Mom Is Teaching

Welcome to the 83rd edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling. August will be here tomorrow, and that means many families are getting ready to start the new year off. But before we can jump back into the school year I need to make sure everyone has had their physicals. A good physical is required to make sure that you are healthy and up-to-date before we can get back to the learning. So without further ado, open up and say “ahhh”.

Let’s listen to your heartbeat.

Hernandez helps us with some teachable moments with your little girl’s stethoscope.Stethoscope for Your Little Girl Part 1 posted at APMFormulators

When your heart is in homeschooling you can find a lesson in anything. Barbara Frank shares An Impromptu Lesson posted in Barbara Frank saying “You can use just about anything to teach your children; even junk mail.”

A happy heart is a healthy heart. Find something that will calm and relax you, and make you smile, to keep your heart beating on track. Kim shares a heartwarming link to a great collection of classical artwork that has a homeschooling feel in Gallery of Homeschooling in Art posted at Kim’s Play Place.

Home is where the heart is, and where our families are. Marjorie shares why she stays where her heart is and delves into the meaning of thw word “cleave” and explores how the idea of cleaving, and its dual definition, is valued in her homeschooling experience in I Cleave, byMarjorie posted at Life Without School.

Sometimes your heart can get a little hurt. When what your heart wants doesn’t mesh with everyone else’s what can you do to spare everyone some heartache? Annette Berlin presents What To Do When Your Child Doesn’t Want To Learn posted at Homeschooling Journey. Some days your child just doesn’t want to learn. Either he’s too hot, too tired or too bored. When that happens, you either have to accept some time off, or find another way of teaching.

Finding something to love can do wonders to ease a sorrowful heart. Mommy Babble shares some Books to love posted at Mommy Babble.

Don’t forget to find a place in your heart for the things other’s have gone through. Jocelyn shares a review on some historical movies they used in their 4th of July American History Unit Study Heroes of War, Past and Present posted at Lothlorien.

There are many emotions that we associate with the heart. Compassion, tolerance, and respect are some. Elisheva Levin says “Actions of moral courage, then, are not for the faint of heart. In fact, the very word “courage” comes from the French word “cour” which means “heart” and implies strength of heart.” in her post Moral Courage and the Flawed Human Being posted at Ragamuffin Studies. She tells us that “While listening to a keynote presentation on Moral Courage, it occured to me that we have to help our children combat moral relativism and cynicism by discussing moral action in the face of our very human flaws.”

Testing your reflexes.

A reflex is an automatic action elicited by a stimulus. Reflexes can be instinctual or learned. How well do you respond to stimuli?

Sometimes we might need a little more stimuli to get us moving. Rebecca gets to the root of her daughter’s bordem in Bored posted at Little-Homeschool-on-the-Prairie.

How well you do respond to certain comments? Are your reflexes quick enough when you hear something that is not right? Jennifer in OR presents “Homeschooling is Illegal in France,” She Said. posted at Diary of 1. She reminds us to “Don’t always believe your teachers, my dears! This young French girl was thoroughly convinced that homeschooling was illegal in her country, and it took much persuasion to get her to believe otherwise. ”

What is your knee-jerk responce to the thought that you might not be smart enough to homeschool your kids? Does that get a big reflex out of you? Henry builds on Carolyn’s point that most parents can homeschool their children. Henry writes that homeschooling is a more effective environment for children to learn in Carolyn makes a great point about the requirements for homeschooling posted in Why Homeschool.

When the kid’s stuff begins taking over the house what is your reflexive action? Summer shares her toy woes in Toys, and life without them posted at Wired For Noise.

Are you getting enough exercise?

Be sure you are getting enough time outside every day. Not only do you need plenty of exercise, but the sunshine and fresh air will do you good as well.

Having animals is a great way to get outside. Silvia tells us about the great educational opportunities they have had as a family by raising chickens in What the Hens Taught Us posted at PoMoyemu—In My Opinion

Get outside and take a walk every day to not only get some exercise in, but also to take in the world around you. Tiffany Washko presents My Backyard Wildlife Habitat - A Slideshow posted at Natural Family Living Blog.

Exercising outside lets you experience more of the living world around you than you will certainly find in the artificial environment of gyms and workout rooms. The same can also be said of the books we use. ChristineMM talks about what a living book is and why many homeschoolers prefer living books as a main staple of their homeschooling curriculum in What Is A Living Book? posted at The Thinking Mother.

Swimming is another great way to get your exercise in. Just be sure that you are taking precautions and being safe. Lesley presents winterwood farm - Water Safety posted at livin4Him6.

