Maridel Willer

Here’s a great deal that I wanted to pass on:

Get next year’s shopping done early and for less money at the March Madness sale in the Schoolhouse Store! Check out some of the unit studies
and copy work to help round out this school year or for fun summer activities. Almost 200 items are on sale from vendors such as Auralog, Trigger Memory, Draw and Write Through History, American Schoolhouse Readers, and MANY more.

http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=specials

We have had an exciting journey over the past couple of months as we have received a myriad of different educational products to review for the TOS (The Old Schoolhouse Magazine) Crew. The opportunity to evaluate different types of curriculum is helping us further define our homeschooling goals and methods.

Several of the items that have come our way so far have been computer based programs. I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my personal thoughts regarding computer use in a separate post, rather than in the reviews for individual products.

There are a couple of concerns with online curriculum and computer software programs that I believe parents need to evaluate before they make a decision to use these in their home. I realize that every family will have a unique set of requirements when they are choosing educational materials, but here are some things to consider.

The first is the fact that too much time spent in front of a screen takes away from time that could be spent building relationships, reading great books and having real life learning experiences. Computer time can contribute to physical stresses on their body such as eye strain, and back, neck and wrist pain. We live in an age where computer use is integral to adult lives, but we must be careful to set appropriate limits or we will reap negative consequences. For example, research has demonstrated that the use of computer games affects the chemistry of the brain, may prevent dull the ability to experience pleasure from normal human interaction and can even be addictive.

The second thing that you need to consider when evaluating computer or any type of curriculum is whether the content of the product meets the standards of your family value system. For this reason, Christian homeschooling families may prefer to choose education material that is written from the perspective of a Biblical worldview over those that were written for the public school environment.

Because of these considerations, my family has decided to greatly limit computer use for our children, who are in the elementary grades. At this time we allow occasional use of the computer for creative and productive uses, such as writing and illustrating a story, but do not allow it for entertainment or educational games. Sometimes we help them research a topic on the computer with our supervision, but prefer to use the library and our own book collections for most investigative learning.

For us, the greatest benefits of homeschooling are the ability to tailor our children’s education to equip them for the unique purposes that the Lord has for them and the ability to choose the influences in their lives as they are forming their character and establishing core beliefs.

Where our children will be in the future will be affected by how they spend their time now and the habits they develop in their youth. Real learning is best done within the context of relationship – with the teacher and the material to be learned. We believe that a loving parent is the person best equipped to mentor and disciple their child both spiritually and academically.

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is one of my favorite resources for practical tips and Biblical encouragement for homeschooling. I just found out about an amazing deal they have next week during their annual Black Friday Sale November 26 – 30. For those 5 days only, they are drastically reducing their one-year subscription price to $7.95! That’s the price you would usually pay for just one issue at a bookstore!

A one-year subscription to this quarterly magazine also includes the Teacher’s Toolbox, a subscriber’s only E-Newsletter that will give you a bunch of seasonal teaching ideas with a free E-Book download every month! It’s like joining a free unit study of the month club! The free E-Books alone are valued at almost $250/year, so it’s great if you are homeschooling on a shoestring or just want to add in some little extras to spice up your teaching.

In addition to the magazine, you may want to check out the bonus gifts you will receive for shopping at their site. There is even a Win Big contest for whoever just happens to be customer 67,000 - who will receive a prize package valued at almost $500 including a $150 gift certificate to the Schoolhouse Store. (Who couldn’t use that at this time of the year?) You can qualify to win it no matter how much or how little you spend!

Do you have any “back to school” traditions in your family? Sometimes I think that one of the reasons that I decided to homeschool my children was so they would not have to experience those jittery butterflies that I remember flitting around in my stomach on the first day of school.

Even though we are a “year round” homeschooling family, we have a few traditions that the children really enjoy this time of the year.

One special seasonal event is driving around town and hitting every back to school supply sale so we can stock our cabinets with enough 20 cent glue sticks and 5 cent notebooks to last all year. While we are at it, we have fun filling up backpacks to donate to a local ministry that provides free school supplies to the children of migrant worker families.

Today we purchased another important item on our back to school list - new jammies! Why do we need new jammies in August? Why, for the Not Back to School Breakfast, of course!

On the official first day of school in our county, we will join about 100 other homeschooling families for a catered pancake breakfast which will be served to us on real china plates while we are still dressed in our pajamas. It is one event that is worth waking up early to drive across town at 8:30 on Monday morning.

