Homeschooling

Make this cute Valentine's Day Wreath with your children to celebrate Valentine's Day. We used this wreath to decorate for a Homeschool 'Mom's Night Out' Valentine's Day Party. It's not too late to make one for your own Valentine's Day celebration.

• Valentine's Day Printables
• Printable Valentine's Day Cards
• Printable Valentine's Day Coupon Book for Kids
• Valentine's Day Poetry by Homeschoolers
• Valentine's Day Fun
• Valentine's Day Quiz

Meals and Moms is a Meal Exchange Group that I've been participating in for the last month through our local homechool support group. On Monday mornings, we meet together and exchange meals that we've prepped to provide dinner for our families for the week. Our group is called "Meals and Moms" or "M&Ms", for short. Learn how the group works, see some sample meals, and learn how to start a group with your own circle of friends.

The theme for the 2012 Doodle 4 Google Contest is "If I could travel in time, I'd visit..." Homeschooled students are invited to participate in the competition to create a new design for the Google homepage logo centered around this year's theme.

The doodles will be judged on artistic merit, creativity, representation of the theme, and other criteria.

Past Homeschool Winners:

• Homeschooler Hannah Newsom, of Glenwood Homeschool in Fayetteville, Arkansas, won the Grades 10-12 division in the 2011 contest for her storybook artist-themed "Illustration."
• Homeschooler Vance Viggiano of Heritage Home School Academy in Long Valley, New Jersey, won the Grades 7-9 division in the 2010 contest with his "The Love of Art" entry.

Remember...If you don't enter, you can't win!

Shadow or no shadow? Punxsutawney Phil? Candlemas Day? How much do you know about Groundhog Day? Learn all about groundhogs and Groundhog Day with these fun printables, activities and quiz. This cute Groundhog Cupcake was given to my husband at work today to celebrate Groundhog Day. What fun!

• Play a game of Flashlight Tag - you only need a dark room and a flashlight.
• Make shadow puppets on the wall. Can your shadow puppets play tag?
• Play Groundhog Day Tic-Tac-Toe included in the printables. Will it be three shadows in a row or no shadows?

G'Day, mate. Care for a lolly? We enjoyed lollies today during our study of Australia. The kids got a kick out of learning some Aussie lingo. Australia Day is celebrated on January 26th each year to honor the day that Captain Arthur Phillip landed at Port Jackson and claimed Australia for the British.

• Australia Printables
• Aussie Lingo Printables

This weeks Homeschooling Carnival is up over at janice-campbell.com. Janice shares a wintery theme with the submissions. Enjoy your visit with Janice and other homeschool bloggers.

The next carnival will be hosted at Amy Bayliss. Send in your submissions by Monday at 6 p.m.

I received the cutest email obviously from a student in distress:

"I go to school, but do you think you can can homeschool me online by sending me email messages and I will send them back...please, please please, please, please."

My response:

"I wish I could homeschool you, but that's not how it works. Your parents do the homeschooling. You should talk to your parents if you'd like to be homeschooled. I don't know your situation, but one parent would have to be home and do the teaching.

If homeschooling doesn't work out, let me encourage you to do your best in school. I know it's hard to imagine now, but honestly, your life will be better later on if you do what you need to do now. Even if you have to stay in school, talk to your parents and share your concerns and frustrations with them. I'm sure they love you and would welcome the chance to help you do well.

Good luck to you. Let me know what happens."

I enjoy hearing from students. I really would homeschool this child if I could, but homeschooling other people's children falls under tutoring and not homeschooling and is a whole different ballgame legally. Each state has laws governing homeschooling and tutoring, so if you wanted to do something like this, you'd have to check the laws for your state.

Do you homeschool other people's children? What requirements do you have to fulfill to do so legally in your state? How does this work for you and for the students? Share your story.

I am excited to announce the 2012 About.com Homeschooling Readers' Choice Awards. The Readers' Choice Awards showcase the best products, features and services in dozens of categories across all of About.com. Although the Readers' Choice Awards Competition is in its 5th year, this is the first year that the About.com Homeschooling Site will be participating!