If you can’t get outside everyday you can at least bring the outside world to you. Annette Berlin tells us that you can enjoy National Geographic, even if you don’t subscribe to the cable program or the magazine National Geographic For Kids posted at Homeschooling Journey.

Jumping through hoops is another great exercise idea, especially when those hoops get you closer to a goal. Ted Reimers presents College Scholarship Tips posted at College News.

How’s your diet?

So, what are you eating? The foods we eat are fuel for our body, eating the best foods gives our bodies the top fuel possible. It’s important to make sure we are eating and drinking healthy foods and drinks.

Christian Bachmann presents Ten reasons to drink water and not soft drinks posted at Med Journal Watch.

Remember that a healthy diet should be well rounded. Don’t be afraid to try something new and get a different view of things. Dawn shares a small review of their first taste of Susan Wise Bauer’s ‘The Story of the World,’Story of the World posted at Day by Day Homeschooling. She says the book is “One you really need to approach with a little scepticism and the tools to question and research what it claims”. Sounds like a good recipe for learning to me.

A healthy diet includes fruits and vegetables from all of the color groups. Orange carrots, red radishes, and green grapes jsut to name a few. Amanda Dixon shares a colorful bite in At The Foot of the Rainbow Book Report posted at The Daily Planet. This is ” A book report on the Gene Stratton-Porter book: At The Foot of The Rainbow. This book is about 2 friends and the importance of honesty and thinking about other before yourself.”

Are you getting enough rest?

Getting a good night’s sleep is also important to being healthy. Make sure you are taking time each day to rest and relax along with a night of sleep.

Jacque Dixon shares some thoughts on resting in Can I Homeschool Just A Little Bit? posted in Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths. In it she “answered a question from a Mom expecting a new baby anytime on whther it is ok to take time off or tone-down homeschooling Littles.”

Sometimes when life is difficult rest can be hard to find. Lizzie has a few questions for you about homeschooling when life is tough in Homeschooling in the hard times posted in A Dusty Frame.

Sometimes having money problems can keep us from resting. Sebastian lists some of the large stores that extend teacher discounts to homeschoolers in Saving on Schooling posted in Percival Blakeny Academy.

Elena LaVictoire offers more money saving advice to help you rest at night in Paying for college and family life. posted at My Domestic Church. Ideas and resources for paying for college. Also how paying for college influences being open to new children in the family.

As your homeschooling kids get older you may be wondering if you will be getting a rest soon. Luckily there are tools to help you relax a little. Lynn shares some of that in 5 Successful Tools to Homeschool Junior or Senior High Students « Homeschool 2.0 Blog posted at Homeschool 2.0 Blog

Using tools to help us is an easy way to get your rest. Copy books can help you get a little break while your children practise their handwriting. Mama Squirrel presents Copybooks offer is almost up posted at Dewey’s Treehouse. She tells us that “you have a very short time left (till the end of July) to get in on a really good offer: you can get all their copybooks for $USD30.”

Mental health is important too.

Keeping your mind strong and healthy is just as important as keeping your body healthy. Constant flexing your mental muscles will keep them going and let you build upon them.

Alvaro Fernandez tells us about an unexpected benefit of education: longer brain health in Yaakov Stern: Build Your Cognitive Reserve posted at Brain Health blog.

Just as you will do better with a workout plan, you can suceed with academic plan. Get yourself a workout planned before you jump on the mental treadmill. Alasandra shares her plans for the coming year in Exciting Plans posted at Alasandra

Amy Cortez presents Bright Kids at Home - Our Course of Study posted at Bright Kids at Home: Homeschooling and Traveling with a Gifted Student.

Learning math is a great way to get mentally fit. Denise presents Egyptian math in hieroglyphs posted at Let’s play math!.

Though, learning math helps if you’re learning to do it right. Kevin presents Homeschooling and the 7 Common Mistakes When Teaching Math posted at More4kids Homeschooling.

Learning something new gets new parts of your brain firing and can give you a great mental workout. Patti shares something new with us in The Future is Open Source posted at All Info About Homeschooling saying “Linux is a bit like homeschooling. It provides a free, non-commercial alternative to the usual corporate systems…and it has great educational benefits, too! “.

Memorization is another great way to warm up your mental muscles. Heather shares her memorization plans in Year Two Poetry Memorization posted at Stepping Heavenward.

Do you have any questions?

At the end of every check-up you’re given the chance to ask questions and voice your concerns. What are some of your’s?

HowToMe presents HowToMe posted at HowToMe saying “Occasionally, parents ask how they can help their child study effectively. Here are some ideas I gathered from a Learning Styles workshop, experience and browsing. This will be one of four posts designed to help you and me get ready for the coming school year.”

