I have recently found a lot of places that you can use to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. They are bookmarking sites, with a little bit of a social networking twist. It has been fun getting to know these websites, so I thought I would share them with you.

The sites I have found are:

StumbleUpon!
Kirtsy
Delicious
Digg
Technorati

While I recently have become a member of Kirtsy, Delicious, and Digg, I have had a Technorati and StumbleUpon for awhile.
A lot of times when we find new sites like these we feel a little overwhelmed with getting your page set up and then figuring out how to use the site. Well I have been going through those above sites quite a bit and have figured out how they manuevere, so you can sign up and start your social bookmarking fast!
I am going to try and explain how to use these sites. If after reading my article and getting any of these services, you run into some problems or get stuck, I would be happy to help you figure them out. You can leave me a comment or email me.

StumbleUpon
Signing up on SU and getting everything set up is pretty easy. When you get your account set up, you can personalize the way your SU page looks, you can choose your interests and favorites.
Now to Stumble an article is pretty easy too. When you first get your SU account, you will have downloaded the Mozilla or IE toolbar. I use FireFox, so that is what I am going to explain to use. I am assuming that they are very similar in the way to use them.
You will use the toolbar to Stumble. There is a button you can click to go to an article that someone has Stumbled. You will never know what is going to come up, so Stumble with caution. There is also a thumbs up or down buttons. Use those to Stumble an article. When you click either up or down, you will get a pop up window. If you highlight a part of the article before you thumb up, then it will put the highlighted part in the review of your Stumble. Select a category, then add some tags and VOILA! You have just Stumbled!
We have found that SU is a great way to get people to articles. My Mama stumbled a post of hers a while back, and she had over 200 people within an hour! That will vary though, because I have been stumbled and not had that result.
There are other features of SU too. Like you can see Stumblers in your area that are online, or recently Stumbled websites. There is also a place on your page where it will show you recent visitors. You can also add friends. My link is in the first SU link above if you want to add me to your friends.
While I haven’t figured out precisely how to use their buttons, I have gone about it the cheating way. Go to the bottom of the page, click on buttons. You can put the SU button on your articles, so that there is an easy access way to Stumble your article. I haven’t found out how to put the button in the template, so that it picks up the new article url, but what I have been doing is copying and pasting the button to each new article and putting the link in the coding on my post. I am still trying to figure out how to get it to do it itself!
Pretty much SU is a pretty easy site to navigate. I have had a lot of fun getting to know this site!

Delicious
I had a little trouble with figuring this out, but I think I got the hang of it. Simple sign up. Pretty much like any other place. When you sign up, you will download a new toolbar, so you can bookmark easily. The toolbar is a little confusing, so take a little time to get to know it. Depending on which buttons you’ve added to your browser, you can click the “Tag” or “Bookmark this on Delicious” button to save a new bookmark. When you click one of those you will be taken to a page where you fill out some forms about whatever site you want to bookmark. Pretty easy to do.
You can also add people you know to your network. Find a friend, then on the right sidebar you will see a link titled: “Add a user to network”. Click that if you have found a friend to add, then confirm the addition, and you have become friendly! After you have some network friends, you will be able to click the tab at the top called: “People” and you will see what your friends have bookmarked.
If you want a button for your blog that tells people you are on Delicious, go to Settings, then scroll til you come to Blogging. Under that you will see there are different badges or rolls you can get for your site. Check which items you want on your badges, grab the code and put it in your template. Easy as pie, but it despite its name, it doesn’t taste as good as pie!