Starting at 12:00 A.M. EST on January 18, 2012, I will be accepting nominations in the following categories:

• Best Homeschooling Blog
• Best Mobile App for Homeschoolers
• Best Homeschool History Resource
• Best Homeschool Math Resource
• Best Homeschool Phonics Resource
• Best Homeschool Science Resource

Nominations will be accepted from January 18, 2012, until February 15, 2012. Readers are free to nominate their favorites (even their own product or site) and encouraged to promote the Readers' Choice Awards to their community.

Voting will take place from February 22 through March 21 with winners announced March 30, 2012. There's no prize -- just the bragging rights that come with getting recognized by the readers of one of the biggest networks on the web. Finalists and winners will receive a badge that they can place on their website and use in other promotional material.

If you're not already a subscriber, sign up for About.com Homeschooling newsletter and receive ongoing updates about this year's Readers' Choice Awards.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. He was a charismatic civil rights leader and Baptist minister who campaigned against the segregation of African Americans. It was the 1963 March on Washington where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Because his birthday is so close to the holiday season, we celebrate it on the 3rd Monday in January. This move was made to help the holiday get approved. Learn more with these Martin Luther King Printables.

The 2012 Printable Coloring Calendars are up and ready for your use. As a special gift to grandparents, one homeschooling family printed the calendars, had the children color them, and then personalized the calendars with birth dates. I love the idea!

For more calendar fun, don't miss the Monthly Fundays Calendars with worksheets and coloring pages for each day of the month. Learn about the Golden Gate Bridge in January, Albert Einstein in March and Killer Bees in June.

Jenny B. Harris is a children's illustrator that does amazing work!. Learn how she got started, see her work in her portfolio and follow her work throughout the year by reading her blog. But here's the best part...She has some fun activities for your kids and some cute coloring pages.

• Children's Authors
• Bookworm's Delight Printables
• Let's Play Library

Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the re-dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 165 BC. Hanukkah 2011 runs from sundown on December 2oth through sundown on December 28th. Learn all about Hanukkah with these fun printable pages.

• Hanukkah Printables
• More Hanukkah fun
• What Is Hanukkah? by Ariela Pelaia, About.com Guide to Judaism

Karyn of Teach Beside Me is a new host for the Carnival of Homeschooling. The 311th Edition features some interesting posts and nice pictures from homeschooling families. Enjoy!

The next carnival will be hosted at Holy Spirit-Led Homeschooling,. Submissions are due by Monday at 6 p.m. I look forward to reading your submissions.

Carnival of Homeschooling Schedule

On the 1st day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... A Partridge in a Pear Tree

The origin and counting of the twelve days of Christmas is confusing and depending on which tradition you follow, the counting either leads up to Christmas or begins at Christmas and ends at the beginning of Epiphany. The meaning behind the song is also quite controversial and quite interesting. I'll leave you to do your own research and come up with your own conclusions.

Back to the calendar side, if you're in the first camp, the first day of Christmas would be December 14th, but the second camp would be December 26th. According to Scott Richert, About.com Guide to Catholicism, the 12 Days of Christmas begins on Christmas Day and ends on Epiphany. The period before that is Advent, the time of preparation for Christmas.

Getting the lyrics right is also a challenge, especially when singing with a big group and usually brings a lot of laughter. These printable worksheets and coloring book will help your children learn the lyrics.

The Christmas season is a very busy time of year. All the hustle and bustle of shopping, decorating, baking and even traveling can be a strain on the family. Here are more sets of Christmas printables to help make it a special time for your family.

In my research for June holidays, I learned about the invention of shopping carts. It reminded me of the free printable pretend play kits that make inexpensive gifts for kids to give to their friends. Print the kits on colored paper or cardstock, place in a folder and add a few additional props to round out the gift. There are suggestions included for props included with each kit.

• Let's Play Restaurant
• Let's Play Library
• Let's Play Store

Class Dismissed is a homeschool film in production by three homeschool dads. It will be a full length documentary on homeschooling. Their aim is to educate the general public about homeschooling by following a family as they make the decision to homeschool. This isn't a low-quality project either, the director is a senior editor for Lucas Films in San Francisco and the co-director is an award-winning filmmaker in Seattle. Read more...

Here's an easy project to do with your children this holiday season. Pam Rodriguez shared her ornaments and the instructions so you can make them too. Pam has received many compliments on the ornaments. They would make a nice give for grandparents too!

