We just returned from a long vacation that seemed like it literally lasted a month. We are Back Home now, but it was sure fun meeting several bloggers (like Sprittibee!) I think part of the reason it seemed so long is that we planned the trip for at least a month before we left. Planning for a long trip or a vacation can be a daunting task, but I can testify that it makes life a whole lot easier if you take the time to do so.

We had several things to look ahead to when we decided to take our trip, so our planning and arranging had to start early. We had animals that needed to be cared for and articles to have written for a couple of magazines. Because we knew we would be getting back late in the month, I made sure the girls had their monthly columns written before we ever left. I searched Mapquest repeatedly for weeks, planning our route. Be sure to check

• Mapquest,
• Google Maps

and any other online service to get the best route.

One thing we bought on the trip is a Trucker’s Route Atlas. It is a huge, laminated atlas with all the info you could want on it. It retailed at $75, but we found it in Texas for $15. It saved us time and money on the way home.

Gas prices. You cannot do one thing about it. Well, you could stay home, I guess, but that is about it. I must have taken 100 pictures of gas station signs all over the country so we could chronicle the prices everywhere. For the most part, it was around $3.85-$3.98. There was one place in the far west side of Texas, along I-10 where it was $4.39/gallon. The main objective is to calculate how many miles you plan to travel, count gas on the high side and the mpg your vehicle will get on the low side, so you will be sure to overplan finances for the trip. We have a 15-passenger van, which gets about 15-18mpg highway on a good click. I figured it at 15mpg, at 5,000 miles, with the gas prices at $5.00/gallon. We were not planning to go 5,000mi, and I certainly hoped the gas would not get up to $5.00. UGH. I was actually surprised to hear that gas here at home, which was at $3.85 when we left, reached $4.20/gal while we were gone. It is “down” to $4.09 now. Sheesh.
Also remember to check gas prices along your route online before you leave. Then, when you are on vacation, you can check again before you leave to come home.

The main gas stations we found in the South/Southwest are

• Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores,
• Petro Truck Stops Locations by Map - AllStays Guide,
• TravelCenters of America, and
• Valero/Diamond Shamrock.
• Flying J has a Fuel Prices page that gives you prices in select US cities.

Many of these travel plazas also have Wi-Fi, so be sure to make notes of those places on your route, if that is a concern for you. We found out that Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas are very limited on catching a wireless connection very easily on the Interstates we traveled.

Of course, there are things you will come home to, like grass that looks like a jungle, if you live where grass actually grows, so you will want to have someone mow for you if that is a concern. It is not a concern for me, because, now I know we can use the weedeater on it and our goats will have fresh, green grass to eat.

If you are only going to be gone for a few days, then putting a hold on your mail is probably not a big deal, but we left for two weeks, so we did stop it. It came on Saturday as a great big bundle, and I was happy to see it wasn’t *all* junk mail!

We found some friends who took mercy upon us and took care of our goats, chickens and dogs for the past two weeks, and if you are blessed with such friends, be sure to leave them a detailed list. We wrote out all feeding procedures and made enough feed for the two weeks we were gone. We tried to cover all the bases. It is hard for someone, even if they have the animal experience, to care for oyur own quirky animals. We have three younger does who will hog down the older does’ food if we don’t feed them separately. Goats get sick easily if their food is messed with, so we have a particular way of feeding our goats. Be sure to stress the importance of how you feed your animals to the caretakers and get someone you trust to do it exactly as you ask or you may have problems.

Another thing to consider is schooltime. Are you going to include workbook time or field trips or nothing? We homeschool everything. I call them Living Learning Moments. From gas prices to crossing 14 state lines to learning about Uncle Leo and his homemade walking sticks to helping Great-Grandpa when the mower breaks. If your children journal - or even if they don’t - a vacation is a great time for them to record daily things that happen. It will hone their writing skills, give them details to remember, and give you a timeline of the things you did on the trip.

A really easy lesson is to print off a map of the US and using them as coloring pages and noting each time you go through or enter a state. You can let your children track your trip and note special places each time you see a historical marker or stop and take photos. If your children are older, they might enjoy a personal smaller atlas of the States to follow as you travel along.

For heaven’s sake, don’t forget your camera! If you do not own a digital, consider it a vacation expense and buy one. Or borrow one. If you do not own a laptop, buy more memory. We are blessed with two laptops, so we downloaded the pictures as our memory card filled up. I promise you a digital camera will save you in the end. I know. We must have taken over 3000 pictures, but I deleted about 500. I cannot imagine buying all of those rolls of film and printing off all those photos, only to throw away 500 bad shots. Sure, we would have taken less photos, but this is a worthy investment.

I hope you have a wonderful, blessed, safe adventure of your own this summer, on the road or in your own back yard! If you would like to see a list of other items to plan for vacation, like clothing and food, please take a look at my planning post: Planning A Long Vacation Field Trip for A Large Family

CARNIVALS OF INTEREST

From Why Homeschool:Carnival of Homeschooling: The next Carnival of Homeschooling will be hosted at Dewey’s Treehouse. As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time, WHICH MEANS tonight!