Digg
I thought Digg was fun to set up an account. Simple and easy and I really loved the different gender selections. I choose Belle for mine!
Same type of principle as the other sites I have explained. To submit a site, click the Submit New, put in your link in, give a little description of the article, then they will check to see if the article is original, then you have just dug a new article!
You can search for friends and add some if you find any. There is also a shoutbox and a place to leave comments on sites you have ‘dug’.
To grab a button, scroll down to the very bottom of the site, under Digg Tools & API, click on Digg Badges. Choose which button you want, grab the code, put it in your template, and you are dug!
All in all, digging a site with this site is a lot easier than digging a hole for a plant or tree!

kirtsy!
This site was a little tricky at first. Took me a bit to understand figure out how to work it. You have a profile, you can have friends, and it gives you stats. This is much like the other sites. This site is different from other sites, because it is just for women. There are just for women type categories too. I thought the description of why its called Kirtsy was cute. I do not like all the ads on this site though.
Simple set up, simple to bookmark pages too. Hit the Submit A Story tab at top, put in the site info, confirm your suggestion, and you have just kirtsied!
To get a button, scroll down to the bottom to kirtsy tools, then click the add kirtsy to your site. You can choose which button matches you best, then what type of site you use, get the code and put it in your template. You can also hook up Kirtsy to your Feedburner.
While Kirtsy was a bit tricky, it was easier than learning to dance and kirtsy!

Technorati
Getting a Technorati account is pretty simple too. You have a bio, a picture and you can claim blogs that are your own. To claim a blog, you just hit the blog tab in your account, put your url in, then grab their code to put on your blog, so that Technorati will find your page, release the spiders, then your blog is claimed! When that is done, you can give a description of the site, add some tags and choose which language you use. There are also buttons you can grab for your site, so that other Technoratians can favorite your site.
Technorati has a widget for your blog too. You can add a load of things on it, or make it simple. You just check the things you want, grab the code, and put it in your template.
Now there is no toolbar, so you will just have search blogs on Technorati to find ones to favorite. This site is a little different than the others.

A lot of sites now have the options to use one of the above sites to bookmark a post you are reading. HSBA has this option. You can see the small icons at the bottom of the entries. Same basic principle using those to bookmark posts. Just fill out the information!
I hope this has helped you gain a better understanding of social bookmarking sites. They are really fun and easy to use! If you get any one of these sites, I would like to add you to my friends.

Also, there is Twitter. While its not necessarily a bookmarking site, it is a social status site. I really love Twitter. You can bookmark sites, but the main thing you can do it ‘tweet’ something you are doing or looking forward to or anything! Its a neat place where you can sorta im with your buddies. I would really check out this site if I were you! It is really fun!

OH! And you really have to check out the Blogging series that our very own Sprittibee and Miss Dawn are doing! It is so informative and with those gals, its funny too! Head over to Blogging for Dummies to get some great information!

Better Blogging to you!

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Today I’m interviewing last year’s Best Artistic Content winner, Breezy Tulip @ A Bowl Of Moss & Pebbles. Since the awards, I’ve personally had the pleasure of meeting Miss Breezy and getting to know what a sweet, kind, artistic young lady she is! I hope you will stay awhile to get to know her and then check out her fabulous blog!

Tell us a little bit about your family. Share a photo of your family.

We started homeschooling eleven years ago, after my mom and dad pulled me out of the first grade. Neither of my parents were raised in Christian families, but when God saved both of them there were some big changes in their lives, including being called to homeschool Emily (my younger sister) and I. My Dad is a carpenter and my Mom is a passionate homemaker. We attend a small family-integrated Reformed Baptist church and like to have large cookouts in our back yard.

You have only one sister… tell us about your relationship with her.

Emily and I are best friends. Since we are only 22 mo apart, much of our school subjects are done together. We enjoy hand sewing, decoupaging, embroidery, and many other things. She’s also a great graphic designer, knows all about the computer and html, etc. And I’m into art, drawing, and painting, so there’s a lot we can collaborate on together outside of “school.”

Tell us about your homestead. Where is your favourite place to relax?

We own five acres of land, right outside the city limits. We have the convenience of being close to everything, but also have the country feeling, being surrounded by fields and fields of corn and soybeans. In our back yard there’s an enormous pin oak that we all like to sit under. Sitting on the swings under the oak while facing the vast fields with the wind on my face is the most delightfully relaxing place on our homestead.

You won Best Artistic Content Blog for your artistic drawing skills. How long have you been drawing? Were you always good at it? Did you ever take art lessons?

