Mom Is Teaching

I’m a PC gal myself, but I’m leaning a little more towards Mac after finding this great little tidbit. Visit the Apple website and get a little recognition for doing what you do.

Homeschooling has grown significantly over the past several years, with current estimates of up to 2.2 million homeschooled students. At Apple, we have focused on building technology solutions for education for over 25 years. And now, recognizing the growing demand of homeschoolers, we are making the full range of Apple’s educational products and solutions available to homeschools.

An extra treat: buy a Mac with an educator’s account and get a free iPod. Sweet! This deal is going on until September 15th so hurry and grab one now.

Side note, I was alerted to this from Gordon Vaughan on Twitter. See, another good reason to join in the fun. Come join me on Twitter.

Apple, Mac, iPod, home education

I had planned to mention this last week but it slipped my mind. Beverly of the About Homeschooling Guide is starting the Summer Reading Club up again for 2008. The goal is to have your kids read at least 500 pages this summer. That may seem like a lot, but books can quickly add up to that much and more.

The reading club officially started on May 30th but you have until August 31st to get your list in. All you have to do is track the books your child reads over the summer and the number of pages for each book, then add them all up for your grand total. Send in the list plus $1 to cover postage and your children will receive a certificate, stickers, and a prize in the mail.

Don’t forget to visit the sign up page first to make sure that your kids are all signed up and ready to read. My oldest got pretty wide eyed at the thought of getting stickers for books. Stickers! I’m not sure that we will reach 500 pages since he is still reading very short books, but if we don’t make it I will probably buy him those dinosaur stickers he keeps drooling over at the store. He’s easy to please.

If you haven’t checked it out yet Kate has a list up of other reading programs for the summer that your kids can join in. If anyone knows of any other let me know and I’ll add them to the bottom of this post.

reading, books, reading program, home education

Happy Mother’s Day to all you fabulous moms out there. Here’s a special tribute to you. The Mother’s Day Proclamation was issued in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe, one of the three founders of modern Mother’s Day. Learn more about it here.

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:
“We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: “Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace. …

Mother’s Day

Just a note to let everyone know that I will be hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling right here on May 13th. Hurry and get your posts in so I can share them with the world!

There is a great contest going on over at Type-A Mom going on right now that I thought some of you might be interested in. The contest is in celebration of their 1 year anniversary and the prizes being handed out are amazing. There are over $400 worth of goodies that you can win. Enter between May 5th and June 5th for your chance to win. Just visit the Supercool Supermom Contest page to see what is being given away and how you can win.  Good luck!

contest, giveaway

This week has 3 events going on. it’s TV Turnoff Week, Earth Day is tomorrow, and this week is the Bloggy Giveaway. I thought I would combine the three and offer a prize for the giveaway that parents can use to entertain their kids without a TV and be more environmentally friendly.

This week I am offering two books to one lucky winner.

D.I.Y.: Kids
D.I.Y. Kids encourages young readers to use basic design principles and on-hand materials to express their individuality through more than eighty imaginative projects. The book is divided into four sections—Graphics, Toys, Home, and Fashion—each packed with ideas for making fun and useful items, including step-by-step instructions and colorful photographs of cool designs and the kids who made them.

D.I.Y. Kids is designed to trigger imaginative play, it’s for parents, teachers, aunts and uncles, friends and babysitters, neighbors and citizens—anyone who wants to create a better world not only for, but also with, the next generation. Ellen Lupton is a curator of contemporary design at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and the director of the graphic design MFA program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She is the author of numerous books, including D.I.Y. Design It Yourself and Thinking with Type. She received a Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement from the AIGA in 2007.

Recycled Crafts Box

Gr. 3-7. Much more than just a craft book, this title includes a brief history of trash–illustrated in a colorful “trash timeline”–that shows how the invention of disposable products and packaging has created increasing waste. Another diagram shows the “anatomy of a landfill.” Organized into sections based on common recyclable materials (paper, plastic, metal, fabric), the easy-to-follow, mostly appealing projects include a “Fancy Foil Fish” aluminum mobile, paper jewelry, and milk-carton castles. Each section has useful information about the material being used, such as a chart that deciphers the codes used in various plastic products. Throughout, Martin makes suggestions for “living lightly” on Earth, although in many cases (purchasing choices, for example), kids will have to pass on the tips to their parents. Illustrated with cheerful cartoon drawings and color photos of the finished projects, and bolstered by many resource lists, this is a surprisingly attractive, substantive offering that is just the thing for teachers planning Earth Day activities.

