Welcome to Memo Monday. As usual, I am posting this late. I have no excuses. I have been chatting online with my friend and fellow HSBA writer, Christina, for about an hour now. I could have gotten it done. Before that, I was chatting with my friend, Danielle, who is not a writer on HSBA, but just decided to really blog, and she actually joined the May & June 2008 Swap too, to my surprise!

I worked late last night on The Homesteading Carnival: Southern Sunset Edition, and could not force myself to get this done. I am a last-minute, does-better-under-pressure kind of woman, you know. Besides that, I kept finding other things to do.

I have been participating in Robin’s meme: Super Spiritual Sunday Links for a couple of weeks and was recalling my favorite links last night. In addition to that, my DH, Matt, wanted to watch a movie late last night, and I told him I would, if he brought it upstairs, so I typed and pasted as we watched The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Sounds like a good name for a Memo Monday, huh? I think I would have to stop at the Good though.

In my last few Memo Mondays I covered Online Homeschool Groups, Gardening, Gas Prices, and Vacation Planning. I am kinda stuck on what else to write about. That means you are stuck reading my “Lately” post. I just got a sleepy babe to sleep. Jocelyn used the weed-eater on our jungle, but there is much more to overcome. We published Growing in Grace Magazine -July Online Edition on July first, and I got the August assignments out a few days ago. Or was that just yesterday?

I am getting so excited about school plans! I am reviewing some Knowledge Box Central lapbooks for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and I am just ready and rearin’ to go! A really neat resource I am reviewing is America’s 50 States by Learning with Weblinks. Awesome! Even Amanda looked through it and said, “Wow! That is neat, Mom!”. The lapbooks I have include the Elections one, and it will be fun to do that one in this 2008 Presidential Election year! Homeschooling real life! Awesome!

I also received two In the hands of A Child Project Packs, which are lapbook instructions too, and they are right up our alley! One is American Government, which will go great with the KBC Elections lapbook, and also Plants, which, if you know us, is totally us!

To be honest, I am a make-my-own curriculum teacher, and I had not seen these resources before. I am so pleasantly surprised with them. I already had the Modesty Lapbbook download, which I had received free from CurrClick, and I am excited to get to that with our children. I knew that the lapbook instructions - packets came in EBook format, but I did not know that you can purchase some of the lapbooks from KBC already assembled. We have a good printer and many hands to help assemble, so I wouldn’t need that option, but since that is how the Lapbooks came to me to review, I thought it was odd. Now I know. Now you know!

Also on my “Lately” list is Peanut M&Ms. Yes, I am going to talk about M&Ms. They are an infrequent treat. I wanted some chocolate, Amanda brought me my favorite, Peanut M&Ms. She also brought home a Dark Chocolate bar, but those are good for me, right? Well, that is what I read: Benefits of Chocolate

Amanda is currently reading Run, Baby Run, by Nicky Cruz for a GGM Interview with him or one of the actors in the upcoming movie. Be on the lookout for that!

I also ordered Eric the rest of the set of The Kingdom Series by Chuck Black. I was so glad that the Schoolhouse Store offered that he would sign one of the books! I didn’t tell Eric, but he is going to be SO excited! The boy has literally read the first three of his own six times! He borrowed the last three from the library, but wanted his own to read the other five times, I guess! What a thrill it will be to see his face when he opens it and see Mr. Black’s message personalized to Eric! Isn’t that fun?

Rachel and Eric also read The Sentinel: City of Destiny, by Landel Bilbrey, which I have yet to post (sorry Mr. Bilbrey).

Last, but not least, you have to check out the new E-Book: The Schoolhouse Planner. I think one of the lovely HSBA ladies will be reviewing it here soon, but you can always get a sneak peek. It is really awesome! It is interactive, which I love! My laptop is my scheduling brain, and I forget about papers, so it is really cool for us.

Since I love The Homesteading Carnival and Carnival of Homeschooling (though I rarely remember to submit before the deadline), I might as well give you the run-down of carnivals this week. There are so many that are beneficial to the homeschool mom.

Carnival of Homeschooling

current issue:
Jul 08, 2008
The Daily Planet

next issue:
Jul 15, 2008
Red Sea School

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 14, 2008
Alone on a Limb

Music Education Blog Carnival

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

next issue:
Aug 01, 2008
Music, Technology and Education: Mustech.net

The Charlotte Mason Carnival

current issue:
Jul 07, 2008
Hearts and Trees

next issue:
Jul 22, 2008
Praiseworthy Things

The Homesteading Carnival

current issue:
Jul 14, 2008
Walking Therein

next issue:
Jul 21, 2008
HowToMe

If you like to do memes and love the Psalms or Hymns or Worship songs, please feel free to join me for Saturday Psalm and Praise every Saturday. It has been a joy to read everyone’s favorites, hear the songs playing on their players and just get to know friends on that level.

I posted a contest on my blog for Baby-Wearing Mommas, if you are interested: Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride. You have until midnight on July 31, 2008.

Have a great week!!

Summer is the time for vacations. If you are a blogger and want to maintain your readership while you are gone on vacation, having fun with your family, there is an easy way you can still keep your blog up to date.

Blog sites like Blogger and Wordpress have the option that you can have a post set to post on a certain date that you choose. You can have an article all finished and then set the date you want it to publish on and it will automatically do it.
Other blog sites like HomeschoolBlogger don’t have this option, but you can have a draft ready, so that when you have time to post it, you will be able to.

Having drafts ready to go in your manager is a great way to keep up your blog when you are gone on vacation. It is so easy!
So better blogging to you this summer as you have a great time on vacation, as well as keeping up your blog!

Prayers and Blessings,

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