone if you are pretty much doing the project for them, it'll just be frustrating for both you and your child.

Christmas is a great time of year for crafts and artwork. Your December arts and craft projects can serve double duty as a gift. Here are a few fun projects I have found that we are working on this month. Enjoy!

Kusudma Sphere (for older kids and parents)- We used white printer paper cut into 2X2 squares to make ornament sized balls. I recommend practicing with a large piece of paper till you get the technique down

Flower wall art using toilet paper rolls (for PreK and up)- Amazingly classy and super easy

Old School Pom Poms (K and up)- I'm thinking about these in red, green, and white as festive ornaments for the tree

Fabric Fortune Cookie- (for teens or parents) This is SOOO cute, I'm thinking add a string and hang it on the tree, instead of a fortune, put a prediction for next year inside."I think 2010 will find me doing more fun arts and craft projects."

Homeschool Support, Only A Podcast Away

2009-11-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

I love using my MP3 player and one of my favorite uses is to listen to Homeschool Podcasts, while I clean, cook, and exercise.

A podcast is like a talk radio show produced by everyday people then uploaded onto the web for sharing. For more information on what a podcast is check out this article from HowStuffWorks.com: How Podcasting Works

I really enjoy listening to the other homeschool mothers share information, resources, and inspiration with me via their podcasts. Below are a few of my favorites:

Blog Talk Radio, type in Homeschool in the search-many are older archived shows

Homeschool.com Podcasts

Cindy Rushton's Mom to Mom Radio Show

A few non homeschool related podcasts:

Satellite Sisters

Vicky and Jen

A Science Experiments You Can Gift!

2009-11-28T11:01:00.001-08:00

I get emails from the Home School Enrichment Magazine email list and this fun recipe was in their last one:

Science experiments you can use as gifts:

Fizzy Bath Bombs

This science-gift project, when mixed together with water, creates a chemical reaction. Don't be scared: you will not be blowing your grandma up when she uses her bath bombs. The chemical reaction occurs when the combination of citric acid and baking soda gets wet in the bath and forms carbon dioxide. Grandma will see fizzing and bubbling in the tub, but no explosions.

Items Needed:
• 2 tablespoons citric acid (look in canning supplies or health food stores)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Baking soda
• Fragrance oil (optional)
• Food coloring (optional)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Waxed paper
• Small cup or bowl
What To Do
Mix all the dry ingredients (citric acid, cornstarch, and baking soda) in mixing bowl. Next, in a small cup, mix the oil, fragrance, and coloring together. Slowly mix the liquid into the dry ingredients. Be sure to mix it very well.

Form 1-inch balls and place them on the waxed paper to dry. They should be semi-hard within 2–3 hours. However, let them dry 24–48 hours before placing them in a storage or gift container.
Label the container: "Add two or three to your bath and enjoy!"

This Enrichment Tip was excerpted from the "Give it a Try!" column by Melissa Pinkley in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Home School Enrichment Magazine.

Got Worksheets?

2009-11-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

WOW what a find!
Check out this post over at Freely Educate.

Need Free Worksheets? Check out Super Teacher Worksheets

One of her readers sent in this incredible find!!
Lori's blog-Freely Educate is amazing, I love seeing what she finds next.

Thanksgiving Unit

2009-11-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

My computer may have been down the last couple of weeks but I wasn't! We've been busy with a Thanksgiving Unit Study. I love Kendra's 30 Days of Thanks and Giving. I always love Homeschool Share and here are some great Thanksgiving Lapbook plans by the infamous homeschooling mom Jimmie. We have a membership to ABCTeach and I got lots of good printables there.
So there's lots of ideas- now just make it work for your family! We made a big sign saying "30 Days of Thanks & Giving" and hung it up in our dining room; we do our traditional thankful journals every morning (well, the kids do, my mother-in-law correctly pointed out that Mom and Dad should, too... maybe next year!); we love hand-print crafts here (so far corn, the Mayflower and of course turkeys); we're reading Dora's Thanksgiving a bazillion times each day... enjoy the season!

