We have some awesome prizes in store for this year’s winners. Please check out our new page that showcases the prizes and the generous awarders. Lots more pictures and details will be added as we receive them.

2007 Homeschool Blog Awards Prizes

If you or someone that you know would like to be added to our list of prize awarders, please contact us at hsbawards@gmail.com. You can choose to donate to just one or as many winners as you’d like.

To help us advertise this year’s awards please take our new button to place on your blog.

This is Saturday Poetry & Literature. I am Amanda…thanks for joining me. This is my first time doing this and writing for such a big site. I know a lot of people read this, and I am little skeptical as to what to write for this post.

his is has been an exciting week for me as yesterday was my 18th birthday. In honor of that I thought I would share some ‘birthday’ type scripture verses for everyone to read and be encouraged by. Along with the Scriptures, I thought maybe a poem would be a great tie-in with this theme. One of my best friends wrote this poem for my 18th birthday. It is pretty funny. He did a really nice job on it.

Now on to the ‘birthday’ scriptures… The Bible says there are two births; one physical, the other spiritual.

John 3:3
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

I heard the neatest saying a couple weeks ago. It is: “If you are born twice, you will die once. If you are born once, then you will die twice.” That is so profound. It is a blessing to be able to be born twice, so I don’t have to die twice.

One of most important births was Jesus’. Now I know its not Christmas, but to go along with the birthday theme, I couldn’t leave His out.

Luke 1:14
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

Now, that is the kind of birthday remembrance that Jesus deserves. I know I have joy and gladness because of His birth.

One verse that is so encouraging and just shows how God knows all and understands all is:

Jeremiah 1:5a
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.”

That means that I am set apart to be a light in this dark world for Christ. And he knew that way before I was born. He knew what my life would be and what my testimony would be too. He knew that I would be blogging right now. He knew that Jocelyn would throw an amazing birthday bash for me yesterday. Isn’t it great to know that God knew everything about us way before we were even formed in our mother’s womb?? WOW!!

Birthdays are very important. Not only do they remind us that someone special is in our lives, but they also remind us we don’t have forever in this life.

Psalm 29:11
“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered and my life is fleeing away.”

Boy, David sure did know how to put things into perspective. Often times, I think we get caught up in our little worlds, that we forget that our time here to honor, praise and share God is short. We need to take time and realize that we aren’t here that long and we need to make the most of the time we have left.

Speaking of time… the Bible also says:

Ecclesiastes 3
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”

Everything we do has a specific meaning. Every minute in our lives count toward something. We don’t have them just to waste away idly. God has made everything in His time, including us. One of my favorite parts of that selection is: He hath made every thing beautiful in his time. I love this. It reminds me of when I was little and I used to sing specials in church, I always chose this song. It means so much that God will make everything beautiful. Every ugly situation we go through, every tough time we live through. God has something beautiful planned for us on the other side of the valley.

As I end this, I leave you with this saying: “Too BLESSED to be depressed.” I know I am. And besides this is a HAPPY week. So go get a piece of cake in celebration of my 18th birthday. See you in a month!!

Miss Amanda

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

Psalm 1:1-3

In this Psalm, God outlines the progression of sin. But He also supplies the antidote – I am to “delight in the law of the Lord.” His word must be at the forefront of my mind. If I am pondering, mulling over, and dwelling upon His words, I will be like a vibrant, healthy, and fruitful tree.

God indicates that fruit-bearing comes in its season. It stands to reason that there must be times when there is no bearing of fruit. God hasn’t ceased tending the tree, but there’s a cycle in the life of a fruit tree. Growth and nourishment still occur, even when there is no visible fruit. There will also be times of pruning which is necessary to remove that which has died or is diseased. Once gone, the remaining branches can receive the nutrition needed to bring forth more fruit.

I have to remember that God is the One who determines the seasons of my fruit-bearing. And when I do bear fruit, it’s never for my own consumption; it’s for the benefit of others. An apple tree doesn’t open up and eat its own fruit. I am not to be self-fed. My nourishment comes from being well-watered and fed through God’s Word. Then I will bear fruit to His glory and prosper in His ways. In this I can truly delight!

Our featured winner this week is Sarah of Poppins Classical Academy. Sarah was one of the 2005 winners of the best Canadian Homeschool Blog.

Tell us a little about your family.
My husband is from Germany, works as a librarian at a university, and does marathons and triathlons. My kids are 10 and 8 and are so different from one another that you can’t call them opposites;they’re not on the same scale. One’s an oval, the other’s plaid. We like being as active as possible, playing boardgames, watching Avatar and eating sushi.

I read that you love tea. What is your favorite kind?
Red Rose. It’s a kind available only in Canada, making a lovely reddish brew with a full-throttle flavour.

Who is your favorite Lord of the Rings character?
Sam. He’s longing for simple homey pleasures while he’s being the strongest member of the group. He doesn’t get much credit, but he’s such a hero.

What led to your decision to start blogging?
A desperate need to talk to other adults, and a need to put my days into words and have them seen. So much of what we do as homeschoolers is invisible or intangible. Blogging is a way to pin a day or thought down. And the incredible community-building aspect of it is intoxicating. I have learned from, and learned to care about, people all over this planet.