If you want to win both of these great books here is all you have to do. Leave a comment on this post between April 21-25. If you share a fun activity that your kids love to do without the TV or that’s eco-friendly your comment will count twice.

I got this note in my email and wanted to pass it on.

You can get Oprah’s favorite Barefoot book for FREE through the end of April when you place an order online.

Place an order today and as a thank you, receive a free Whole World Mini Edition ($9.99 value) - featured on Oprah’s O List!

Order Now

I love Barefoot Books, they have some of my favorite children’s books. Check them out and see what books you fall in love with.

books, free book

If you haven’t heard yet next week Dana will be celebrating Home Education Week. If you would like to join the fun head over to her site where she has daily prompts for anyone who wants to write on.

Looking Back Sunday, March 30

Share your personal history…before you were a home educator. What was life like? Think about things you miss and things you and your family have gained.

Profiling Home Educators Monday, March 31

Describe yourself, your family or one of your children. What is it like to be home educated in your family? What is “normal” for you?

April Fool’s! Tuesday, April 1

And we have likely all felt the fool in one way or another. Share your greatest challenge. Or one of those terrible, horrible no good, very bad days where the only thing there is to do seems to involve moving to Australia.

Recipe for Success Wednesday, April 2

It is also National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day! So share a recipe…figuratively, as in two parts love, one part creativity, or literally, as in a super quick, nutritious meal your kids scarf up. Think about what you do in the day, what helps keep it organized and you sane (or how you got past that need for organization and saneness!), and curriculum materials you find effective.

Show and Tell Thursday, April 3

Show off those talents. Share a story, a special moment, a piece of artwork. Any accomplishment, great or small, is fair game.

In Their Own Words Friday, April 4

Share your children’s home education experience in their own words. What have they said about their education? What are their likes and dislikes? Share some stories, some quotes, or turn your blog over to your children for the day.

Looking Forward Saturday, April 5

What are your goals for home education? What do you hope to instill in your children? Are you planning any changes to how you educate your children?

home school, homeschool, home education, home education week

Oak Meadow has an annual Spring Sale on their curriculum packages and on enrollment in there program. If you are thinking abut using them for your children the sale has begun today and lasts until June 30th.

The following items are 20% off
Pre-K through 8th grade curricula (printed & online)
K-8 teacher manuals

The following items are 10% off
Enrollments
High school Curriculum
K - 8 craft kits

home school, curriculum, sale, Spring

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

For those homeschoolers who are not fans of the Carnival of Homeschooling but not interested in Unschooling Voices, Doc has decided to restart her Country Fair. She has a question up now asking about the fate of this fun homeschooling get together so be sure to click over and add your thoughts.

blogging, blog carnivals, homeschooling

I found this posted by COD and thought it was worth mentioning.

Most homeschoolers know of, and probably laughed with, the Bitter Homeschooler’s Wish list. It’s a hilarious list of all the things that many of us wish we could say to the people who ask insulting, and idiotic, questions as soon as thy find out you are a homeschooler. There are some people in the world with absolutely no edit button in their mind that prevents them from saying what they are thinking, especially when it comes to a subject outside their preconceived norm.

Which is why this list became a huge sensation as soon as it was published. The list spread like wildfire across chat rooms, message boards, in emails, and posted on blogs. I had seen it a dozen times, uncredited, before sniffing out the source for it. It is something I myself shared here, though with links back to the original source.

That said, if the name Deborah Markus fails to ring any bells you should probably read this. She is the often ignored original writer of the Bitter Homeschooler’s Wish List. A woman whose name is too often left off in the thousands of times her genius list is passed around. And frankly, she’s pretty mad about it.

(more…)

In case you haven’t seen it yet the winner of the Laurel Springs Distance Learning program video contest has been announced. You can check out all of the winners here.

The theme was to show why homeschooling is cool. This 13 year old hit the nail on the head. Not only does it show why homeschooling is cool, it also gives a slight nudge to the naysayers who think homeschoolers live in a bubble.

homeschooling, video contest, Laurel Springs

I am extremely excited with how many people visited here to win my homeschooling packages. The numbers were amazing! Hopefully some of those visitors decided to stick around and see what else I have to offer here. Maybe even subscribe to the feed and keep up with my ramblings.

OK, so I know you’re dying to know who the winners are. I won’t keep you in suspence any longer!

Package #1 - PreK/Kindergarden
The winner is….. Carrie @ Three-Girl Circus!

Package #2 - 1st/2nd Grade
The winner is….. Mo (Un-Mainstream Mom)!

They will both be receiving emails from me shortly. Congrats to both of the winners!