Carnival of Homeschooling

current issue:
Jun 17, 2008
Apollos Academy

next issue:
Jun 24, 2008
Dewey’s Treehouse

current issue:
Jun 10, 2008
Learn Me Good

next issue:
Jun 11, 2008
Learn Me Good

Learning in the Great Outdoors

current issue:
Jun 01, 2008
The Miss Rumphius Effect

next issue:
Jul 01, 2008
Alone on a Limb

Music Education Blog Carnival

next issue:
Jul 01, 2008
So You Want To Teach?

The Charlotte Mason Carnival

current issue:
Jun 10, 2008
Adventures On Beck’s Bounty

next issue:
Jun 24, 2008
Twinkling Stars Family School

CONTESTS AND GIVEAWAYS

Growing in Grace Magazine has something special for designers. They are are looking for a digi-scrap design for the month of September. Their theme that month will be Fall related.

*HOW DO I ENTER? Click on the icon to get all the information. Your kit must be sent to ggmeditor@gmail.com

ENTRIES are due AUGUST 1ST!

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Dawn is having a Twisted Silver Giveaway

Go on over to her blog and check out the pictures of the Twisted Silver Jewelry she has.

Twisted Silver is premiering three new products this week: Motif earrings, Chichi bracelet, and Pod bracelet. A lucky winner, selected randomly from comments, will receive a pair of the Motif earrings!

Motif Earrings: An intricate curving paisley motif bracketed by brass hand forged angles. Wear your art! $50

She also has 2 coupon codes for you if you don’t want to wait to win and want to dive right in and buy a set!

This contest is open to non-bloggers, just use a valid email address when posting your comment.

Contest is from June 24-28th, so get on over there and leave your comment!!!

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HSB Front Porch: Salem Ridge Press Good Summer Reading Contest!
Our hope is that once families have the opportunity to see and read one of our books, they will come back for more. In our current contest, twenty-five families will each receive the softcover book of their choice from the eighteen titles we have republished so far.* Then, we would like to bless one special family with a grand prize of a full set of all eighteen of our titles - that is approximately a $250 retail value! We are excited to be sponsoring this contest and thrilled to share our books with you. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

There will 26 winners for this contest!

Winners are chosen randomly.

Contest ends July 6th!

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Freebie From Robin Sampson:

I want to share with you a special book by Wayne Jacobson titled ” He Loves Me”. Its available free on my blog in ebook format. Go to my post, Daisy Petal Christianity. I hope it touches you as much as it has me.

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Enter here IntelligentFirstAid “talking” kit valued at $129.99. To enter visit sponsor and tell why you’d like to win. The giveaway will end on June 30th 2008.

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Enter here to win a (as grand prize winner) an entire Olive Kids room valued at $750 from OliveKids. To enter just fill out their form. There are also five runner up winners who receive $50 worth of product. The giveaway will end at 11:59 PST on June 30th 2008.

If you would like to keep up on other events, be sure to check out Jocelyn’s The Weekly.

Summer is right around the corner, and gardening is getting into full swing on many homesteads, backyards and pots on porches. We started gardening a few years back, and have always included anything to do with it as learning. From planting and starting seedlings to observing the fruit of the plants to taking photos of the work and the beauty.

If you have not yet planted a garden it is still not too late. You can purchase plants already started and put them into pots or a garden spot even now. We use organic seeds and plants. I have found too many things out about eating non-organics, and, well, do your own research. Since eating organic has gained popularity, they should be rather easy to find. Organic seeds can be ordered online from reputable companies.

For us, tilling such a large plot is usually the hardest part of gardening. We did buy a nice tiller last year, so it has become less of a job, but it is so important to get the ground ready so that the roots can grow deep. If your garden is small, a rake and a hoe will do the job just fine. We found some pretty nifty tools at Tractor Supply last week that are claws on the front and hoes on the backside. They are also extendable, so any of us can use them.

One thing to keep in mind is that many plants in a garden are direct-seeded, meaning that you don’t have to start them from a plant. You will want to direct-seed lettuce, spinach, corn, squash, beans, lima beans, carrots, cucumbers, and zucchini(I know that’s a squash too, but I love it!).

Vegetables that you will want to purchase as plants are: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and onion sets. We did potatoes last year, and they are so easy.

I was asked last year where to get some Heirloom Seeds from. Here is my experience from the past year or so…. We use organic and Heirloom seeds, so I thought I would give you some links.

We order many of our organic seeds from Seeds of Change out of NM. My Dad ordered ours and his. He ordered from them, because they are solely organic and he wanted to support solely organic growers. He also bought some organic seeds at Lowe’s from Ferry Morse.

Gardens Alive! has organic seeds and chemical-free insecticides, fertilizers and such. We ordered through them last year, and I was happy with them. You could also look at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Co. Underwood Gardens has hard-to-find, open’pollinated and heirloom seeds. They also have a safe seed pledge not to knowingly sell chemically-engineered seeds, etc.

