Carnival of Homeschooling: The NaNoWriMo Edition
November is National Novel Writing Month. Janice structured this week's carnival, the NaNoWriMo Edition, like the sections of a book.
The next carnival will be hosted at As For My House. Submissions are due by Monday at 6 p.m. I look forward to reading your submissions.
Homeschoolers Respond - Recap
Whenever two or more homeschoolers get together, just mention something about homeschooling and the conversation is off and running. Homeschoolers are notorious for supporting each other and helping each other succeed. Get involved with the conversation by visiting the Homeschooling Forum, by joining in the ever-popular blog comments, and now by sharing stories and tips about homeschooling. Enjoy these reader interaction links, then "share your stories and tips" too!
- Supportive Family?
Support came eventually
My parents weren't sure at first about us homeschooling the kids. "Public school was good enough for you" was their comment. Looking back, public school wasn't good enough for me... - Nature Journals
Gathered free seeds and lessons
This year we asked all if we could collect seeds from their yards and pots...with a camera and baggies. We took pictures for the journals, collected flower heads, note book as we went along to gather information... - Upper Level Books
Montooth and the Canfield Witch
My 13 year old daughter and 15 year old son call this the "coolest" book ever. Lots of action but a challenging vocabulary... - Why Homeschool
Adopted
We adopted our two daughters several years ago and after some time in private school... - Socialization
Au contraire!
Our experience has been that there will be families in this world that socialize and those who don't. It is not a matter of whether their kids go to school or not... - Charlotte Mason
We Love CM
There is no doubt that the CM method was the right fit for our family. I can only explain it as a feeling of solidity, tangibility...
Carnival of Homeschooling: Saving Time Edition
The Informed Parent hosts this week's Carnival of Homeschooling. Mary talks about Saving Time and reflects on the many hours she has enjoyed with her children over the years thanks to homeschooling.
The next carnival will be hosted at Janice Campbell - Taking Time For Things That Matter. Submissions are due by Monday at 6 p.m. I look forward to reading your submissions.
Benton County Fair
Wendy shares about the Benton County Fair and the highlights of their field trip.
"This is a field trip for all ages. There are butterfly exhibits, livestock judging, a petting zoo, carnival games and rides, inflatable jumpables."
Read about their trip and find out what her kids enjoyed the most.
Share your local field trip experiences and help others as they follow in your footsteps. You can also share a picture or two of your experience. Choose your state from the list and share about your trip.
More about Arkansas:
Impromptu Pumpkin Craft
1 cookie cutter, 2 sheets of craft foam and some school glue provides an hour of fun and cute jack-o-lanterns for children of all ages.
The value of homeschooling
I'm on a 12 day trip with my parents visiting relatives from Texas to Tennessee so I've spent a lot of time with them in the recent days. The other night, my dad said that he felt that my grandkids (his great grandkids) have a better chance of turning out okay since they're being homeschooled. I was floored when he said that. He has never verbally supported homeschooling in all the years I was homeschooling my children. But over the years, he's personally seen the value in homeschooling. We never really talked about homeschooling while my kids were young. He knew I was doing it, but we never really had a conversation about it.
Back in September, 2009, I asked in a blog post if your family was supportive of your homeschooling. Let this be an encouragement if you don't have support now, that it may come in the future as the onlookers see your children doing well academically and growing into confident, responsible adults.
Do you have the support of your friends and family? Share your story.
Alabama Wildlife Center
Liz Masoner shares the information about the Alabama Wildlife Center and the highlights of their field trip for a presentation on the importance of keeping wild babies wild.
"The Alabama Wildlife Center is a wildlife rehabilitation center. In addition to being able to view baby animals and animals almost ready to return to the wild, Audubon holds several workshops throughout the year at the center."
Read about her trip and find out what caused one of the trained workers to release a woodpecker ahead of the scheduled release time.
Share your local field trip experiences and help others as they follow in your footsteps. You can also share a picture or two of your experience. Choose your state from the list and share about your trip.
More about Alabama:
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
Nancy shares the information about the Maryland Zoo and the highlights of their field trip to The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
"The Tundra Buggy, a real vehicle formerly used in Canada to observe polar bears, offers a unique perspective on one of the Arctic's best-loved mammals."
Read about her trip and find out what "fun factor" The Maryland Zoo has that many other zoos lack.
Share your local field trip experiences and help others as they follow in your footsteps. You can also share a picture or two of your experience. Choose your state from the list and share about your trip.
More about Maryland:
Carnival of Homeschooling: Welcome to the NerdFamily House!
NerdFamily hosts this week's Carnival of Homeschooling. NerdMom welcomes you to the NerdFamily House encouraging you to make yourself at home. Enjoy the carnival!