Who was the first blog you read online?
http://www.caerdroia.org/116/. Steph was part of one of the very first Yahoo groups I joined and I’ve counted her as one of my internet friends ever since.

Can we see a photo of your desk where you blog?

What is your favorite topic to blog about?
It changes. I’m always pursuing new passions. Right now it’s art. But there are two common threads to my writing: I like to make people laugh and I like to make people think.

What do you love most about the homeschooling lifestyle?
The way we can live moment by moment, not forcing things on someone else’s schedule. The way it lets me and the kids follow the natural rhythms of our bodies and habits. We’re handcrafting our lives into works of unique beauty.

Ah, welcome to Memo Monday! This is the fourth Memo Monday we’ve done here at the HomeshoolBlogAwards, and after the great jobs the others have done, I am kind of nervous.

Anyway, I usually am pretty busy on Mondays. I have a lot of things to do myself, and I’d like to help you navigate your way around the latest. Grab your cup of coffee and maybe some cake, and enjoy yourself!

Memo Mondays is designed to bring you all homeschool news, any prayer requests, carnival reminders, product reviews, curriculum reviews, charity projects, and helpful homeschooling info. Wow, that is quite a load, but I think I can get it done.

As homeschoolers we all like to know what’s going on with homeschooling, and a great place to find….
Homeschool News is HomeschoolBuzz. They have updates from a big selection of blogs and always have the latest on homeschooling. Not to mention About.Homeschool and if you want to find out, in detail, about homeschooling news in your state, you can always check out the HSB Homeschool Nations.

Prayer Requests
Mrs. Irwin of Beginning Our Journey just found out her son, Tristan, has Leukemia. I’d like everyone to lift him up in prayer and stop over there to offer some words of comfortable to the family as they are all besides themselves, As Mrs. Irwin stated. Tristan is only two-years-old. I pray right now that the Lord would touch and heal this precious baby, this gift, this blessing, and just heal his body. Clear out the Leukemia. Satan wants this child, but we know that you, Lord, are the Creator, and the Giver of life and Tristan is in Your Hands. Amen.

Also lift up Chrissy of Moving the Mountain in your prayers. She is battling depression right now, and could really use some encouragement. Last year she had surgery to remove a cancer-tumor, and is just getting back on blogworld.

Please keep TrainingHearts/Tamara in your prayers as well as she was sick from MSG poisoning last week. Don’t forget six-year-old Sean, who has been battling cancer since August 2006.

Carnival Reminders
Well, everyone enjoys a good carnival so this week check out…
The Carnival of Homeschooling hosted At Home With Kris
The Homesteading Carnival hosted by Amanda at My Learning Experience, and the Carnival of Education will be hosted by History is Elementary on the 24th.

Homeschool Reviews
Last month my mom entered a contest and won a t-shirt from Homeschool Boutique, so I took a peek around their site….They have the cutest Homeschool Mom tshirts that you must stop by and see. Not to mention their blog is so darn cute, and they even have a cute little icon to stick on your blog!

Curriculum Review
I am not a mom so I don’t really give big long curriculum reviews. lol ….However, a few years ago mom had us doing Easy Grammar Plus, and I really liked this curriculum as it was easy and very helpful. Every thing was explained properly that I could easily understand it and I got through it quickly. They have Easy Grammar for grades 2nd to 7th.

Homeschool Tip

Get your children interested in reading more by joining and having them join the HSB Literary Club! It just started back up again and this time the Club will be reading The Hedge of Thorns by John Hatchard. This book is from the Lamplighter series, which can be found at the The Old Schoolhouse Store.

This classic book was written in 1819 and is based on a true story of a young boy who learns the hard way that the choices we make can harm those we love the most. Because he desperately wants to know what is on the other side of a hedge of thorns, he puts his little sister in great danger. From his experience, we learn that God places boundaries in our lives because He loves us.

Thanks for taking a moment to stop by and see what’s on the memo pad!

This week I am going to talk about the specifics of increasing your blog’s traffic.  To some, this is one of life’s greatest mysteries, but it doesn’t have to be.  Here are some great ways to get the blog ball rolling.

First, plan to blog as often as you can.  Try to commit to blog 10 or 15 minutes every day.  If you don’t have that much time to spare, then shoot for every other day, but definitely no less than once a week.  Bogging is about building relationships with your readers and that takes time and commitment.  People will become accustomed to your regularity and will stop by your blog often.  If you don’t post, or post infrequently, your readers will forget about you quickly.  Let’s face it, we all have fairly short attention spans these days.

Write great content because if you don’t have that, the rest of these tips will be useless.  If it’s entertaining, helpful, visually stimulating, or newsworthy, readers will come.  If it is all of these and more then you already have a great start.  Now hold on a minute blog maestro, we’re not done yet.

Comment, comment, comment.  If you want readers, they have to find you, you must make yourself known.  Don’t be a lurker!  Once again, build relationships.  Don’t be shy; make the first move.  In addition, make your best effort to reply to people that comment on your blog.  Your readers like comments just as much as you do.