Children love to play in the dirt, so planting a garden is an easy one to get them involved in. what aplace to teach your children the beauty and omnipotence of God’s creation. If you are interested in ways to use gardening as a unit study, I posted about it: Gardening 101 - You *Can* Teach Your Children!!

An excellent resource I have found for gardening that is easy to read for adults and children alike is Square-Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.

Contests:

For a May Contest: This month’s contest is geared towards the kids; however, anyone can take part!! The last day to enter is May 31st. To participate, find the very close up pictures on the blog and figure out what they are. On May 31st, email the answers to us at contests@centurytel.net. The prize is Volume 1 of Patch the Pirate’s Story & Song Treasure Box. The winner will be drawn from all correct entries on June 2nd. Complete rules (and a better explanation) can be found at There Is A Season.

Ok, I really don’t *want* to share this, but for all of you mommas who have Littles 4 or 5 and under… here is a contest you do not want to miss: Win the Ergo Baby Carrier of your choice in our Spring 2008 Contest! No purchase necessary to enter & win! Just CLICK HERE to enter by midnight on May 30, 2008. Winner of the free Ergo Baby Carrier will be picked at random from all correct entries.

Don’t forget that my sweet graduating daughter, Miss Amanda Dixon, is hosting a fun giveaway for homeschool Seniors class of 2008! She is giving away some class of 2008 t shirts from The Homeschool Boutique! Be sure to swing over and check it out.

So there…. you still have a few days to enter these contests. Go check them out!

Carnivals for this week:

Carnival Of Homeschooling #126: End of the School Year? Or Is It? at Walking Therein. Come on over and join me!

The Homesteading Carnival is up ap Grandma Rosie’s Texas home. Take a look at the 51st Homesteading Carnival ……..Summers on it’s way.

That is all for this Memo Monday! Have a fabulous week, and get out and get dirty with your children this summer!

Welcome to this week’s Memo Monday. I hope you will spend a few moments and look at the things going on around the blogworld.  As always if you anything you’d like to add to Memo Monday, you’re welcome to email!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

>>> The Duggar Family is Expecting #18 Have you heard of The Duggar Family of Arkansas? Check out the The Duggar Family Website.

>>> This week The 50th Homesteading Carnival was hosted at Quiverfull Family! Don’t forget to add your THC Icon to your sidebar!

>>> The 125th COH will be held this week at Po Moyemu–In My Opinion! Please make sure to stop by and check it out for great homeschooling ideas and experiences from other homeschoolers.

>>> Homeschool Blog Awards is getting ready to open up the May & June 2008 Swap! This is something fun for older homeschoolers and moms to do. You have a swap sister who you send a $5 gift package to and they’ll do the same. A great way to get to know new people online and makes some friends!

>>> Stop over at Homespun Life to view the Share Your Faith Carnival. Please join us by sending in the following information to me through the Blog Carnival Site at our very own Share Your Faith Carnival page.

>>> Watch out for the contest Amanda @ The Daily Planet is having, where you could win a Senior ‘08 tshirt from the Homeschool Boutique.

>>> Sisterlisa was honored to be able to have an over-the-phone interview with Kirk Cameron’s Leading Lady, Erin Bethea, from Fireproof today! Go on over to Apples of Gold, and read about the conversation she had with her this morning.

CONTESTS & GIVEAWAYS:

HOST: {Me and Mine}

CONTEST LINK: Win $200 and more this August!

PRIZE: 1st prize: $100 in cash through Paypal

2nd prize: $40 in cash through Paypal

3rd prize: $30 in cash through Paypal

4th prize: $20 in cash through Paypal

5th prize: $10 in cash through Paypal

HOW TO ENTER: see contest link (there is 10 hoops to enter, but you don’t have to do all 10)

DEADLINE TO ENTER: .August 31, 2008

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HOST: nofullstop.com

CONTEST LINK: Contest Kickoff: It’s Raining $1600. Are You Participating?

Open for all to participate.

PRIZE: Prizes worth $1600.

HOW TO ENTER: Subscribe to email feeds plus other ways too.

DEADLINE TO ENTER: .30th May.

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HOST: Lipstick, Powder ‘n Paint

CONTEST LINK: Biotherm Giveaway

PRIZE: RIDES REPAIR - wrinkle repair Day cream for Dry Skin

RIDES REPAIR SERUM - Ultra-smoothing serum

RIDES REPAIR EYE - Eye contour smoothing

HOW TO ENTER: fill out the contest form

DEADLINE TO ENTER: .May 31st, 2008
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HOST: Heavenly Hold

CONTEST LINK: Win a Baby Carrier worth up to $100

Open to US residents only

PRIZE: Baby Carrier worth up to $100

HOW TO ENTER: Enter a maximum of twice between May 1-31.

Email amber (at) heavenlyhold (dot) com with CONTEST in the subject line. Include your top three carrier choices from Heavenly Hold. For a second entry, sign up for our newsletter, or blog about the contest and email Amber again with the blog link.

DEADLINE TO ENTER: .May 31st, 2008

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HOST: Boston Mamas

CONTEST LINK: Enter Win!