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing. For a while (when I was about 7 to 10 years old) I was sure I was going to be a cartoonist. I lacked many skills, and when I decided on illustrating books, I realized how miserably I fell short.

I have taken some drawing lessons and watercolor lessons. The librarians at our local library know me as the girl who is always checking out art books.

Can you share your favourite drawing?

I don’t know if I have one! Well, there was one I drew last winter while I was trying to come up with a story about a little boy who goes on an adventure. He meets a creature, an old forest-dweller named Grunimy Sneed. I ended up liking the picture more than the story.

Has being homeschooled allowed you to spend more time drawing?

When I was in the first grade (in public school) my teacher was concerned about the fact that I was constantly doodling. Now I can doodle all the time - while Mom is reading out loud, if I want to embellish History notes, etc. It also comes in handy when I can’t figure out or memorize a concept in science. I’ll draw it out over and over until I get it. And no one looks at me weird! My teacher sees it as very healthy.

What do you want to do with your talents and do you feel God is leading you in any certain directions with them?

I strongly feel God calling me to illustrate children’s books. It’s been a passion of mine for quite some time, and He’s been opening doors for me. It’s a job most people do from home, so I would be able to be a homemaker and illustrator.

What does a typical day look like in your home? Is there a routine you follow daily?

Emily and I get up before Dad leaves for work so he can pray with us at the beginning of our day. Showers, quiet time and breakfast follow, and when we’re “in school,” various subjects fall before lunch and after lunch, including History, geometry, science, and English. And Art. Plenty of time for that. And then blogging. Then in the evenings after dinner we have family worship.

Do you have a separate room where you draw or where you keep your supplies? Care to share a photo?
Most of my drawing supplies are in the dining room, along with two computers, two china cabinets, lots of book cases, and a huge table. My drawing table faces the east window where I can get lots of natural light.

How long have you been blogging?

It’s been a year and a half now. The first six months Emily and I shared a Blogspot blog. Last July Mom and Dad let us get our own HSB accounts.

What are your favourite topics to blog about?

I enjoy blogging about what I’ve learned lately. I don’t do that often enough, but it’s easiest to squeeze my humor into it. And then if I’ve drawn something nice, I like to share it.

How much time would you guess you spend on blogging during a typical week?

That varies. In a typical week, perhaps 2-5 hours.

What are some good things that blogging has brought into your life?

I have met many like-minded people that I wasn’t sure were out there. I’ve been able to record some of the going-ons in my life, as well as display some of my work. Actually, that’s how I “met” Mrs. Novak. When she saw some of my work she asked me to do a two-page for her magazine. Those are only a few of the blessings that I’ve discovered.

Have there been pitfalls?

Oh, yes! Too many times I’ll find myself reading blogs and blog-hopping for hours on end, wasting time that I was supposed to spend on studying. And I’m very bad at returning comments. But it’s been an overall good experience.

Do you have a place on the web where people can find your drawings or learn how to draw themselves?

I recently started a blog called “The Drawing Blog.” Just about every weekend I post a drawing lesson. I also post my drawings on both “A Bowl of Moss and Pebbles” and “The Drawing Blog.” You can find “The Drawing Blog” here: http://homeschoolblogger.com/thedrawingblog

Thank you Miss Breezy for sharing a little about yourself! I know I enjoyed it and I hope others did too! May God bless you as you follow his leading. I’m sure we’ll be seeing children’s books by Miss BreezyTulips in bookstores soon! You have a wonderful talent!

Recently a new blogger and friend asked me how he could get more hits to his site. Being the blogger who loves blogging so much and wants to share that love with others, I quickly compiled a list for him to go off.

Here is that list of ways I found that are great to get more hits to your blog.

#1: Get your name and url out there. Go to people’s blogs. Leave comments even if you don’t know them. Comment on their post, then kinda introduce yourself.

#2: Get things like mybloglog. When I see a new face on mybloglog on my sidebar I click it, and then go to their blog. If they are savory!

#3: Get on blogrolls. There are a couple blogrolls on the bottom of my right sidebar, you could consider joining.

#4: Get on stat counters. Counters like Homeschool Gold and Blog Statter.