Art Journals

2009-09-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

This year I am doing Art Journals with my two oldest boys (8 1/2 and 7). Do not think that I am any kind of artist- but I want to encourage creativity for everyone in my home. So I googled "art journals" and found so much inspiration online that I knew this was something we could do. Specifically, I found this website chock full of information. Incidentally, she also posts other Art Projects For Kids ideas (that's the name of her website).

I decided to purchase 3 art journals so that I could participate as well. This has helped my boys "buy-in" immensely. It's also increased the time we spend on the project so that no one (mainly Nate) is done in 2 minutes, leaving me frustrated at the terrible ratio of set up and clean up to time spent on a project. And it's been great fun for me, too.

My goal is to encourage creativity in both materials and subject. So far we've used watercolor paints, oil pastels, markers, crayons, colored pencils and lots of fine point Sharpies. We've been setting up at the kitchen table about once a week, during the little ones' naptime, and I usually have a theme of some sort. They are free to do something completely different but this helps if they can't "think of anything!". Some recent themes have been choosing and copying a creativity quote then decorating the page; a fairy watercolor suggestion from an Usborne art book I have; also, my mom sent the boys some photos from their visit so they scrapbooked a few on one of the pages.

Here's a photo of Trent's art journal page from last week:

For this page, we lightly taped index cards on a blank page (we used a double page spread; you are seeing the right side page). Then we sponge painted the page using our own selection of colors and way of painting. After the paint dried (it didn't take long at all since the sponges helped it go on thinly), we removed the index cards. Then we wrote something about our week in each blank spot. Trent chose to use 2 index cards on each page and then write one thing in each card, drawing a picture to go along with what he wrote about.

I love quotes, so I've been putting a quote on most of my pages:

That's the watercolor fairy painting from the Usborne Big Book of Fairy Things to Make and Do... and also proof that I am NO artist! But I am enjoying this project and trying to just focus on letting my creativity out without worrying about the finished project... something I want to instill in my kids.

Lapbooking: Have you tried it?

2009-09-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

Lapbooking has been all the rage in homeschooling circles the last few years. Have you tried it in your homeschool yet? If your kids are tired of filling in worksheet and notebook pages, lapbooking may be for you.

We don't use lapbooks for everything we learn but when we do use them to add some spice to our homeschool topics-The boys LOVE it! In fact the older two boys often get upset if I am making a lapbook with the younger boys and they don't get to make one too.

Lapbooks themselve are not the learning, they are more like a visual and hands-on catalog of what the child has learned about a specific subjects. We often use them along with literature units. For Example: We made Pig and Rat Lapbooks when we read Charlotte's Web. We read the book and included some trivia, character descriptions and plot details, along with learning more about the specific animal and including information about it in the lapbooks.

There are many free lapbooking resources. I hightly recommend doing a predesigned lapbook for your first time, so you can get the hang of it. After you have caught on to the brilliance of lapbooking, you can start designing your own and using the many mini booklet templates, your word processor program or a publishing program.

The following are my favorite lapbooking resources. There is no wrong or right way to make a lapbook, so be creative!

Lapbooking on Squidoo-best intro to lapbooking
http://www.squidoo.com/lapbooking

Homeschool Helper Online: Lapbook Section

Lapbooking Lessons
http://lapbooklessons.ning.com/

Homeschool Share
http://www.homeschoolshare.com/
They have the best Minibook and template library-just click and print!

Free Museum Admission

2009-09-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

The Smithsonian is hosting a FREE Museum day on Sat. Sept. 26th

Please visit their site to sign up and receive your free printable pass card: http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/about.html

Limit one pass card per family, one pass card is good for two admissions into the museum.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Sale

2009-09-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is a Christian-based homeschool support magazine.