You too can show off your recipes and projects from the Advent Calendar or any other Christmas projects you do with your children.

Christmas time is a busy time for homeschoolers, but a fun time to do projects and baking with our children. Show off your recipes and projects from the Advent Calendar or any Christmas projects you do together.

My granddaughter made the Treasure Bottle with red sand and Christmas themed treasures inside. These are fun and easy for the kids to make. They make a nice gift or party favor.

If you make the Graham Cracker Gingerbread House or any other project, take a picture and show it off.

An advent calendar contains reminders each day that Christmas is coming. Advent is a term from the Latin word adventur which means arrival. Here is an online Advent Calendar for kids filled with activities for you to countdown to Christmas while you're waiting for the big day.

Begin your homeschool day with the activities from the Advent Calendar - recipes, crafts, games and lots more fun things to do! Enjoy!

Related Resources:

• Top Advent Calendars for Kids
• Educational Toy and Gift Guide
• December Fundays Calendar
• Printable December Coloring Calendar

There are new blog posts, articles and updates added to the homeschooling site all month long. Here's a wrap-up for November including reader submissions to different topics.

New Articles and Features:

• May Holidays and Events, May 16th - 31st
• Thanksgiving Studies and Activities
• The Spanish Armada Coloring Page
• Pogo Sticks Coloring Page
• Hand Print Turkey Craft

New Blog Posts:

• From the mailbag: November Kindness Calendar
• Homeschoolers Respond, Recap #6
• Carnival of Homeschooling: The Quotes to Ponder Edition
• Veterans Day 11/11/11
• Thanksgiving Studies and Activities
• Pogo Sticks and Physical Education
• Thanksgiving Hand Print Turkey Craft
• Advent Calendar - Countdown to Christmas

Updated Articles and Features:

• December 2011 Fundays Calendar
• Celebrate Thanksgiving Day

New Reader Stories:

• Charlotte Mason Method
• Does your family support homeschooling?
• What is your stance on socialization?
• Ideas for Teaching Fractions
• Why did you decide to homeschool?
• How do you keep your sanity?

Make this Hand Print Turkey Craft with your children this Thanksgiving season. We made these in our homeschool group years ago. This one was made by my son when he was young, but I failed to date it...so be sure to date it! They'll love displaying it on Thanksgiving Day or giving it as a Thanksgiving card to a relative.

Don't miss these other Thanksgiving Studies and Activities. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Did you know that Pogo Sticks were first patented in 1919 by George Hansburg? I discovered this in doing my research for May Holidays since Hansburg's improved Pogo Stick patent was awarded on May 21, 1957.

Jumping with a pogo stick is good exercise and is another fun way to meet the physical education requirements in homeschooling. Here's a list of Homeschool Physical Education Ideas for getting your kids active and moving. Challenge your friends to see who can do the most jumps.

• Homeschool Physical Education Ideas
• Physical Education Record Keeping Form

The American Thanksgiving holiday began as a feast of thanksgiving in the early days of the American colonies almost four hundred years ago. Add these Thanksgiving Studies and Activities to your homeschool day.

• Thanksgiving Printables
• The First Thanksgiving
• Celebrate Thanksgiving Day - with wordsearch and quiz.
• Pumpkin Spice Cake
• Classic Apple Pie
• Thanksgiving Fun - crafts, recipes, games and more.
• Thanksgiving Poetry

Precisely at 11:00 a.m. on November 11th each year, a wreath is laid at the Tomb of the Unknowns marking the beginning of the Veterans Day Ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery. Veterans Day is a day to honor and show our gratitude to all those who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

• Veterans Day Printables
• History and Origin of Veterans Day
• Tomb of the Unknowns Coloring Page
• Arlington Cemetery and Tomb of the Unknowns

Image courtesy U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

This weeks Homeschooling Carnival is up over at the Under the Golden Apple Tree. Richele includes many quotes to ponder throughout the carnival. Enjoy your visit with Under the Golden Apple Tree and other homeschool bloggers.

The next carnival will be hosted by Homeschool Dad. Submissions are due by Monday at 6 p.m. I look forward to reading your submissions.