#5: Send out blog alerts. When you send them out, people will see it and click it and read.

#6: Blog often. I try to blog on Saturdays and Wednesday, but usually end up posting more. I think that a blog receives more attention when it posts often. I would try to post more than once a week. If your friends know that you blog alot they will come and visit to see if you updated.

#7: Blog about many topics. The more things you blog about, the more searches your url will come up on.

#8: Blog about what you know. You don’t want to sound high and mighty, but you want people to know what you believe or what you have learned. I try hard not to talk about things that I don’t know about. I would go and post about how you can be an astronaut, because I don’t know much about it. Talking about things you don’t know about turns people off.

#9: Exchange ads and links. Talk to your friends about exchanging links and ads. I have an ad that people can put on their sidebar that links to me. If you don’t have an ad, you can email my awesome sister and she can come up with something that is totally you!

#10: Contribute to carnivals. Carnivals are a GREAT way to get your link out. I mostly participate in The Carnival of Homeschooling and The Homesteading Carnival. You can go through a list of carnivals at Blog Carnival.

#11: Enter contests. When you enter a contest, not only do you have a chance to win something, but you also get your link out.

#12: Hold giveaways. This goes hand in hand with entering contests. You can give away something that you won in a contest, if you don’t want it.

Comments:
When I first started, I commented all my friends. I got to know them. I made sure they knew me and would come and comment me back. Now I just comment people who comment and every once in awhile I comment people who I don’t normally comment.

Now if you want some things that will show you where people are coming from and things like that, I would get a Sitemeter for sure and probably a Feedjit.
I would get a Stumbleupon. My Mama has one and she blogged last nite and put it on her stumbleupon and had almost 200 people within less than 2 hours! After I saw that, I got a stumbleupon. lol!
Here is another article you should read about Feeds and Readers. That gives great advice on how to get them and what they do.

Pretty much the biggest thing is to get your link out! And also to get to know bloggers you want to be friends with. Make a relationship with bloggers. Another thing is you don’t just become a superblogger over nite. It does take time!
One thing to remember, blogging isn’t about getting people to your blog and getting a bunch a hits. It’s about relationships and about what you want from your blog. Mrs. C did a wonderful article about Better Blogging: The Purpose-Driven Blog. If you didn’t have a purpose for your blog when you started, maybe its time to think if you have one yet.

Better Blogging To You!

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You may have noticed that many of the authors on this site are avid amateur photographers and share lots of tips, interviews, and programs related to photography. It’s easy to get excited about programs like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, and then you do a little research and see the hefty pricetags these powerhouse programs carry. Ouch!

I feel your pain, and guess what: the companies that make these programs do, too. You may not realize it, but as an educator you can get serious discounts on all kinds of software, including Photoshop, Microsoft Office, and Corel Painter X.

Two popular academic discount distributors are Academic Superstore and JourneyEd.com. Here are examples of discounts on popular titles:

Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium: $594.95 (save $1205.00)
Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 with FREE 2GB Flash Drive: $249.98 (save $449.00)
Adobe Photoshop Elements: $64.95 (save $35.04)
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2: $99.98 (save $199.00)

Many computer programs are more affordable than you think, if you take advantage of the discounts that are available to us as homeschoolers. Happy shopping!

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I would also like to give a plug for GodlyHost web hosting. The HSBA site is now hosted there and we have had such a wonderful experience working with Paul. If you’re interested in privately hosting your WordPress blog, I would highly recommend this company.

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One of the best things I have done for my children’s home education has been to incorporate their blogging into their curriculum. When I created Growing in Grace Magazine, I did not intentionally plan to use it as an opportunity for my daughters to get their education, but it has turned into a wonderful opportunity for them, as well as a fantastic experience. Through the magazine my daughters have learned grammar, how to research a topic, write a ‘paper’, maneuver through the internet, basic HTML, and so much more! Using the computer is such a valuable tool in a child’s education in today’s fast paced world of technology.

There are millions of websites that are helpful for educating children in such a fun way, that they don’t feel as though they’re doing ’school work’. For our family, I select a few topics that are educational and that would interest my children.