Right now The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is only $7.95 for a year subscription! http://bit.ly/r8gma

Offer expires 9/20/09

It's A Homeschool Life #1

2009-09-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

While driving home in the car-

Kaleb (age 6) : Mom.... Mom, Mom...MOM!
Ian (age 9): She can't hear you she is driving.
Kaleb: Why do we have thumbs?
Ian: She can't hear you!
Kaleb chants: Why do we have thumbs? Why do we have thumbs? What do we have thumbs for?
Me the Mom: Ignoring him and driving
Josef tired of the chanting (age 11): SO WE CAN GRAB THINGS!
Kaleb: Oh...
Kaleb: I could grab something without my thumbs.
Josef exasperated: No you couldn't.Thumbs are special. Humans are the only ones that have them. Animals don't have thumbs to grab things like cups. We need our thumbs to hold onto things and type and stuff. Otherwise...we'd be like animals. (He continues to rattle on for 2 minutes about how we are better than animals because we have thumbs.)
Kaleb: Gorillas have thumbs.
Josef: Whatever.

Homeschool Lesson Planning Resources

2009-08-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

“It pays to plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.”

Depending on the sort of homeschooling method you use, most of us need to plan...at least a little. Planning often makes our job easier as homeschooling parents. We can use planning processes to determine; what we want to teach, when we want to teach it, for how long, on what days, and what materials we will need to gather ahead of time.

Probably, the single most common tool for planning for your homeschool would have to be the Teachers Lesson Planner. If you haven't looked at Lesson Planners in a while, I suggest you take a new look. They have come along way! There are of course the traditional paper planners, then the printable versions from online, internet based planning programs and also software based planners. Below are my favorites in each category. I was not paid to endorse any of the products below. I have done my own research over the last 5 years, in search of the perfect planner.

Paper Based Lesson Planner:

This is by far my favorite paper based planner. Click here to view sample pages. This handy and sturdy spiral bound planner has amazing versatility and is easily customized to your needs. It includes yearly and monthly calenders. The weekly planning pages cover a two page spread with enough pages to make 40 weeks of plans. The columns are easily customized. The pages are large and lined so you can easily and neatly add plans. This planner is prices at around $15. There are cheaper planners out there, but I ranked this one as my favorite based on customization and sturdiness.
The Ultimate Teacher's Plan Book

Printable Lesson Planner:

Donna Young has the best printable homeschool planning pages on the net. Her site ranks highest because of the ease of use, variety, and customization. She's got a forms any homeschool can use.
Check out her great printable planning pages here:

Internet-based Lesson Planner:

There are a few of these on the net now. These are great because of there extreme accessibility. You can access them from the internet wherever you may be. Great for families that travel, are on the go, or so you can share what your doing with other family members. My favorite is the Homeschool Skedtrack, because it's free, easy to use, and created by a homeschool family. It's simple, but extremely flexible. Changes are as simple as typing into a form box. Assignments not completed are automatically bumped up to the next day. They even have video tutorials to help you learn how to use it! Its an amazing value for....FREE!
Homeschool Skedtrack

Lesson Planning Software:

Lesson planning software varies in price, versatility, and ease of use. A majority of the lesson planning software available are specifically designed to meet the needs of classroom teachers, so adapting them to meet the needs of your homeschool can be tricky. There are a handful that ARE specifically designed (or adapted) to meet the needs of homeschoolers. After downloading and trying out many trial versions, my favorite was Homeschool Tracker. Although none of the programs tried were easy to use, Homeschool Tracker had the best tech support for learning the program. It came in at a great value also, Free for the Basic Version and $50 for the Plus Edition, with free lifetime updates. After learning how the software works and how to input the data you want, it can be customized to meet your needs in a variety of ways. If the $50 cost is too much for your wallet, try out the free version, you can aways upgrade without losing all your information. Homeschool Tracker

I hope you found this post helpful.

Got a favorite Lesson Planning resource? Share it in the comments!

Happy Planning!