Millionaire Mommy Next Door asks Where Does Your Money Go? Tips and Tricks for Tracking the Flow posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door. She tells us “Money flows like water. It can gush like a raging river or drip like an annoying leaky faucet at midnight. If we use this precious resource mindlessly, we face drought. However, if we first observe the ebbs and flows, effective management becomes a simple matter of design. Tracking expenses is an educational task you may want to delegate to your kids. Here’s how. “.

Dana asks an interesting question in Is our goal really to “bankrupt the American educational establishment?” posted at Principled Discovery.

ADo you have questions about your history? DeputyHeadmistress presents architectural figures for a timeline or century book in For Our Timeline posted at The Common Room.

Are you questioning where to go to get ideas, tips, and more? Judy Aron shares some information about the American Homeschool Association AHA posted at Consent Of The Governed.

That concludes your medical check up at the Carnival of Homeschooling. I hope you all walked away with a clean bill of health, or at least some ideas on how to get healthier in homeschooling. Take your time reading all of the great posts submitted this week. And don’t forget that you can submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Homeschooling using our carnival submission form. You can read the submission guidlines here. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. The next edition will be hosted by Nerd Family.

Don’t forget to get a treat on your way out!

homeschool, homeschooling, carnival of homeschooling, blog carnival, blogging

In some areas homeschoolers are alowed to join in the local schols sports teams and in other areas homeschoolers are creating their own teams in order to play sports. For many children when either of these two options are available they are thrilled. But what if the parents aren’t?

I was inspired by this post over at tiny grass, Sports - Do kids really need them?. Trish lists several great reasons why she does not want her children playing organized sports. In a comment to her post one person mentions bonding with peers as a reason to participate. As Trish responds “I believe that an appreciation for the interaction of multiple ages is what brought me to homeschooling.”

In sports, as also in a classroom, teams are groups by age and stick closely together. Of course there is some safety to this. No one wants to see a five year old trying to play football with teenagers. Even trying to be safe there is a chance of the smaller, younger child getting hurt. But does that mean he should only be allowed to play with other 5-6 year olds? Would a friendly neighborhood game work just as well as an organized team would for building bonds, getting exercise, and having fun?

I admit to being a bit biased against sports. My experiences in high school were that those who could run, jump, and throw a ball were not expected to strive as academically as those who could not. And yet they were treated as though they were. The year I graduated, in fact, our school’s wrestling team took state while those on the team were given free rides in most classes and the wrestling coach himself did some rather shady things while others looked the other way. The school itself often moved funds into the athletic areas leaving the academics to wait.

How do you feel about homeschoolers and sports? Should homeschooled children take advantage of organized sports programs available to them? Should they enter the public and private school teams if they can, or stay with local teams made up of homeschoolers exclusively? Or do you prefer to stick with less formal sports activities?

school, sports, education, homeschooling, homeschoolers

I am really enjoying all the great questions that are being sent my way. Many of them are so similar, it becomes easy to see the most common fears that new homeschoolers have. This is a question that was asked in 3 different ways here, and I saw a similar question on a parenting forum I spend time on. Since this is so thought about I am excited to read all of your answers on this topic.

I am thinking about pulling my daughter out of school this year. She is eight and I am not happy about the education she is getting or with the things she seems to be surrounded by. But I worry about getting a break. I mean, I love her, but I’m not used to having her with me all the time. And I have a three year old son that needs me constantly. I am afraid that being with them all day by myself is going to drive me batty. How do you deal with needing to take time away to unwind? Especially during the school year and during the week when everyone is working or at school themselves.

I’m curious to see how you get breaks away when you need them? How do you handle being the sole caregiver all day? And for those of you who made the transition from school to home, how did you deal with that? I’m looking forward to your responses.

homeschool, homeschooling, children, parenting, break

I had a small panic attack last night. I made a quick last minute run to the store for a couple things. On my way through I saw a huge display of crayons, markers, paper, and more all marked down for back to school time. Beside the display was another display full of lists, what each child will need to buy for the coming school year based on what grade and school they will be in.

And then everything went black.

OK, so it was only for a second, but it was enough to scare me. I waffle back and forth between knowing that I am ready and terrorfied that I’m not. I know I’m not the only one here. As the lazy days of summer draw closer to an end many homeschool families are getting ready for the new year of learning fun. But with that new year can mean new worries, concerns, and (for some) panic attacks. What do I buy? What do I need? Where do I start? There are a million questions and what seems like a trillion answers all going in opposite directions.