They get to choose one or more to work on and I set a deadline for them. They can use the internet, the library, and people they know and trust to help them in their research. (Such as interviewing people with experience in the specific area of the topic they chose.) My daughter, Moni, has

chosen to join the States Exploration project that is an ongoing site where homeschooled bloggers can participate in the study of their state.

She also enjoys learning about domestic animals as she has written her articles about Pet Care. Not only that, but she is learning how to write devotions for young people ages tween and up. Moni enjoys writing with the other devotion authors we have there at GGM. Jessica, also known as Lady Jess, has learned how to create the print version of our magazine, editing, grammar, articles on beauty, health, devotions, and history. Jess also works on the computer for her dad’s ministry by creating charts

and various other forms.

It’s also interesting that some of their devotions are related to science, health, and history. We have made a few blogs required reading for my girls. I chose other homeschool girl blogs that are my girls ages. Jess and Moni read Miss Amanda’s and Miss Jocelyn’s blogs as well as some others. Gina is required to read Miss Hannah and Lady Rachel’s. In addition to the girls blogs they read, they are required to read all the articles each month and all the dailies at Growing in Grace Magazine.

There are also some great free homeschool newsletters on the net that are valuable resources as well. I also found a Drawing Blog that will guide you through learning to draw. The site is run by a teen homeschool blogger named BreezyTulip.She guides you through what you will need, hoe to organize your tools and she is so talented herself. I’m always amazed when I find young ladies who are able to be so productive with their time, and turn around to teach others also.

I will continue to keep a list of different teaching blogs that I find that are geared for teens. If you are a homeschool teen and you have a teaching blog, let me know by replying below. You could be featured in an upcoming article here at the HSBA!

Blogging is a great way for the kids to use their blogs as a tool for their education. If you’d like to get your child started on a blog of their own, you can read through our Better Blogging articles here at the HSBA. If you have any questions at all, feel free to reply below and let us know. The HSBA writers are here to answer your questions. Always use wisdom when your children are on the internet.

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This week I heard about a new online photo storage and editing program, Adobe Photoshop Express Beta (”beta” means that it’s still in the testing stage). In my experience Adobe products are always first-rate, so I decided to sign up for a free account and see what - if anything - makes Adobe Photoshop Express different from other photo storage and sharing programs like Photobucket or Picasa Web Albums.

Here’s a shot of the user interface, clean and easy to navigate:

“Free Online Software Brings Photoshop Technology to Anyone Taking Digital Photos”

I’ll bet that headline from the Adobe Press Release caught your eye! Here is where Adobe Photoshop Express stands apart from the photo storage crowd: online editing tools. We’re not just talking about cropping and red eye reduction, either.

Take a look at the editing screen. You get a large preview of your image as you test different editing techniques:

Here’s a closeup of those editing options:

Here are examples of what I was able to do with my photo using various Adobe Photoshop Express options.

Adjust highlight, fill light, sharpen, pop color:

Adjust hue:

Black and white:

Sketch:

This is only a sample of the photo editing power in this online service; for every technique demo I’ve given you, there were multiple additional options available.

While Adobe Photoshop Express is capable of editing exposure, saturation, and white balance, it can also perform the most commonly used photo editing techniques such as cropping, rotating, red-eye removal, and touch-ups. Once your image is ready, you can link, embed, email, or download it.

If you’re looking for a service with more than the usual photo storage and sharing options, look no further than Adobe Photoshop Express.

[At the time of publication there is a limit of 2GB storage; only JPEG images are accepted, and the service is open to U.S. residents only.]

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I sat down to write this post and being the anal retentive “eye-for-detail” gal that I am, I had to go back and review all the past posts to see what we have covered to make sure I didn’t repeat something you already know. Guess what?! I learned a lot reading all those posts and wanted to put all the links here again so you could see what you have been missing if you haven’t tuned in to the HSBA’s Better Blogging series. The ladies that have posted on this topic have done a smash-up job and have covered so much territory that it begs to be repeated. I’ll have to keep my new ideas for next week… or pass them on to the next author since Saturday really ISN’T my scheduled day to post!We hope that our site is a beacon of HELP for homeschoolers and homeschool bloggers and this series is dedicated to making blogging more fun, easy, and meaningful for each of you. We know that you all have something to say, and we hope to help you find ways to say it well!