The Organized Homeschool

2009-08-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

It's August again. Here are the Mitchell house we are packing up house for a move. I am so glad I had already organized our homeschooling material earlier this summer, because it has made packing so much easier. Around August many homeschooling mother's are gearing up for a new homeschool year. Getting everything ready for your school year and organizing your learning materials can be a challenge even for those type 'A' moms. What are your favorite organization secrets and tools? Please comment to share.

Fourth of July Freebies

2009-07-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July Lapbook resources from Lapbook Lessons

Some great 4th of July Links from Homeschool Mom.com

Lots of great links, for radio shows, videos, and unit study resources from Denise at PawPaw Holler Home Blog.

Happy Fourth of July!

Free Homeschool Magazine

2009-06-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

Home School Enrichment magazine just released "Home School Enrichment Digital," which is an online version of the magazine. Today they're giving away a free one-year subscription to the digital edition to all. Registration is required, but the one-year subscription to the digital version is free.

Download your free one-year subscription to the digital version of Home School Enrichment magazine here: FREE ONLINE MAGAZINE

http://homeschoolenrichment.com/magazine/digital/

Homeschool Helper Online

2009-05-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Don't let the simplicity and ads on this side fool you. Homeschool Helper Online is a "Must Add to your Favorites" site. The Unit studies resources and the Lapbooks alone make this a valuable site to have on hand.

Check out the Plant Lapbook, for a great Spring/Summer project.

Interactive Science Activities @ FOSS

2009-05-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Head on over to the FOSS website and try out the interactive science activities there. They are organized by grade level and then subject.

Homeschool Perk #1 Personal Museum Tours

2009-04-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Homeschooling may be challenging at times, but it also comes with some serious perks! In this series of posts I will be exploring all the small benefits and surprising treats that come with a homeschooling lifestyle.

Children’s Discovery Room at the Museum of Idaho in Idaho Falls, ID

Homeschool Perk #1 Personal Museum Tours

I love going on field trips in the middle of a school day, in the middle of the week. You usually get whatever venue you are visiting all to yourself. My most favorite thing to do is visit local city or county museums. In the middle of the week, they are usually completely empty. These types of museums cost very little or are free. And you get the energetic and knowledgeable museum attendant all to yourselves for a personalized tour.

Although this type of personalized attention during your visit is not guaranteed you, you can pretty much count on it. Most city or county museum attendants are senior citizens with a passion for history and they love to share their tales of life "in the old days". This enthusiastic hosts really help history come alive for our family. We have even been able to touch things that may have otherwise been hands-off in displays because of these personalized tours. They are like living history books, and the museum is a giant visual aid of their past.

So visit a local history museum and have a living history lesson
today!

Idaho Association of Museums has a great list of museums throughout the state of Idaho.

Homeschooling in Idaho ROCKS!!

2009-03-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

From Lee Ann's email list:

Senate Bill 1017, sponsored by Senator Russ Fulcher (R-Meridian) and Representative Bob Nonini (R-Coeur d’Alene), has now been passed with the unanimous vote of both houses of the Idaho legislature. The final stop for this bill will be the desk of Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter who we expect to approve the bill in short order.

Both of the bill’s sponsors did a masterful job of shepherding this effort through our legislature. The bill, which was a joint effort by ICHE, CHOIS, and the Governor’s Task Force on Children at Risk, provides a tremendous boost to the liberties of Idaho’s home educating families. The bill:

1. Adds private home education to the express list of the types of education which are permitted in Idaho;

2. Retains the right of parents to direct the teaching of their children by other friends or relatives;

3. Distinguishes private home schooling from instruction by means of a virtual or on-line public charter school program;

4. Clarifies that the instruction provided by private home education is not required to bear any resemblance to the programs offered in the state’s public schools; and

5. Clarifies that home schoolers are not required to give formal instruction for any set number of hours or days per year.

With the passage of this bill, Idaho now has what is arguably the greatest set of home schooling liberties in the entire country. For this we primarily have Senator Fulcher and Representative Nonini to thank.

Would you please take a moment to send a short note expressing your gratitude to each of these fine public servants? Senator Fulcher’s email address is rfulcher@senate.idaho.gov and Representative Nonini’s is bnonini@house.idaho.gov.