The next carnival will be hosted at No Fighting No Biting. Submissions are due by Monday at 6 p.m. I look forward to reading your submissions.
Share and Tell Time - Field Trips
Homeschool field trips provide an opportunity for your children to experience the world around them first hand. Rather alone, or with a group, field trips can bring your studies to life and reinforce the lessons learned at home.
Have you been on a homeschool field trip lately? Share your local field trip experiences and help others as they follow in your footsteps. You can also share a picture or two of your experience. I've started us off with our field trip to the Pumpkin Patch as an example for you. Choose your state from the list and share about your trip.
Chris Klicka, homeschooling father of seven, has died
Christopher J. Klicka, homeschooling father of seven, died today at the age of 48 after a 15-year battle with multiple sclerosis. Chris Klicka was a longtime homeschooling advocate who served homeschoolers as an attorney, spokesman and lobbyist. He appeared on radio interviews, wrote many articles and five books on homeschooling. Chris was an integral part of Home School Legal Defense Association's staff for 24 years. The homeschooling community benefited greatly by his work and love of homeschooling. He will be greatly missed. Read HSLDA's tribute to Christopher J. Klicka.
Reptile Awareness Day
Reptiles Awareness Day is October 21st. Learn about reptiles with these fun printable worksheets and make a Reptiles Coloring Book.
More reptile fun:
You might be a homeschooling family if...
"...you have more bookcases than children and your formal dining room has been renamed The Classroom." ~MomofSix2229
We've had a lot of fun with this over the past 6-1/2 years. The original forum thread began in March of 2002 and is up to 200 posts. After reading the latest additions, you can add your own. Have fun!
Why we love the Charlotte Mason Method
We are using the Charlotte Mason method with my grandchildren this year. Katie Ann is pictured here drawing her nature observations on a recent trip to Nevada. We are really enjoying this method of homeschooling. It's very peaceful and rewarding. We love it when the kids stop what they are doing to run and show us a famous painting they recognize or when they watch movies and make connections from the books they have read. These moments are some of the reasons we love the Charlotte Mason method. After reading what we like most about Charlotte Mason, share your experience. What is your experience with the Charlotte Mason method?
Charlotte Mason was an innovative educator who developed a unique approach to education. Many homeschoolers are using her approach to teach their children. These are my top picks of books about the Charlotte Mason Method.
Johnny Appleseed's Birthday
Johnny Appleseed's Birthday is September 26, 1774. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts. Do you know what his real name is? Have fun learning all about Johnny Appleseed with these printable worksheets and activity pages.
More Johnny Appleseed Fun:
Does your family support homeschooling?
Well meaning family members often share their concerns with us when they hear about our homeschooling. Sometimes it's hard to know what to say. Mrs J shared her father-in-laws concerns in her post:
"I was telling my father-in-law the other day that J and I want to homeschool our kids. I know it is going to be hard sometimes, but I feel that is what I want for my kids.
He says that he sees my point but we pay taxes to the school system anyway why not use it? I think that is not his only concern, maybe the "social" aspect too."
I loved Bette's suggested response. She says, "As for paying for public school anyway, why not use it? We also pay for prisons, I don't want to send my child there to get my monies worth either."
Read more witty answers to other nagging questions in Shouldn't you be in School?
What about your family? Are they supportive? What are their concerns? Have you been able to set their minds at ease?
Northern Pacific Railway completion - Who was it?
The Gold Spike Ceremony was held at Gold Creek, Montana, on September 8, 1883, marking the completion of the Northern Pacific Railway. The last spike wasn't actually golden, but was the first spike drilled in at Thomsons Junction, Minnesota. The same person drove the spike at Thomsons Junction and at Gold Creek. Who was it?
I hope you enjoy the research question. To learn more September fun facts check out the September Fundays Calendar.
Lots of homeschool questions...
The Homeschooling Forum is very busy with back to school questions and concerns. Visit the forum to submit your questions or check out some of these conversations and see if you can offer a helping hand.
Torn between home/public school - JDbricker
Why do I feel like he may be missing out on something when I know all the benefits to homeschooling?
Schedule - RMommyto3
Are you strict on a wake up schedule?
Child wants to return to school - gramT4
Should her mother send her back to school although it will be a
hardship on the rest of the family? Or should the child just be forced to stop bringing it up?
Some days just a Wash! - RobinSJ
Does anyone have days that seem to be just a wash? One of those days that nothing goes right or one child is on a roll and the other is fussing up a storm?
Homeschoolers have style...
Check out the individual style of homeschoolers in this week's Carnival of Homeschooling, We’ve Got Style! Mindy of Homeschool Bytes did a great job on this week's carnival. What's your homeschool style?