US and Canada entrants welcome.

PRIZE: a Diplomat Convertible Car Seat in the style of the winner’s choice. This car seat retails at $259.99

HOW TO ENTER: Fill in the form

DEADLINE TO ENTER: .midnight, EST June 6, 2008.
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HOST: My Wooden Spoon

CONTEST LINK: New Giveaway! KitchenAid Stand Mixer

PRIZE: KitchenAid Stand Mixer

HOW TO ENTER: see contest link for entry details

DEADLINE TO ENTER: .JUNE 17TH, 2008 AT ABOUT 10:00PM CST

******************************************DEADLINE TO ENTER: .December 20, 2008HOST: Cackle Hatchery

CONTEST LINK: Cackle Hatchery Poultry Photo- Contest

PRIZE: $100.00 cash prize for (Best of Breed) photo. (Photo that best shows the pure breed)

$100.00 cash prize for (Funniest Chicken) photo. (funny, cute, originality or artistic).

$100.00 cash prize for (Poultry show prize or ribbon) photo, (photo of bird with ribbon or prize in the photo and may or may not include persons). Also name of show, date and what awarded won on the entry form.

HOW TO ENTER: see link

Photos judged by Cackle Hatchery Staff. Prize money awarded January 15^th of 2009.

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HOST: Adamwhiles.com

CONTEST LINK: Contest: Coolest PC - Win $25 Tiger Direct Gift Card!

PRIZE: $25 Tiger Direct Gift Card 0r $25 to your paypal email

HOW TO ENTER: submit photo per requirements

DEADLINE TO ENTER: .June 30th, 2008

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HOST: Classy Mommy

CONTEST LINK: Giveaways

PRIZE: NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS on DVD - 3 winners

HOW TO ENTER: sign up for the newsletter by entering your email in the box

DEADLINE TO ENTER: .May 20th, 2008

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HOST: Classy Mommy

CONTEST LINK: Giveaways

PRIZE: NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS on DVD - 3 winners

HOW TO ENTER: sign up for the newsletter by entering your email in the box

DEADLINE TO ENTER: .May 20th, 2008

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

“When life doesn’t seem like a bed of roses remember who wore the thorns.”
— Unknown

NOAH WEBSTER DICTIONARY 1828

BOOK, n. [Like the Latin liber, book signifies primarily bark and beech, the tree being probably named from its bark.]

A general name of every literary composition which is printed; but appropriately, a printed composition bound; a volume. The name is given also to any number of written sheets when bound or sewed together, and to a volume of blank paper, intended for any species of writing, as for memorandums, for accounts, or receipts.

1. A particular part of a literary composition; a division of a subject in the same volume.

2. A volume or collection of sheets in which accounts are kept; a register of debts and credits, receipts and expenditures, &c.In books, in kind remembrance; in favor.

It’s May, and it’s the time of year when the weather is finally getting warmer to stay, many of us are planting our gardens, and our children are finishing up another official year of homeschool. Time for us to go through our old papers and plans and put time and energy into planning for the next year. For some of us that means unit studies to plan through the summer or vacations, anything to learn! The carnivals will also continue through the summer, so take a look at what other homeschool families will be doing as the year winds down.

Leave me a comment and tell me your homeschool plans for summer. If you’ve posted about it already, leave your link in the comments so we can visit it!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Carnivals

I am a bit partial to this first carnival. First of all, because Amanda and Jocelyn created it and run it, and second of all, because Amanda is such a sweetie! She is hosting The Homesteading Carnival #49: My Mama Edition. You have to see it. I am blessed to have such wonderful children who are also my friends.

Henry Cate, of WhyHomeschool, has announced the Winners of the Carnival of Homeschooling images contest. Frankly, I am partial to this one on the left, because Jocelyn designed it. Henry posted the codes for the winning icons, so go grab one if you like!

Other carnivals of interest are:

The next edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling will be at Mom is Teaching.

Last week’s Carnival of Homeschooling is at Melissa’s Idea Garden.

The current issue, from April 28, of the Charlotte Mason Carnival is up at The Family Zoo. The next issue, May 13, will be at The Heart of Harmony.

The 3rd edition of the Canadian Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival is up.

The Carnival of Education, the current issue, from May 07 is up at Bellringers. The next issue, on May 14, will be up at Instructify.

The Carnival of Mathematics, May 02 issue, is up at Teaching College Math Technology Blog.

The Carnival of Learning in The Great Outdoors, May 05 edition, is up at 10,000 Birds.

The Active Learning Carnival, Apr 07, is up at Active Learning Blog Carnival. The next issue will be Jun 14, at Active Learning Blog Carnival.

Thank you for joining me for Memo Monday! Have a super week!!

There are almost 6000 Yahoo Groups under the Homeschooling category. You will find groups for all different formats, ages and sects of homeschooling. Some require membership to view posts and participate, and some are public forums. Once you sign up for membership, you can read through posts, post questions and meet other members who homeschool the same method or age of children you do.