6-12 grade Math: Mathskool

2009-03-20T22:58:00.001-07:00

Check out this great online Math resources for Middle School and High School level math: Mathskool

Discription from the Mathskool website:

What is mathskool?

mathskool is for math students
If you're in high school or middle school, or at any level where you're learning algebra, trig, geometry, calculus, probability, or a related topic, then mathskool is for you.

mathskool is a collection of short, focused videos, each covering a single math idea. You can use the mathskool videos to help get past a tricky homework problem, to prepare for a test, to better understand a lesson you just learned, or to learn brand new material.

mathskool is an easy place to ask questions. Every topic in mathskool has its own question/answer board, is attended by knowledgeable math teachers, and provides quality filtering so that the favorite answer appears first - even if it's from another student!

mathskool is for math teachers

mathskool connects great teachers with motivated students, and other interested teachers. As a math teacher, you can share your tricks of the trade to a larger audience. If you're preparing class notes, you can find out how other educators have taught similar material. You can even share sample problems, examples, or data files for other math programs, such as matlab, mathematica, or a graphing program.

mathskool gives you a way to supplement your own teaching with a web link (url) that can be shared in class. If you choose to, you can also use temporary email subscriptions to see questions (and provide answers) through mathskool about the topic you just taught, so you can be sure your students are getting the best answers to questions they might not ask in person.

Book Review: The Bumblebee Queen

2009-03-10T00:06:00.000-07:00

The Bumblebee Queen
by April Pulley Sayre
Illustrated by Patricia Wynne
ISBN#1570913625

This beautifully illustrated children's nonfiction book is a real gem. The bright and detailed pictures keep children engaged as you read about the life of a queen bumblebee. Although a factual book, the story of the Queen is not dry or boring. Our favorite part was learning about how she cared for her young and the illustration of her laying on her larva to keep them warm . Additional interesting facts are sprinkled throughout the book. At the end of the book the author gives you additional reading, as well as websites on bumblebees.
So BUZZ on over to your local library and pick up this great book!

St. Patrick Day Freebies

2009-03-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

St Patrick's Day is just one of those fun holidays, it represents history, culture, myth, and mischief. I found a few fun and free activities to add to your homeschooling day on this very GREEN holiday.

Evan-Moor Leprechaun shape book

Curr-Click St. Patrick: The World's greatest Missionary Study

St Patrick's Day Fun(games,crafts, recipes) @ Kaboose

St. Patrick's Day Math @ Math-Drills.com

St.Patrick's Day Science @ Steve Spangler Science

Charlotte Mason Freebie

2009-03-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

FROM CM-Monthly newsletter:

Hi, all ...

It was pointed out to me by several readers of The Charlotte
Mason Monthly that we'd put the wrong link in the newsletter to
the free offer for the Living Books Curriculum Start-up Pack.
Sorry about that!

Here's the correct information and link:

Living Books Curriculum Start-up Pack
Worth $97. Yours free for a limited time.
Contains 42-page guide, 2 audio workshops,
samples, LBC planner and more.
Claim your free LBC Start-up Pack today at:

http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com/CM.htm

By the way, as a long time Charlotte Mason home educator,
I really love all the various materials Living Books Curriculum
has put together. I really don't think you can go wrong with
this choice for your home schooling needs. :-)

Continued Blessings to You and Yours,

Debi
(Deborah Taylor-Hough)
--Author of the Frozen Assets series, A Simple Choice, and
Frugal Living For Dummies®
--Editor, The Charlotte Mason Monthly, Simple Times, and
Bright-Kids email newsletters

http://charlottemasoneducation.wordpress.com/
http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/
________________________________

Letter from an Imperfect Homeschool Mom

2009-03-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

I got the idea for this post from a post on HSBA from Darcy.

