Carnival of Homeschooling, Celebrating Life

~ In Memory of Precious Little Wren ~

I was all set to do a St. Patrick's Day themed carnival, but the events of the week have changed my mind. As I am on the other side of raising my kids, I am so thankful to have had the privilege of raising them and more so to be actively involved in the lives of my grandchildren. We take so much for granted, especially life itself.

A week ago today, a precious little baby boy was born to my son's boss and his wife, their first born child. A mere 6 hours later, sweet little Wren breathed his last breath. We don't know why. My heart breaks for this young couple. It was hard on my son and his wife to attend the services, especially since they're expecting a baby too.

As we mourn the loss of precious little Wren, whom we never met, we reflect on our own precious children and grandchildren. I am so thankful for each and every one of them. I can't imagine life without them. I've invited them to tag along to the carnival so you can meet them. As you meet my grandchildren today, I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on the precious children in your life. Leave a comment and share what's special about each of your children.

Meet the Huy Family

My oldest daughter, Julee is married to Tony Huy. They have 5 children and are expecting their 6th next month, another girl to be named Hosanna.

Our first stop at the carnival is to Boarding in Bedlam. In The Carnival of Anti-homeschooling, Arby takes a look at what non-homeschoolers have to say about our practice.

As home educators, we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that we are not providing everything that our children really "need". Tiana Krenz reflects on What Kids Really Need posted at God Made, Home Grown.

In Chronicle of a Struggling Learner, Carrie of The Homeschool Regel outlines the reasons one mom opted for homeschooling and how she hopes to approach it with her struggling learner.

Meet Timothy, age 11: Timothy is my oldest grandchild. He's very smart and strong in Math like his father. He loves to play video games, ride his skateboard, and get away with whatever he can.

Alasandra presents Homeschool Report Finds: 80% were homeschooling for non-religious reasons posted at Alasandra's Homeschool Blog. She says, "A poorly written and researched AP article Top Homeschool Text Dismiss Evolution spread across the Internet like wildfire bringing the anti-homeschoolers out in droves."

In Of Ending the School Year, Taking Exams and Lessons Learned, Michelle wrote about the end of the school year this March, about her fear of letting my children take the annual exam to measure their learning, and what lesson has struck her the most about teaching her children.

Sally of Diamonds in the Rough presents How to Compose "Music" in Your Homeschool. Songwriter David Nevue has written a nice piece of advice about how to compose music. Interestingly enough, his advice is also perfectly suited to composing a successful homeschool!

Meet Katie Ann, age 9: Katie Ann is my oldest granddaughter. Katie Ann loves to draw and write. She wants to be an author illustrator. She loves to sew and do crafts.

In Homeschooling is Cool - Even when Being a Parent Stinks, Nolo Promittere talks about teaching your children to apologize - by modeling it yourself. (One baby preying mantis was hurt in the production of this post - but it was by accident).

Ellen Crain presents Homeschooling Resources to teach evolution posted at HomeschoolRecess. The AP's article motivated her to really dig, and she found some resources to share.

Denise presents Game: Target Number (or 24) posted at Let's Play Math!. She shares a card game to teach elementary and middle school math concepts: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, powers and roots, factorial, mental math, multi-step thinking.

Meet Josiah, age 7: Josiah is currently the middle child in his family. He has always loved music and dancing. He loves to make people laugh.

Pamela presents All Kinds of Family at Blah, Blah, Blog. She talks about the different family relations in her life, concluding that her most precious family, of course, is the group she created when she had children.

In Singing From the Inside Out, Laura Weldon shares how experiential learning and doing good for others brought remarkable success for homeschooled singer-songwriter Brett Dennen.

Nak of Sage Parnassus presents Saint Patrick's Day: A Riddle, a Pot and a Book.

Meet Nathan, age 4: Nathan is a character. His autism makes life interesting, but he is doing well. He's very bright, good at math and learning to read pretty easily. He loves playing Mario Brothers.

In her post, Teen Slacker Mentality and Phony Homeschool Moms, ChristineMM of The Thinking Mother discusses parenting teenagers, slacker attitudes and makes a plea to other homeschooling mothers.

Dolfin of Lionden Landing says, "We are Laying Down the Rails of good habits as we begin our Journey into the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education."

Sarah presents a fun creative writing lesson, SmallWorld's WordSmithery: Lesson 9: Poetry Collage posted at SmallWorld.