I do not belong to each of these groups so I cannot personally endorse them. These are examples of some that you may be interested in. You can search for a group in your own interests by typing search words into the box on this page.

You will also find a host of blog carnivals listed below.

Some that I found in HOMESCHOOLING are:

bookroom

1182 Members, Archives: Membership required

The Bookroom is for homeschooling families using “living books,” the very best children’s books both in-print and out-of-print. We typically keep textbooks and “junk” reading to a minimum, encouraging our children to choose books that engage their minds, inspire their imaginations, and thrill their hearts! Book reviews, notices of helpful web sites, reviews of curriculum guides, and any other discussion directly related to a living books education are welcome! All homeschooling families are …(more)

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Homeschool_SpecialNeedsKidz

1526 Members, Archives: Membership required

THERE IS HOPE! This is a support group for those who live mainly in the USA who are homeschooling a “special needs” child, ages preschool to 19. Whether your child has ADHD, a learning disability (LD), dyslexia, emotional or neurological disorder, bipolar,tourette syndrome,deafness,autism,anxiety disorder, oppositonal defiance disorder, blindness,any type of emotional or physical handicap,etc, then this group is for you. We all have our own individual needs and problems, yet we all do share a …(more)

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homeschoolingboys

2927 Members, Archives: Public

BOYS… whether you have one, two, three or more — this is the spot to discuss their special needs. You know, like LEGOS! Click HERE for our website! (www.homeschoolingBOYS.com) To join our group you should be PERSONALLY homeschooling 1 or more boys (parent, grandparent or legal guardian), seriously considering home education, or intending to begin soon. Parents of pre-school children who intend to KEEP homeschooling are, of course, welcome. And you need to be able to identify what phrases …(more)

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BasicallyBeechick

1617 Members, Archives: Membership required

Homeschooling…Ruth Beechick Style! Ruth Beechick Style Homeschooling is an Eclectic approach which focuses on natural learning through Real Books and Real Life. BasicallyBeechick is a Christian homeschool support group to discuss the methods and ideas of Dr. Ruth Beechick. Other authors whose ideas mesh well with Beechick’s will be discussed as well. These authors include (but are not limited to) Susan C. Anthony, Rebecca Rupp, Jean Soyke, E.D. Hirsch, Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer, Harvey …(more)

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FreeHomeschoolTools

1527 Members, Archives: Membership required

This list was designed with Freecycle rules in mind. We are not associated with Freecycle-we abide by the same type of rules, which means if you can’t do it there, you can’t do it here! All offers of any kind of Homeschooling materials should be FREE with the exception of *actual* postage/handling. Most items on this list can be sent Media Mail. If you have a need for any kind of homeschooling materials, do not hesitate to ask. Members are welcome to go to the “Links” section and add any FREE …(more)

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SecularCM

264 Members, Archives: Membership required

Have you been looking for a group of like-minded home schooling parents using Charlotte Mason’s home schooling philosophy in a secular manner? Welcome. This list is is for those of us who would like to discuss and share ideas for using Charlotte Mason’s ideas secularly, whether or not our home schooling is faith-based. Topics might include adapting the information found on the Ambleside Online website, finding “living books” on particular subjects, or including some aspects of the Charlotte …(more)

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AmblesideOnline

3902 Members, Archives: Membership required

Ambleside Online is a support group for families using the Ambleside Online Curriculum, which is designed to be as close as possible to the curriculum that Charlotte Mason used in her own PNEU schools. This list is exclusively for homeschool parents to discuss the implementing of this curriculum. You may not join this list to sell your product or advertise your business. THIS IS NOT A GENERAL CM LIST, nor a general homeschool list . Posts must be restricted to focus on AO’s specialized purpose. …(more)

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CMcurricula

1067 Members, Archives: Membership required

WELCOME! This list is for the buying and selling of resources (biographies, poetry and art books, teacher resources, etc.) that are in conformity with the Charlotte Mason “twaddle-free” philosophy. All transactions are between the buyers and sellers personally–the owner assumes no responsiblity and/or liability for any sale transactions. Please limit posts to 3 per day. **** PLEASE: Note posting of links to ebay auctions, or other groups and websites (even in signature lines) is prohibited! …(more)

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RobinsonUsers4Christ

2291 Members, Archives: Membership required

This group is for Bible and Trinity-believing, God-fearing, “Jesus-Plus-Nothing-Else” Christian families using or investigating the Robinson Curriculum. All homeschooling families using or investigating the Robinson Curriculum are welcome to join , with notice that the group is first and foremost a Christian group. Single parents and large families are encouraged to investigate this curriculum. We share ideas and provide support. We discuss day-to-day issues faced by homeschooling families, and …(more)

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College4CathHS

210 Members, Archives: Membership required

We Catholic homeschooling parents need to help our children navigate the college selection/application/preparation process. We’ll discuss colleges, Catholic and secular, and keep in mind all kinds of majors. We’ll share what we know of a college’s environment in terms of morals (e.g., dorm life), spirituality (e.g., Masses, confessions, devotions), classroom environment (i.e., tolerance for truth vs. politically correct discussions). We’ll also discuss how to prepare our homeschoolers for …(more)