Dear Fellow Homeschooling Mom,

Although at first glance, during a random homeschooling social event, I may appear to be a fine specimen of a devoted homeschooling mother and my children may appear to be on the verge of child prodigy status, this is not in fact the truth. I am guilty of the following imperfections:

Yes, our family is devoted to our homeschooling lifestyle. This devotion does not however prevent me from a variety of threats, when my child is particularly annoying or rebellious. These random threats will almost always include taking my child down to the nearest public school and enrolling them.

Because of our homeschooling lifestyle you may hear me send a child to his room for timeout, I will then yell "And no reading books, while your in there!" to further punish that child.

Sometimes, I take a whole week to work on "life skills" with my children- they clean their rooms. Often this week of "life skills" lessons is triggered by the fact that my child's bedroom floor is so completely covered in Lego's that I can no longer get to their dresser to put away clothes.

While working with a struggling learner, I will have a moment of sheer panic, when I doubt myself, my child, and my ability to teach them anything at all. I rethink the whole homeschooling thing. Can I really do this? What was I thinking? And I look out the window longingly as a school bus drives by. What would my alternate reality be like....Kids out of the house by 8 am, a whole morning and afternoon to myself, a clean home, shopping ALONE, lunch with my girlfriends, and back to that struggling child-Why can't that PS teacher get through to him? He is still not reading, this is all HER fault. "MOM! The baby poured blue Tempera powder on the carpet!" a child yells and I am snapped back to reality.

You know how everyone always asks you "What about socialization?" Well-we don't have a problem with that, we sometimes socialize TOO MUCH. My mother-in-law once kindly observed, " You sure aren't really home much to HOMEschool, are you?" I'm pretty sure, watching videos in the van, does not qualify us for car-schooling.

This will be my most shocking revelation yet....we have library fines! Yes, we break, repetitively the most sacred rules of library card usage. (I'll wait a moment as you recover from your shock...) We visit the library almost every week, but sometimes life happens, and I get busy and forget to renew. Shoot I forget what we even have checked out. The library books make friends with the books we own and blend in despite their glaringly obvious bar codes. And we are at the library checking out again and the librarian says " Oh, you have $14.50 in fines for..."-some obscure book titles I have never heard of. So when they start construction on that new wing of the library, do not be surprised if there is a plague that states, This project funded by the Mitchell family's library fine.

My children are not 2 grades ahead, they are not geniuses, they are not child prodigies. They are just normal average kids. They have some subjects they are better at than others. Sometimes they are behind, in their "grade level".Will they grow up to change the world in some huge way? Maybe, but I'd be just as happy, if they grew up to love their life, learning, and gave me a few grand-kids.

"You look so confident, and you have everything all together." Who are you talking about, because I can tell you right now, that person is not me. I am completely terrified and have no idea what I am doing. I wake up each day and get through it with sheer determination to stick to what I said I would do, I try my best with what I have, and I have the faith that God would not let me completely mess up my children by homeschooling them.

So those are some of my imperfections as a homeschooling mom. Some of the mantras that keep me going despite my glaringly obvious mistakes are:

LEARNING IS NOT A PRODUCT, IT IS A PROCESS.

DO YOUR BEST AND LET GOD DO THE REST.

A LITTLE HOMESCHOOLING A DAY, KEEPS CPS AWAY.

Most of all my fellow homeschooling mothers, I want you to know you are not alone. Non of us are perfect, we all struggle, we all have days where our fuse is short, our patience used up. What we also have in common is that we all want the best for our kids, that's one of the reasons we homeschool. Your heart is in the right place and for the most part you are in-tune to what your kids need-So don't be too hard on yourselves. Don't be afraid. You can do this-If I can, you can!
In the immortal words of my loving mother-in-law, while I,as a new mother,was stressed out that my 3 1/2 year old was still not potty trained, "Don't worry so much, he'll definitely be potty trained by the time he's 16!" So-fellow homeschool mothers, DO NOT WORRY, by age 30, they will surely be successful members of society.