Be sure to click back on the links above each section to review the post if you want further details about any of these abbreviated tips on how to improve your blogging, share your voice, show us your images, increase your traffic, etc. I have grossly shortened much of the wisdom to create a quick reference list for you all… so by all means, click and read the real thing if you find a particular tip helpful!

Hallie’s First Better Blogging Post
- Make your site Eye Candy (design is king)
- Be genuine (be yourself)
- Learn from successful bloggers
- Learn basic HTML
- Back up your template
- Keep a notebook for your blog thoughts
- Write in advance (drafts are your friends)
- Link, Link, Link
- Get a free counter

Hallie’s Second Better Blogging Post
- Blog daily
- Create GREAT content
- Comment, Comment, Comment
- Promote your blog
- Join blogrolls
- Use catchy post titles
- Submit to directories of like-minded folk
- Host a carnival
- Have a contest
- Do a meme
- Use Technorati
- Use trackbacks
- Ping
- Be patient (a readership won’t appear over night)

Hallie’s Third Better Blogging Post
- Protect your identity online (be safe)
- Respond to your commentors

Dawn’s First Better Blogging Post
- Keep an eye on the calendar (especially if you have a writing assignment on a group blog)
- Write about what you know and love
- Share cool discoveries
- Take notes at home (kids are great blog material!)
- Guard your mouth (think first before you speak - you might get it thrown back at you later)
- Mingle (read and comment on other blogs!)

Amanda’s First Better Blogging Post
- Comment on your own blog’s posts in the comment thread
- Keep your comments on topic in other’s posts
- Don’t be anonymous
- Stay ahead of contest deadlines
- Get the word out and promote your contests (and your friends’ contests)

Amanda’s Second Better Blogging Post
- RSS Tips about the following blog reader services: sitemeter, homeschool gold, blogstatter, clustrmaps, feedburner, feedblitz, bloglines, technorati

Dawn’s Second Better Blogging Post
- Strikethrough Text
- Picasa photo uploading and photo library tutorials

Amanda’s Third Better Blogging Post
- Keyboard shortcut Chart

Dawn’s Third Better Blogging Post
- Photos and Graphics sites to help give your blog pizazz

Amanda’s Fourth Better Blogging Post
- How to post images with html
- How to post images with links
- How to align images left, right, center
- How to change font colors

Now, I don’t know about you, but those are some tips I want to have in one place for future reference. Even old bloggers can learn new tricks.

You can also stop over at my blog and read one or two of my older posts about blogging. A few of the tips above may be on those older posts as well. As you will find, if you read other bloggers’ posts on blogging, one thread will stand out: BLOG ABOUT WHAT YOU LOVE or KNOW. That is the key to making sure your content is GREAT. It is, after all, the content that will keep your visitors coming back. Being truthful, being yourself and sharing your passion is what makes people flock to BLOGS for news rather than just relying on the media. Politicians KNOW THIS. I know because they contact bloggers regularly to join their campaigns! You can tell if someone is genuine when you read their blogs. I love REAL people.

I hope that you enjoy our thoughts here at the HSBA as we continue to serve you! Happy homeschooling and blogging!

Love in Him,

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~~~~~~~~~~~Mark your calendar~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Carnivals:

–>Judy of Consent Of The Governed will be hosting the next Carnival of Homeschooling.

–>The Charlotte Mason Carnival is at Liberty and Lily.

–>The Homesteading Carnival is at Shades of Pink this week.

–>The next Carnival of Principled Government is to be held at She’s Right.  Here is the handy dandy carnival submit form.

–>The Carnival of School Politics and Philosophy is up over at Bell Work Online.

–>This week’s Carnival of Space is up at Dynamics of Cats.