Promote your blog.  Talk about it with everyone, your friends, other homeschool moms, your homeschool group, the pastors wife, your mailman.  You can also promote it indirectly by adding a link to your blog in your email signature.

Join blogrolls. Blogrolls link blogs together that are related by a particular topic, such as, homeschooling, mom blogs, politics, etc.  Blogrolls will give you more traffic and inbound links, which others will see.  Inbound links also give your blog a higher ranking with search engines, which determine the order in which your blog is shown when certain terms are searched.   Here are a few popular blogrolls to get you started:

• The Mom Blogs
• Blogger Chicks
• Blogging Chicks
• Blogs by Women
• Crazy Hip Blog Mamas

Write great titles for your posts.  Last week I was sent a newsletter that was titled something like “Our 2008 calendars are HERE…plus smell my feet! :)”  Now, while this no doubt grossed me out, I was sincerely curious to know why anyone would title their newsletter in such a way.  The point…it got my attention and I opened it.

Submit your blog to blog directories.  There are tons of blog directories.  Try to pick out a few that fit your blog’s genre. Here is a list of popular directories.

• 5 Minutes for Mom
• Catholic Homeschool Blog Directory
• Blog Catalog
• Best of the Web Blogs
• Blogamama
• Delightful Blogs

Host a blog carnival.  Since everything you would want to know about a blog carnival can be found here, I will spare you my comments and point you to the experts.

Have a contest.  People LOVE contests and they love to win.  And the getting something really cool for free part is pretty good too.  Give away a book, or something handmade, or even a gift card to Starbucks.  The ideas are endless and will bring you lots of traffic when the word spreads from blogger to blogger.  Ask your contestants to link to your contests and spread the word to others.

Have fun with memes like Wordless Wednesday or Thursday Thirteen.  These are super fun and drive a lot of traffic to your site.  It may be temporary traffic, but if you have great content then they will likely return.  The Daily Meme has an entire list of memes that you can participate in.

Use Technorati to tag your posts.  Technorati is a blog search engine that ranks blogs on their popularity and their inbound links.  Scribbit has some great information here about using Technorati to your advantage.  Also, you might want to check out Technorati’s page on Blogging Basics.

Use trackbacks.  If you don’t know what a trackback is, or why you should use them, Susan from fiveminutesformom.com has written a great tutorial on the subject.  There is also another great tutorial at Jackhumphrey.com.

Ping.  No, not ping pong.  There are many definitions of a ping; however, a ping that relates to blogging is basically a signal sent from your blog to a blog tracker such as Technorati.  Blogs are scanned regularly for updates by blog trackers.  In order for the blog trackers to know that you have updated your blog, they need to be informed.   Most blogging platforms have a setting that allows you to set your blog to ping automatically, but it may only ping one tracker like Technorati, so I ping several others as well.  Here is a short list of trackers that can be pinged directly by you.  Why should you ping?  Pinging =’s more traffic!

• Pingomatic
• Icerocket
• Technorati
• Feedburner
• Google
• Pingoat

Lastly, be patient.  Building traffic takes time and patience, but with persistence your traffic will grow in no time!

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Welcome back to another edition Foto Friday. The time when all you nice folks get to be subjected to the crazy goings-on of homeschool life in Gremlinville.

Last time, I asked very nicely for some fun shots from the homeschool masses or anyone who happened upon my post, and sadly I didn’t receive any. But that’s ok. I’ll just take that as your nod to go right ahead and give you yet another peek at some things I find interesting about being with my gremlins 24/7.

We do a lot of Unit Studies. Since I’m not much of a planner beyond requesting six bags of books from the library and forcing my husband to bring them home after work, I’m always surprised at how things just seem to come together on their own. One subject will connect with another without any help from me. I’ve read it’s just a consequence of home learning.

So imagine my surprise when we had a timely visitor during our study on space.

I love Star Wars. And so do my boys. Naturally. It’s really too bad my third born son, Jackelope wasn’t here to meet the legend that is Darth Vader. When he showed up that morning, here in Kansas of all places, I knew we’d likely never forget all the things we learned about space.

My girl, Zoe sat down with him, to share an easy reader about planets.

Apparently, Vader disagreed with some of the author’s facts on Pluto not being a planet. We all know of Darth Vader’s legendary temper, and he started to use The Force to remedy the situation in a way he deemed best. Zoe wasn’t impressed. Nor was she going to put up with his shenanigans. She put him in his place.

In the end, he calmed himself down and listened to the rest of the book. It was mostly stuff he already knew, but since he’s not from our galaxy he did learn a few things.

Things like, you don’t mess with a girl who takes the time out of her busy schedule to read you a book. Just remember Darth, humility and patience are more important than using the force to throw your older brother off the trampoline. And if you want Zoe to finish that book, you’ll likely have to nix the heavy breathing.

Remember: get those cameras out and capture your fun moments! If you want me to post them on Foto Friday, send them to gremlinwrangler@gmail.com.