Wishing you a homeschool day in your pajamas,
April Mitchell

Saving Money/Coupons

2009-03-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

April asked me to add some coupon/deal stuff here. I highly recommend that you look at the following blogs
livingbythecoupon.blogspot.com OR http://www.idahopress.com/blogs/Live_On_Coupons/?

Also watch: http://athriftymom.com/

Both of these will help you match us the best deals with Albertsons and Walgreens and Rite Aid and Target. . .. . Both of these ladies are here in Nampa/Caldwell area. If you can make it to one of Jenn's classes, I HIGHLY recommend it. They are free and she will teach you SO much about coupons!!!!

As for coupons, there are some super diaper coupons right now that can be combined with a sale NEXT week! But you have to print them NOW! You can print each one twice per computer of IP address. If you don't use diapers, please print them and get them to me. If you use diapers, you may even want to see if you can get friends or your husbands to print some too.
go to www.coupons.com
there are Huggies diaper coupons one for -$3.00 and one for -$5.00
you can print BOTH TWICE!

print them in either black and white or color and hold onto them for about a week!

if you know anyone having a baby, or anyone that has a kid in diapers, this will be the sale to tell them about!

Details about the sale will be on Jenn's blog blog Monday afternoon for this amazing deal! (That way you don't have to wait for me to send something).
Good Luck!

Janet

Events of Interest (Boise Area)

2009-03-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

Found on Boise Weekly Calendar http://www.boiseweekly.com

Little Einsteins Science Class - Each Wednesday, preschoolers ages 3-5 are introduced to the world of science through hands-on experiments. Financial aid is available. Wednesdays, 11-11:45 a.m. Continues through May 31. full-facility member $30; program member $58. YMCA, 1050 W. State St., Boise (Boise Downtown), 208-344-5501, www.ymcaboise.org.

Kids' Drum Classes - Children ages 8-10 years old learn to bang a drum with style and rhythm. Wednesdays, 4 p.m. $7. Drum Central, 2709 W. State St., Boise, 208-424-9519, www.boisedrumcentral.com.

Make and Take Wednesdays - An after-school science and art program for children ages six and older held in The Secret Garden. Learn while having fun. Wednesdays, 4 p.m. FREE. Garden City Library, 6015 Glenwood St., 208-472-2940, www.gardencity.lili.org.

Ultimate Frisbee Games - The Southern Idaho Disc League (SIDL) is proud to present the Boise Ultimate Spring League in a co-ed draft format. All ability levels are encouraged to register. For more information about the draft, contact Jen Hopkins at 208-866-3127 or e-mail jenhop@gmail.com. Wednesdays, 6 p.m. FREE, www.boiseultimate.com. Ann Morrison Park, Americana Blvd., Boise.

Boise Nonfiction Writers - Join a group of nonfiction writers who meet to learn from guest speakers and from each other. For the March meeting, Anthony Doerr, Idaho’s Writer-in-Residence, give a talk titled Reading, Writing and Rome. Arrive at 6 p.m. to browse bookshelves and chat it up with other aspiring writers. First Wednesday of every month, 6:30-8 p.m. FREE, www.sageecosci.com/Writers.html. The Rediscovered Bookshop, 7079 Overland Road, Boise, 208-376-4229, www.rediscoveredbookshop.com.

BUG (Boise Ukulele Group) - This ukulele group offers instruction and a chance to jam. All levels, beginning to advanced, welcome with no age limit and no membership fees. All that's needed is a willingness to learn and play ukulele music. For more information, visit the Web site. Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. FREE, www.boiseukulelegroup.com. Idaho Pizza Company, 3053 S. Cole Road, Boise, 208-362-7702.

X-treme Gamers Night - Teens age 12-17 get together to have fun in a safe, supervised environment. Free pizza and prizes beckon, along with the chance to play PC and console-based systems, including Nintendo Wii and Xbox. Third Saturday of every month, 7-10 p.m. Continues through May 31. FREE. Fort Boise Community Center, 700 Robbins Road, Boise, 208-384-4486, www.cityofboise.org/parks.