Contests:

*COH Icon - Graphics Contest at Why Homeschool*

• Don’t forget the Cates are holding a contest for icons for The Carnival of Homeschooling!  Why Homeschool’s Carnival of Homeschooling Graphics Contest

*Dianne asks, “Ready for a Contest?” *

• and challenges you to participate and enunciate something great to shoot for as a goal in 2008. You can even abbreviate, and please don’t be late. Contest ends 12:00 midnight on Thursday, January 31, 2008.

*“Write Like Mike” Homeschool Writing Contest * 

• Calling all homeschoolers who think they can “Write Like Mike.” Know any sports-crazy children between the ages of 8-12? Get them to write a sports column about a local or national event (250 words or less) and have them enter Walden Media/The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s “Write Like Mike” Contest for an opportunity to have their sports column published in an upcoming issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!  SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 14, 2008

*MamaArcher Book Giveaway*

• MamaArcher is having a giveaway! To enter, leave a comment. If you want a second entry, please post about his on your blog & link back to this post. Please leave a comment HERE with the url of that post. The last day for entries is February 3rd. The winner will be announced on Feb. 4th. Good luck & spread the word! She is offering the following book: Upper Grade Phonics by Joyce Codesa, Sarah McFadden Fornara, Jan Martin, and Norm Sneller

*Heart of the Matter Online Homeschooling Mag Homeschool Care Package Contest*

• Sometimes it is just a bit hard to get back into the swing of things after the holidays so how about a Homeschool care package to bring a little excitement back?  One lucky winner will receive a very well-stocked homeschool care package!