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unschoolingcheap

559 Members, Archives: Membership required

Unschooling ? Homeschooling in a more relaxed way? Want to discuss ways to do it and not have to hock the family farm? If your looking for a list that will help you find cheap and free homeschool resources, but arnt interested in more worksheets, quiz makers,or textbook swaps, then this is the list for you!!! Everyone is welcome, so please be respectful of others. We all do things in ways that suit our beliefs and fit in with out lives, so remember whats right for someone else might not be right …(more)

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hstlessons

928 Members, Archives: Membership required

This group is designed to be a place to store NON-Copywrited lesson plans for homeschooling use. These are files that can only be opened using Homeschool Tracker PLUS. This program can be purchased at www.homeschooltracker.com PLEASE remember to not save any copywrited information as this will get deleted. KT has given us some guidelines on what is acceptable. “Mostly - you want to avoid plans like Sonlight where the resources are readily available from the library, but the way in which they go …(more)

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AbekaHomeschool

44 Members, Archives: Membership required

Welcome to Abeka Homeschool! Abeka Homeschool is an email support list for those Christian homeschoolers who are using either part or all of Abeka curriculum in order to home educate their blessings. This list has been created for support, fellowship, encouragement, prayer and general advise in using the curriculum. Our email list participates in a Topic of the Week, Member of the Week (to pray for) and a bi-yearly Book Discussion! You are also welcome to post Abeka ONLY items for sale or trade, …(more)

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RodandStaffHomeschool

30 Members, Archives: Membership required

Welcome to Rod and Staff Homeschool! Rod and Staff Homeschool is a Christian email support list for those homeschoolers who are using either part or all of Rod and Staff Curriculum in their homeschool. This list has been created for support, fellowship, encouragement, prayer and general advise in using the curriculum. Our email list participates in a Topic of the Week, Member of the Week and a bi-yearly Book Discussion! You are also welcome to post Rod and Staff ONLY items for sale or trade, at …(more)

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Teachers_Editions

422 Members, Archives: Membership required

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU FOUND US!! This is a discussion group for those of us who BUY AND SELL textbooks and *gasp* Teacher’s Editions. Come here to discuss your ideas without the PINKS (eBay spies) listening in. Regular, polite netiquette will be observed. ****IMPORTANT**** In order to have your membership approved, YOU MUST INCLUDE YOUR EBAY ID OR WEBSITE URL IN THE COMMENTS SECTION WHEN YOU APPLY TO JOIN THE GROUP. Your user ID is NOT used for any purpose other than to verify that you buy and …(more)

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HomefiresJournal

2166 Members, Archives: Membership required

DO YOU WANT HELP HOMESCHOOLING? Our friendly, all-inclusive, non-sectarian community provides free curriculum ideas, activities, resources, humor, support and thought-provoking discussion in a forum that welcomes and respects you no matter what method you choose. We especially recognize the importance of providing encouragement to families who homeschool independently (without government assistance) - beginners and veterans alike! This List is owned by veteran homeschool mom, writer, and …(more)

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223 Members, Archives: Membership required

Salutations, homeschooling moms… Grab a cup of coffee and jump in the conversation! We’re here to support your homeschooling endeavors and to converse about anything (homeschooling or not) that comes up. WARNING: While homeschooling is a topic we are always happy to discuss, often conversations here stray from that discussion. This list is, for many of our members, one of the few “adult socialization” opportunities that they have in their busy days of educating children. If you are seeking a …(more)

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If you would like to check out some interesting homeschool blogs, here are some carnival links for this month:

Carnival of Homeschooling

April 15 - Nerd Family
April 22 - Principled Discovery
April 29 - HomeSchoolBuzz.com

The Charlotte Mason Carnival

March 31  One Child Policy Homeschool
April 15   In the Sparrow’s Nest

Carnival of Education

April 9    The Elementary Educator
April 16  The CEA Blog

The Homesteading Carnival

April 14   Diary Of One
April 21   Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths
April 28   The HomeSpun Life

Carnival of Family Life

April 7     My Two Boys
April 14   On the Horizon

A Teacher’s Life Blog Carnival

April 1   Lesson Plans And Other Resources For Teachers And Homeschooling!
May 1    Lesson Plans And Other Resources For Teachers And Homeschooling!

Learning in the Great Outdoors

April 1   The Heart of Harmony
May 5   10,000 Birds

Carnival of Notebooking

April 22  Notebook Learning

Thank you for joining me for Memo Monday! Have a super week!!

Homeschool: Scrapbooking, Lapbooking, Notebooking

Scrapbooking To Learn

A great place to learn about lapbooking or notebooking or whatever term you use is Scrapbooking To Learn™, sponsored by Heart of Wisdom Publishing. Heart of Wisdom suggests using scrapbooking methods as a creative outlet for school work. Combine scrapbooking techniques with Charlotte Mason’s copy methods for a great display or addition to your unit study portfolio! Scrapbooking is incredibly rewarding, Students show enthusiasm about almost any subject if there are able to scrapbook.