Remember that is you have any questions you can feel free to ask them here. You can either email me using the contact button on the right there or leave me a comment. Every Friday one question will be posted anonymously and left open for anyone to answer. Then come back on Saturday where I’ll share the great advice my readers ahve given and toss my two cents in as well. All in one neat and organized place. No question is too silly, strange, or surreal. I promise.

homeschool, homeschooling

So I asked earlier this morning what brings you here to my blog. Well now I know that some of you are coming Sona Creidhe Reviews. Why? Because I’m the Blog of the Week! Everyone should head over there and see what other great links she’s got posted as Edulinks for the week.

blogging, blog of the week

I’m usually a mixture of stunned, puzzled, and confused when I check my site stats. The long list of searches that people use to find their way here seems to be without reason. I keep checking, hoping to find something that people are looking for that i can write about, but instead leave wondering how I got linked with a Tarot site and what Veruca Salt’s Celebrate You has to do with homeschooling.

I thought I would share some of the more intersting search strong that are bringing people to Mom Is Teaching. And don’t worry, they’re PG. Though I will admit there are some that include the words “mom teaching” that just should not be. To those coming here for that, EWWWWWWWWWWW!

Top 5 silly/weird/unusla search strongs bringing people to Mom Is Teaching. Consider this a call to all you lurkers and searchers out there. Let me know what brought you here and if you found what you were looking for.

• flower anime
• mom buggy
• astrological chart for chris benoit
• how to make your guy look gothic on wii
• uses for a cigar box

search strings, search engines

There are so many great blog carnivals out there, and I always plan to mention them but forget. So I’m going to try to remember to mention all the great carnivals going on each week.

The Carnival of Homeschooling is going on at Tami’s Blog this week. It is the 82nd edition already. I can’t believe how long this carnival has been running! And don’t forget to get submissions in for next week’s carnival which will be right here at Mom Is Teaching.

The 8th Edition of the Country Fair is up already and full of great posts.

The Carnival of Family Life is up this week at The So Called Me.

The Carnival of SAHMs, that’s stay at home moms, is up over at Wired For Noise.

This Friday the Carnival Against Child Abuse will be up at Wired For Noise. Wednesday is the last day to enter a post, the theme is Freedom From Child Abuse.

blog carnivals, blogging

When I wrote yesterday about negative peer pressure and homeschooling I didn’t expect to get such great responses. The Homeschool Blog asked can or should we protect our kids and answered the question wonderfully.

We can’t expect to be able to protect them completely from the negative parts of the world they live in. But we can be there with them when they encounter these things, we can guide them through the negativity, and we can give them the tools to help them learn how to move through it on thier own when they are old enough.

How do you feel about protecting our children while homeschooling? I’d love to hear more of your opinions.

homeschooling, children, parenting

It’s been talked about before, the theory that homeschooling will help parents steer their children away from negative examples that they may find in public schools. Despite some who are anti-homeschooling arguing that this is sticking out kids in a bubble, many homeschoolers feel that this is allowing children to mature at their own pace without being pressed by peers to go too far too fast.

But are there some areas of negative influence that homeschooling, or any kind of parenting, just can’t fight?

Denise from Fast times @ Homeschool High wrote an amzing article for BlogHer called Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters. It is a review of the book which is a powerful read of mothers and daughters and the negative body image that can drive them to the edge. What stuck out was a comment Denise left in response to another comment:

And I can understand how you feel when people say they are “bad” for eating something like a bagel. Totally get that - and agree and understand. I my children would never say it - but they do, my oldest daughter says it a lot. I have no idea where she picked it up ’cause she’s certainly never heard me say it.

Of course Denise is dealing with teenagers who are certainly more capable of picking up things from the world around them than younger children. But it made me wonder if homeschooling can really combat some of the negative things in the world we don’t want our children exposed to too soon. Even away from the peer pressure in schools, the social pressure for women to be thin and beautiful beyond reality is everywhere.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think there are just some thigns that will creep in no matter how we guard our children? Is that necessarily a bad thing?

socialization, negative influences, peer pressure, homeschool

Every year many states offer a tax-free shopping period just before school starts. You can buy school supplies, books, even clothing without worring about paying taxes. That can be a lifesaver, especially if you’re spending $100 or more in school supplies. Even homeschoolers can enjoy this tax-free shopping experience.

To find out if your state is hosting a tax free shopping weekend and to find out when read here, Sales Tax Takes a Holiday

shopping, school, school supplies, tax

The Fairly Odd Mother has given me with the Rockin’ Girl Blogger award. Not to get my head too puffed up or anything, but I do rock. OK, you can stop laughing now.