The High Desert Swing Dance Club - From 7:30-8:30, free dance lessons on the cha cha followed by social dancing from 8:30-11 p.m. The dance is free for students ages 25 and under. For more information, call 208-830-7622 or 208-860-2132 or e-mail idahoswingdance.org. $5 members; $8 nonmembers. Boise Valley Square and Round Dance Center, 6534 Diamond St., Boise, 208-377-5788, www.idahoswingdance.org.

Health Fest 2009 - The 2009 Health Fest, Community Sale and Family Day includes two events under one roof. Enjoy kids' indoor and outdoor activities, free screenings, health education, fitness demos and raffle prizes. For more information, e-mail info@nampa.com. Sat., April 25, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. FREE, 208-466-4641, Ext. 101. Idaho Center, 16200 Idaho Center Blvd., Nampa (Canyon County), 208-468-1000, www.idahocenter.com.

Free Writing Group for High School Students and above - Arrive to write and begin to heal with motivational speaker and life coach Rebecca Evans in The Gathering Room Third Wednesday, Thursday of every month, 6 p.m. Library Coffeehouse, 141 E. Carlton Ave., Meridian (West Ada County), 208-288-1898, www.librarycoffeehouse.com.

Found on Calendar at http://www.treasurevalleyfamily.com/

GIRLS ON THE RUN Spring Session - March 2 - May 14 Girls on the Run is an after-school program for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade girls that combines physical activity, adult mentors, and a curriculum that has been proven to improve participants self-esteem and body image. Through a ten-week program, the goal is to empower all girls to: Have a strong sense of identity. Give and receive support from a group. Stand up for themselves in a healthy manner. Have a healthy body image. Understand the importance of their community. Complete a 5k run/walk event. The program is offered in schools and fitness centers in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, and Caldwell. For more information, spring sites, and registration visit, www.gotr.org, 388-4687.

Homeschool Reviews

2009-02-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

I have had the opportunity this year to be a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. I have been able to test out a ton of products with my kids. There were some that we LOVED that I had never heard of before. All of my reviews are found here and there are links to some of my favorites at the top right.

If there are any of the items you would like to see, let me know and we can arrange a time to meet.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

2009-02-08T16:08:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again! The National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are having their Great Backyard Birds Count on February 13-16th.

Our family loves participating in this each year. It is a nationwide, collections of data that scientists really use and YOU get to help. All you do is look outside on any of the days above, at any time, and count the birds you see. Have binoculars and a bird book handy! Then visit the website and submit your list of birds seen. You can also take photo's of the birds you may see and enter them in a contest to win prizes.

Incorporate this activity into your homeschool, it covers Science (observation, species identification, and data collection) and Math (counting).

Visit their website today to print off a list of birds common to your area and mark your calendars!

A Place for Everything, And Everything in it's Place

2009-02-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

I struggle with keeping homeschool items organized, tidy, yet easy to get to when we are in the middle of projects. I've tried all sorts of ways to keep it all together, little bins, plastic bags, cups, etc. My favorite organization tool is a re-purposing miracle! I picked up a few over-the-door shoe organizers on clearance at Wal-mart one day and thought they would be helpful to organize my kids beanie-baby collection. I found they were useful for all sorts of things. I hung a few in the garage to throw those odds and ends into. I then got one for our homeschool closet and love it! I can see what we have a just grab it. So if you have a spare door or two, pick-up some of these shoe organizers and just try it, you'll get hooked too.

Ground Hogs Day: Monday,February 2nd

2009-02-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

My kids love Ground Hogs Day, there is just something magical about waiting for a small, furry, and very cute creature to wake up, come out, and tell us if spring will come soon or if we will have to endure winter a little longer.

We are big fans of the official Ground Hogs Day website. You can find some fun teachers resources and activities here, along with the official prediction from Punxsutawney Phil himself!

Check out all the great lesson plans, online resources, and free print-ables our friend Homeschool Mate has gathered for us.

Happy Groundhogs Day!!