STL creates various Christian homeschool materials and unit studies dedicated to motivating parents and children to focus on the Bible as their primary learning tool. Scrapbook folders are just another way to encourage children to love to learn, and this site has so much information, surely you will find something to fit your teaching needs.

At their site, you will learn about digital scrapbooking, booklets, notebooking, timeline books, portfolios, and the difference between notebooking and Scrapbooking To Learn™ folders.

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Come visit our Notebooking Pages Store for a growing selection of affordable notebooking pages - for any subject and style of homeschooling! From copywork to nature study, notebooking is a fantastic and fun tool that captures all that we have learned about a particular topic and turns it into a concise, artful piece of work. The kids are always excited to share what they have learned in their homeschooling experiences through their notebooks. It is much like looking through an old photo album or scrapbook. The more you look back through them, the more you remember, and what a joy it is each time!

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Homeschool E-Store is now CurrClick! This week, from March 10th-March 17th get 10% account credit on every purchase you make. They have products in almost every subject for Parents and every age of student. Downloads are easy; they offer a newsletter and free products that change every week or so. If you love EBooks, check them out. If you have never really gotten into EBooks, check them out - EBooks are easy-schmeasy! Print right off of it for as many children as you need it for! You are in control with EBooks and you will love their ease of use. You can find so many unit studies to use for lapbooking here!

Good Deals For Homeschoolers

I just received this into my inbox. Are you a regular subscriber to TOS magazine? If you are, you will soon be receiving the Teacher’s Toolbox, a monthly mini-supplement to TOS that will focus on a different topic with words of encouragement, hands-on teaching ideas, book recommendations, field trip suggestions and more. There will even be some type of a bonus download item! This will be free for subscribers only, so if you have always wanted to, but never have, this is a great time. I mean, it is only $25 for a yearly subscription. That is half of what it costs us to eat out one meal!

 

 

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Don’t forget about another favorite place to find free resources for homeschoolers! Donna Young has a great site with many resources and a lot of information!

She has a Free Homeschool Planner Home that includes Homeschool Planner Guide, Lesson Plan Forms, Administrative Planner Forms and Homeschool List Forms

If you are new to homeschooling, you may want to check out her Planning for Beginners, How To Make Simple Lesson Plans, and (Surviving) The Curriculum Fair.

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Blog Carnivals

Carnival of Homeschooling

Amanda, Jocelyn and I have participated in the Carnival of Homeschooling for the past year pretty consistently. Part of having the privilege of participating and hosting is to announce the carnivals each week. The posts are always interesting and many are newsworthy. Be sure to check them out and submit your own! Last week the 114th Carnival was held at Palm Tree Pundit. The 115th COH will be held this week at At Home With Kris.
The Carnival of Homeschooling is also into Phase two of the contest for Carnival of Homeschooling icons… I am picky about names so I was sure to vote for the ones that are correctly labeled. It is the Carnival of Homeschooling or COH.

Share Your Faith Carnival:

Homeschooling Edition

SisterLisa will now be hosting the Share Your Faith Carnival each month at The HomeSpun Life.
“Each month the carnival will be a different aspect of sharing your faith. The first one is sharing your faith about homeschooling. Titus 2:3 says to be ‘teachers of good things’. As women we are instructed by God’s Word to teach the younger women and that’s what we aim to do here.”

She will receive submissions for this carnival until April 2nd, and the carnival will begin on April 5th. Please go to her blog for further details!

The Homesteading Carnival

Erica Burgan presents The Homesteading Carnival - Definitions Edition at The Sojourner. “Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple, agrarian self-sufficiency. Currently the term homesteading^[1] applies to anyone who is a part of the back-to-the-land movement and who chooses to live a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading remains as a way of life. A new movement, called “urban homesteading,” can be viewed as a simple living lifestyle, incorporating small-scale agriculture,sustainable and permaculture gardening, and home food production and storage into suburban or city living.”

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Blog Memes, Fun and Contests

A meme is a blog post that is in conjunction with a theme set forth by its author. Participating in memes is a fun way to meet other bloggers and also a great way to have interesting ideas for blog posts. Many times you sign a Mr. Linky and can even put one on your own post for your friends to sign and join you on. There are certain requirements for each meme, and you usually are asked to link to the original post and put the meme icon on your blog.

Tuesday In Other Words is a meme based on a posted quote each week by Amy at In Pursuit of Proverbs 31.

Sunday Seven: Share your joys, your blessings and your burdens. List seven things going on in your life this week. Go back to the hub and comment on the current week’s thread so that other Sunday Seven’ers can visit you.

The Super Simple Spiritual Sunday Meme is simply a list of favorite finds for the week (also called link love or Speedlinking).

Meal Plan Monday. Plan your menu each week with others by joining Laura, the passionate organizer at http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com.

Saturday Psalm & Praise is held each Saturday at Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths. To participate, you can post a Psalm/song or you can tell what impact is has had on you and your thoughts. Sometimes just the Psalm is enough. Sometimes we have to let out our own words of praise!