Meet Maury, age 3: Maury is the baby of his family, but soon to be booted from his position. He is a total clown and jokingly has been deemed, "unteachable." If he went to traditional school, he would be the class clown. He has a lot of allergies, so laughter is probably good.

Wendy Piersall presents Spring Kids Poems posted at Classroom Jr.. These are cute printable kids poems about everyone's favorite time of year - spring!

In Tips For Gardening With Young Children posted at Parenting Squad, Rhonda Franz says gardening is a great activity for the family, and an ideal learning opportunity for children.

Amy at Hope Is the Word presents Read Aloud Thursday - St. Patrick's Day Edition highlighting St. Patrick's Day books.

Meet the Jacobs Family

My second daughter, Jessica is married to Eric Jacobs. They have two children and are hoping to have one or two more someday.

Beth is in the process of planning their first homeschool prom is blogging about the process. Pick up some tips in How to Plan a Homeschool Prom posted at Learning Together.

Lara DeHaven presents Art for Homeschool posted at Texas Homesteader. She shares how in trying to stay connected with her grandchildren, her mother developed an entire series of art lessons called "The Elements of Art."

In Boys and Girls Are Different. Really. posted at The Common Room DeputyHeadmistress explores the physiological and neurological differences between boys and girls, and what this might mean for homeschooling.

Meet Alissa, age 3: When Alissa was born, I described her as wirey in the first half hour. She hasn't changed. She's a ball of fire. She loves to play. She's always active and has to be doing something, much like her mother.

Kristie addresses the old socialization question in Homeschool vs Socialization posted at This Side of Eternity.

Lynn is getting ready for spring and Nature Studies posted at Eclectic Education - Homeschool Blogger.

KimC presents 4 Moms, 35 Kids: the schedule posted at Life In a Shoe. This is the first post in a weekly collaborative blogging project by 4 moms with a total of 35 kids.

Meet Anthony, age 1: Anthony is the quiet one, like his father. He's very cute. He has a precious smile. Since he was born on April Fools Day, I expect him to make us laugh as he grows older.

Call your congressman and say NO! urges Katherine of No fighting, no biting!. In the 2000 page "health care" bill are home visits targeting homeschoolers and military families among others. The last thing I need is some do-gooder with an agenda sticking their nose in my home telling me how to raise my kids. One more step toward losing our liberty.

We're starting to get questions about where our kids will go to college or what's planned after 'high school'. Instead of graduation as a completion of schooling, consider it the start of self-directed learning which should continue until death. Instead of college, here's our plan. From Mark at Every Good Path.

Susan Anadale presents Renewing Hope posted at Homeschooling Hearts and Minds. It's easy to lose sight of the big picture when you put all your energy and concentration on little things that, taken by themselves are really inconsequential.

Meet the Hernandez Family

My son, Josh, is married to Heidi. They have one daughter and are expecting their second child in September. They are both carriers of the Cystic Fibrosis gene. Their first child is not affected by the disease. We pray it will be the same with their new baby.

In A School by Any Other Name posted at Home School Dad, Dave Roller takes a funny look at possible alternative names for their home school.

Linda Dobson presents National Curriculum Coming to a School Near You! posted at Parent at the Helm. Linda says, "Parents need to look beyond the rhetoric of supporters and their promises and ponder why such a degree of control over children's minds is desired at the national level." She urges parent to please visit the site, read the standards and provide feedback in the remote possibility it isn't too late.

Jenny of Home is Where You Start From shares about Viking studies with young students. They jump into a study of the Viking people using Sonlight History materials, ending the week with measuring out the dimensions of a viking ship.

Meet Alexis, age 1 1/2: Alexis is a joy. She's another quiet one. She loves to tease me, coming to me but turning and running before I pick her up. She loves to play and laugh.

Susan presents Is anyone else ready to homeschool their children? posted at Corn and Oil. She says you don't need the building if you've made the informed choice to walk away.

Homeschool Stereotypes abound, but sometimes the stereotypes go both ways. Read this amusing post by A Family Runs Through It.

Mitch Smith presents 5 Free Online Web Apps to Help with Lesson Planning posted at Online Teacher Certification.

That concludes this weeks edition of the carnival. Give your kids a hug today and share in the comments how they are special to you.

If you enjoyed this week's Carnival of Homeschooling, spread the word! Next week, the carnival will be held at HomeGrownMommy.com. Join the fun, submit your post.