So now I get to nominate 5 other rockin’ chicks to pass this award on to.

1. First I’m sending this award out to Christine over at Welcome to my brain. Super cool hippie chick, homeschooling mom of three, breaastfeeding supporter, and “one of the funkiest pastor’s wives on the planet”. Yes, she certainly is.

2. Trish over at Tiny Grass. Yes, you rock. She has ducks people. Ducks! And they’re planning to move to Cosata Rica. And she’s just too cool. Yes, her husband blogs there too. But sorry Arp, this is for Girl’s Only.

3. Kim from Relaxed Homeskool. She’s one of the funnest unschoolers I read online. And she is the author of my favorite statement, “Homeschooling is for punks“.

4. L over at Osgiliath Is Overrun. She quotes LOTR, has the most beautiful garden, and her kids are adorable. She’s definitely a rockin’ girl blogger.

5. Candice from Our Life, Our Adventures. She makes me wish I could move to Portland. She has beautiful daughters with the most beautiful names, and is one of those funky unschoolers that I just adore. Plus she’s the Queen of Procrastination, which is a lovely place to visit. Trust me, I keep a summer home there.

So there are who I am passing this award off to. Take it and run with it, jsut remember to nominate five more bloggers of your own. Thanks everyone, you rock.

The Friday question for homeschoolers dealt with using tutors while homeschooling. As everyone commented, using a tutor can be a valuable tool for helping your children understand tricky subjects.

However Tammy pointed out one important thing to remember when using tutors.

Unfortunately, tutoring companies are businesses. They may do a great job in helping kids, but they also have a high interest in convincing people that they need tutors when they really don’t.

Also, some tutors are expensive. It’s rare that a tutor is the only possible way to learn something. So it’s important to look at all the possibilities before jumping on the tutoring bandwagon.

homeschooling, tutoring, education

This week’s question for homeschoolers I’m almost fairly certain was asked by a spammer. The email address and website given were fake and in the comment there were a number of links to various sites. But because the question outside of the spam linking is fairly interesting I’m going to allow it.

What role do private tutoring companies play in home schooling? There are a number of companies offering unlimited tutoring for under $100 per month. I’ve come across a number of online tutoring websites. Has anyone prepared a comparison of the various companies (pricing, quality, etc.)?

How do you feel about private tutoring in homeschooling? What instances would you say yes, or no? How about to the new homeschooler who is worried about teaching everything?

homeschool, tutoring, private tutoring, tutor, question for homeschoolers

This interesting title is all I could thinkof after reading Dana discuss an article on homeschoolers in Palm Beach Post. The post is about a mother in West Palm Beach who discovered that there were several books in the libraries of the local high schools that she finds objectional. Books on topics that she finds frightening I would actually encourage my children to read. To each their own, right? Apparently not.

This is why there is home schooling. Home schooling is a wonderful form of school choice. It allows parents lots of elbow room to create parallel universes, worlds of their own making inside the comfort of their own homes, where there never shall cross a fragment from the outside world that hasn’t been purified through the crucible of their own narrow beliefs.

It’s a safety net for the intolerant.

I could go into the rant of painting all homeschoolers with such a broad brush. We all know that not all homeschoolers fit into this neat little package that is so often displayed as being “what homeschoolers are”. I could also get into the hypocrosy of someone talking about books that “open up minds, present ideas, and create, rather than stifle, discussion” following up by closing his own mind about an entire group based on an assumption. But no, what bothers me the most is intoleracne towards homeschoolers while simultaneously calling homeschoolers intolerant. This certainly isn’t the first time this has put put out there, and I’m sure it won’t be the last either.

Some of you might already know about the HomeschoolEstore. It is a great online store where you can buy lesson plans, books, and more in pdf format. The benefits of buying Ebooks is that you can print off as many copies as you need right from your computer, save the books to a disc and take them with you, and you never need to worry about wasting paper on pages that you don’t need. Not to mention you don’t have to pay for shipping.

Well the HomeschoolEstore is have a contest right now. They are looking for someone to give them the perfect new name. Sounds easy, but there is a catch. Since they are an online store the name has to be able to be used as their new URL also. The name must be a .com and must be name that is available. That adds a definite challenge to the contest. You have to find a great name, that is available for a web address, and must be a .com. All entries must be e-mailed to us by September 3rd, 2007 and the winner will be announced on October 1st, 2007. The winner will receive their choice of $200 cash or $300 store credit. 2nd-10th place winners will also be selected and receive a $20 credit.

If you are interested simple go to the

HomeschoolEstore’s contest page

to read the contest rules and submit your name suggestion. Good luck!