To see a more complete list of memes, you an look at Robin’s Meme List.

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Homeschool Lounge for Mom-Teachers

A new fun place for homeschool moms I found is The Homeschool Lounge. Ok, it isn’t that new anymore, with 1900 members, but it is kinda’ new!

SisterLisa sent me an invite in January to test it, but it wouldn’t let me sign on, so I just signed up last month. It was created so there is a place join all homeschool moms from all over the internet and all blog servers in one “Lounge”.

Stop by my “Nook’ and say hi.

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Photo Contest

Also, be sure to enter Growing in Grace Magazine’s Photo Contest.
“We are looking for photos that could appear in any of our upcoming devotions or columns. We like to add photos that help give you a visual of the scripture being shared.”
Here are some ideas of photos that can be submitted:
Any water ways, such as rivers, streams, waterfalls, oceans, etc., Flowers in bloom and/or in bud form that shows life, Any kind of pathway or road that portrays a scenic expression, Trees that show God’s majesty.
We are planning to use these photos in upcoming articles and each photo chosen will receive an ‘Editor’s Choice’ award tag from Growing in Grace and be entered into a contest to win a Premium BetterPholio at BetterPhoto.com , the world’s largest online photography school.”

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Homeschool Freedom

Have you heard about the ruling in CA that is tantamount to outlawing homeschooling in their state??

“A California Court of Appeal recently decided that homeschooling is illegal in California unless a parent is a certified teacher. The Court could have restricted its decision to the facts before it, but instead, it issued a broad ruling that effectively outlaws home education in California. The Court also certified its decision for publication, which means that the decision can now be cited as legal authority by all other courts in California.”

While there is reason for concern, it is best to keep up on the news and keep in contact with your local CA Homeschool Reps. HSLDA has a petition for all homeschoolers to sign in support of California homeschoolers. If you are interested, go to CA Homeschooling Freedoms. I have stated that I am concerned about CA public school and homeschool laws, because, sooner or later, however CA goes, so goes the country…. sadly enough.

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Prayer Requests

Please keep a couple of prayer requests in mind, if you will. A homeschool mom of three got pneumonia this past week and died in the hospital. She leaves behind her husband and children.
Also, four-week-old Baby Grace is in the hospital with RSV. She is on oxygen and needs our prayers. After taking Caleb to the hospital twice last week, I am hurting for her. Rachel had RSV when she was about 6weeks old, but fortunately, she wasn’t hospitalized. Even in our faith, it is still a scary place to be in as Mom.
There is a lot of the flu going around all over the country. It is not just the flu, but varied forms of it. Please keep yourself healthy and pray for those you know or even blog with. It is so easily spread and takes so long to recover from. If you use home remedies, you may want to look at my Honey For What Ails You post or the GOOT Recipe. It has become a popular link this season and was of incredible help to our family.
Our two-year-old, Caleb, is doing much better, I am still worried about him. Having viral influenza can lead to other things at his age(like RSV), and I am obviously concerned. I know God can heal him, and I am thankful He has kept him and is strengthening his immune system. Now, if I could get some sleep!
Please continue to pray for Robin Sampson. She has come through heart surgery and is recovering.

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Lastly, don’t forget to sign up for the next Saturday Swap. Heather has extended it to two months to accommodate us busy homeschool moms, because many of us (myself included) were getting them out quite late. I do think it is really fun tho!! I am participating this time, but I will need to just work as though it’s a month just to get it out in time!!

I hope you have a wonderful week this week! If you have any ideas or links you would like to share with fellow homeschool moms, please feel free to let us know!

 

 

 

Introduction

My grandmother grew up as the sixth child of ten in a small rural Texas town that was named after her grandmother. Since I have been able to walk, each year my family took me to an annual family reunion in the old schoolhouse where my grandmother and her siblings attended school. A glass of sweet ‘reunion tea’ in hand, we all ate together ‘pot-luck’ style and listened to tales of our relatives who came before us. They were men and women who built our family; and even, in some small way, our nation before us. A love-affair began in my heart on one of those hot summer days - a love for history: not the dry kind of history that lives inside a textbook - but the real blood, sweat and tears of yesterday that was waiting to be discovered each time I entered that schoolhouse.

It amazed me that my grandmother - whom I knew and loved so much - was only a few years too young to be a real western pioneer lady! I used to stare at the black and white photographs that lined bulletin boards at the entrance of the schoolhouse. The eyes that stared back at me belonged to a ragtag band of tall and short children on the schoolhouse steps. They hardly smiled. Was life hard back then? Was that why they looked so serious? The photos and newsclippings there were fading like the memory of the way of life for their generation. I looked intently at my grandmother’s face to see if there was any resemblance of myself. I wondered what it really was like sharing shoes, having only one fancy red dress, learning to can vegetables so you wouldn’t go hungry in winter, living through the Great Depression, or going to school with a motley group of children - of all ages. I ran my fingers across the chalkboard and listened to my shoes click on the wooden floors. The green school grounds looked inviting outside through the window. I could hear the cicadas singing their June song outside i