*Heart of Wisdom E-Book Contest*

• I have not yet even blogged about the HOW E-Book I won in this contest! A Free Book Random Drawing will be held every Monday through the months of December and January starting December 10. Each week, THREE Heart of Wisdom subscribers will be randomly selected to receive one FREE Homeschool Book from Homeschool-Books.com. We will offer a new title each week. 1st place will receive the tree book 2nd and 3rd place will receive the Ebooks.

~~~~~~~~~~~Participate in~~~~~~~~~~~~

*January SWAP TIME!*

It is time to sign up for the January SWAP! Leave a comment and let Heather know you want to participate. If you have never participated in a swap, Check out our past SWAP Posts here at HSBA. Chances are they will answer all of your questions and more. Oh, and if you swapped in the past and forgot to send in your link, it isn’t too late! We would love to add your post showcasing your swap gift to our past posts. People still like to click back and see all the gifts, so by all means - share! 
  

*The Winter Reading Challenge*

Trish’s Winter Reading Challenge is from Jan. 7th - March 17th, 2008. It’s not really a contest, but Trish is giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate to one participant!
You need to read her original post so you know what to do, like sign Mr. Linky with a direct link to your post once you’ve had a chance to make a list of the books you intend to read between January 7 and March 17, 2008. Also, As an added incentive, she will be sending one lucky participant a $25 gift certificate to (where else?) Amazon.com. She’ll do a random drawing from the names of everyone who posts both an initial list by Monday, February 11, 2008 and a post about their results at the end of the challenge. The drawing will be held Monday, March 17, 2008 sometime in the evening. The winner’s name will be posted after the drawing. :)I am making a list of books I want to read this year. I will be adding to it as I go, and I will try to complete as many as I can in the WRC time. Please go to her original post to get all the details! 

*Homeschooling Boys Website and Yahoo Group*

HomeschoolingBoys.com is a site I just found a couple of weeks ago. It is a site for homeschool families with boys and covers topics from homeschool issues to discipline to field trips. There is a Yahoo Group you can Click to join here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Take A Look~~~~~~~~~~~~~

English and Grammar Curriculum: 

English for the Thoughtful Child 1 is an English/Writing for children ‘Grades: 3-4′. A Simply Grammar-like course for a younger child following the Charlotte Mason approach from Greenleaf Press. It contains everything you need for language arts - wholesome classic literature excerpts, narration, dictation, memorization, and composition. Lessons are self-contained and the book is very easy to use with short, manageable exercises and assignments. Like Simply Grammar, this volume is also a revision of an older book, complete with quaint, but stimulating, period illustrations.

English for the Thoughtful Child 2 is the English/Writing for children ‘Grades: 3-4′. This sequel contains all the distinctive features of the original. It contains nature lessons, oral composition, picture lessons, memory work, and a gentle introduction to grammar, all centered around the development of writing skills.

Simply Grammar by Charlotte Mason and Karen Andreola is an expanded version of Charlotte Mason’s First Grammar Lessons. The exercises use Miss Mason’s method of narration. Most work is oral, but any of it can be written. One grammar rule is taught per lesson, and all exercises that follow refer to the rule. Your child will learn to create his own sentences, describe pictures, and tell stories using all the important parts of speech. It is nonconsumable, and can be used for a several-year program, and will enhance any language course. For 4th to 8th grade.  

Easy Grammar
I used this for my girls in high school. It is actually available for all grades. In the high school workbook, students start by learning a list of prepositions. Then, by identifying and crossing out prepositions and prepositional phrases, students can see the core of each sentence. Concepts are presented in small, understandable increments, followed practice pages. It is a complete grammar course. I had the girls do their worksheets and correct them themselves. We did the pages that they needed to complete what they already knew.  The workbook pages and tests are reproducible for families, although you will probably want to purchase the student workbooks because of the sheer volume of copying involved (200-300+ pages). Tests can be reproduced from the teacher book or a test booklet purchased for convenience.

Reading Fiction:

These are some of our favorite reads. I tried to categorize them into the best age groups, but many of them fit into any category, so you will have to see how it fits for you!

Blackberry Hollow by Paul Peabody

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Little Faith by Mrs. O.F. Walton A young child on the streets in the last century, the little orphan girl learns to trust people agin.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Oh, the lovely stories of Anne with an e, the little orphan on Prince Edward Island, who finds the real meaning of family.

Jeb Stuart by Gertrude Hecker Winders A true story about a famous American boy in the saddle.

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare The scene is Jerusalem, the time is of Christ, the characters are realistic, and you will love this historical fiction.

Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare A young family in Colonial times must make a choice to leave their young son in Indian country to get their entire family to their new claim in Maine.

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Classic story of the children who find the passage to another world in the wardrobe.

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Classic tale of good and evil in Middle Earth. There is far too little space on this page to give this justice. I love these books.

Lamb Among the Stars series by Chris Walley  Amanda loves with this series. It is a fully realized futuristic sci-fi/fanatasy epic. If you are interested in this series, “One thing about this series is in order to understand what is going on, you have to take yourself out of our sinful world and imagine a place where there is no sin and “The King Reigns”.”` Read The Lamb Among Stars Series.

A book for moms or dads that I am reading again… and all the way through this time, is Preparing Sons to Provide for a Single Income Family by Steven Maxwell.  Though this is not a fiction selection, I really wanted to let you know about this one! For a detailed list of what I am reading for the Winter Reading Challenge, read My Books 2008.
 

New Online Homeschool Magazine: The Heart of the Matter 

The purpose of The Heart of the Matter is to provide a place for homeschooling parents and teachers to find all of the resources they desire in one convenient location.  It is our hope that you will find inspiration, practical advice, objective reviews of curriculum and products, fantastic giveaways and more! Please take time to read this wonderful online magazine. There are so many writers over there you will consider friends already. Those you don’t know, well, it will be well worth your time to get to know them!
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Take a Moment~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pray for Homeschool Families: 

Heather, who is beating brain cancer. Read her testimony at Especially Heather.

Tristan Irwin, a two-year-old with Leukemia, and his family.

Lindafay’s family is being forced to leave their beloved home in Turkey. This is the land their children know as home. Please pray for them as they leave this land and people who hold a special place in their hearts, as well as their safety as they travel.

Thanks for joining me for this week’s Memo Monday. I hope I am giving you a good list to work with. If you have any ideas for Monday Monday, let me know. Is there a list you want to see kept up on or to let other homeschool moms know about?

Have a wonderful week!  Blessings!

          

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!