The next carnival will be hosted at Home Grown Mommy.com. Submissions are due by Monday at 6 p.m. I look forward to reading your submissions.
Carnival of Homeschooling: The Juggling Workshop
Home Spun Juggling hosts this week's Carnival of Homeschooling. We take a look at how many homeschoolers juggle the many demands on their lives in The Juggling Workshop.
The next carnival will be hosted at HomeschoolBytes. Submissions are due by Monday at 6 p.m. I look forward to reading your submissions.
Tablecloth records mementos of busy homeschool year
Therese shared how her family uses their tablecloth as a patchwork quilt with mementos of their school year. I think it's a great idea and a unique way to share their homeschooling with family and friends. Therese writes:
We started homeschooling my 10-year-old and 5-yr-old sons last year after taking my older son out of a lackluster private school. Nervous about "structure" I decided to set up half of our rather long dining room table with a "school" table cloth. Every morning, after eating breakfast and scanning the newspaper, the boys set up the cloth, get out the books they need and we begin our day. We do literature reading on the front porch (living in Florida helps) and when the weather's too nice to be inside, we go to local parks or locations that fit the material - for instance, we went to the beach for The Old Man and the Sea and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea! In est, the world is our classroom!
The "cloth" has become a patchwork quilt of sorts - with interesting mementos of our busy year. We use fabric markers for notes, grammar & math "rules to remember" and funny pictures and quotes. The boys love to show their friends and family our crazy cloth and it is destined to become a family heirloom, I'm sure!
Our whole family is closer thanks to homeschooling and my son scored higher on the Iowa test than he did the year before! And the memories are priceless! Success!
Do you name your homeschool?
In preparing for the school year to begin, how do you establish a school identity? Do you name your school? Do you have a mascot, make student identification cards or school T-shirts? Jacci Howard Bear, About.com guide to Desktop Publishing, has step-by-step instructions on how to make a student ID Card for your homeschool students.
So what do you do? What do you do for school identity? How did you come up with your school name? What other things do you do? Do you have ID cards, stationery, school colors? Share your creativity with us and help spark ideas for the rest of us.
More from the Back to Homeschool Series:
Carnival of Homeschooling: Game Day Edition
One of my fondest memories of our homeschooling days is the time we spent playing games together. Some days we would have game day and cover every subject by playing games. Here are some of our favorites. Some are still available, others are no longer being published. Join me in my journey down memory lane.
SomeBody was one of our favorite games. It's a fun and educational human anatomy game by Aristoplay. I purchased this game when it first came out, at least 15 years ago. My children loved playing the games . It was a popular choice when their friends came over.
Homeschooling Basics - Back to school time
Well, we have to start with the basics: planning, scheduling and getting ready. Homeschooling families set their own schedules and can choose when to begin and end their school year. What schedule do you keep? When do you begin? As you prepare for your homeschooling year, be sure to plan some game days. Fridays worked well for us.
It's August and time for Lara DeHaven's family to resume school. In her post at Texas Homesteader, she shares how she was Inspired and Ready for School by reading books by Karen Andreola.
Leah presents Getting Started Homeschooling Post 1- The Big Picture (or why I homeschool) posted at The Courtney Six. This is the first in a series of posts she is writing to help some folks who are getting started homeschooling for the first time this year.
In The Best Kind of Homeschool Support, ChristineMM of The Thinking Mother discusses finding homeschool support and encouragement through friendships with other homeschooling mothers.
Autumn Beck presents Where are all the homeschoolers?? posted at Homeschooling In Kerrville. She says, "Since we’ve moved to Kerrville (in Feb.) everyone – EVERYONE – tells us there are “tons” of homeschoolers here. But where are they?"
Dave Roller just reread the Socialization Trap by Rick Boyer again this Summer. In In Which I Say a Bad Word. posted at Home School Dad, he gives his take on when people ask "But what about socialization?" Read more...
Wild Times Magazine
New Hampshire's Wild Times Magazine has lots of fun stuff for you to do, like games, quizzes and collectible wildlife cut-out cards, plus amazing wildlife stories and facts. Just print them out - and have fun! There are currently eighteen issues available with two new issues each year. Learn about snakes, birds, spiders, hibernation, and much more.
For more New Hampshire fun:
Carnival of Homeschooling: Loving Summer Edition
Smallworld at Home hosts this week's Carnival of Homeschooling. In this edition, the carnival points out that one of the great things about homeschooling is we can make our own schedule. Enjoy the posts and the nice summer pictures.
The next carnival will be hosted here at About.com Homeschooling. Submissions are due by Monday at 6 p.m. I look forward to reading your submissions.