I must confess that sometimes I have flashbacks along the way of my 15 plus years of the bleary eyed morning work commute. That is one of the many things that I do not miss from my old life, the one I was sentenced to before I was promoted to mommy-hood.

Now I have the awesome privilege of using all of those skills honed at the workplace to be a blessing to my family. One way I use them is to take a week or so to think about how we should spend our time this year and make decisions about our family routine for the fall. Read more about creating a relaxed family routine in your home in my”Family Routines” article category on the sidebar.

Have a wonderful first day of school at your house!

Want to get started homeschooling this year on the right track? 

Would you love to spend an afternoon–or a week–with another homeschool mom and plan out the details of your school year? Wouldn’t it be great to have someone take you step-by-step through planning out your goals, choosing techniques for teaching those new studies, deciding upon your curriculum selections, setting up your daily schedule, and fitting in REAL LIFE?

You can do it all from the comfort of home this weekend with my dear friend, Cindy Rushton, at her “Let’s Get Organized” Virtual Seminar.  Find out how to join us on line here.

Did you miss the The Ultimate Homeschool Expo?  It is not too late to listen in to this fabulous event.
The Ultimate Homeschool Expo membership page is now on-line!  Grab a ticket to access the following goodies:

Virtual Seminar Series
With 50+ Speakers and 200+ Workshops                                 
Virtual Vendor Hall!
Free Gifts!
Special Offers!
Mp3 Downloads for all audios (over $2000 value in workshops!)

Great value for only $40!  Purchase your ticket or get more information here.

Socialization

What a shock! Most people think that socialization is a
top reason to send your child to the schools run by the
government. They believe that the public school helps
socialize your children. What do you have when you
get a roomful of 10 year old boys? A room of fools!
Let’s face it, just having your child with a bunch of other
kids does not socialize your children properly. Oh, it
socializes them, but not with morals, character,
integrity, honor, courage. The only place a child
learns those attributes is from those who have
walked before him, adults who have developed
character in their own lives.

When your child attends public school, at any age,
he learns to socialize by developing a new vocabulary
(swear words), wearing new clothes (immodest at
best), showing little or no respect for authority,
developing a low work ethic, and so forth. If you
want your child to mature in these ways, the public
school is for you. My guess is you want to protect
your children from this type of socializing. (more…)

Just a quick note to let you know about some big news. My friend, Cindy Rushton, is hosting her Ultimate Homeschool Expo again. It is time for the weekly Preview Chats. They are fantastic!

A Preview Chat is an online seminar where you get to listen to the 2008 speakers. Those are free each week.  If you have never joined an online class, this is a great time to check it out.  Join us–I will be there - both as a participant and one of the speakers! You will love it!
 
Each session features a free seminar by one of the speakers. You can listen to the speaker on your computer or you can also “text chat” with other moms. It is hard to capture all of the fun in words. You have just GOT to join us! Get the details here:

Ultimate Homeschool Expo

5-16 UPDATE TO THIS POST:  The Expo is over, but it lives on in a fabulous on line membership site.  Access all of the workshop audios (over 200!) and receive lots of free homeschooling products from the speakers.  Get your membership ticket now at the above link.

My friend, Cindy Rushton is at it again! I am so excited!

I have been attending her Ultimate Homeschool Expo Preview Chats.
Talk about great! They are just A-m-A-z-I-n-G…or shall I say
ULTIMATE?

There is truly “no stone unturned” with this convention. Every
topic you could fathom is being addresssed.
 
Wonder what  it is all about? Oh! Let me share what Cindy is doing…
 
For a long time, Cindy has had a vision of setting up a homeschool
convention online. When she began teaching her Talk-a-Latte Online
Seminars, she knew that she had everything in place to go for the
dream. So, last year she gave it a try to host the very first
Ultimate Homeschool Expo. It was so fantastic. But, even that event
pails in comparison to this year’s  event. It is truly the ULTIMATE
event. Now, we are counting down weeks until the big event!
 
Well, we say till the big event, but Cindy is actually offering
Preview Chats featuring her 2008 speakers. Those are free each
week.  If you have never joined an online class, don’t toss this
offer! Join us–I will be there! You will love it!
 
Each session features a free seminar by one of the speakers. You
can listen to the speaker on your computer or you can also “text
chat” with other moms. It is hard to capture all of the fun in
words. You have just GOT to join us! Get the details here:

Ultimate Homeschool Expo

This is a great article by my friend, Cindy Rushton.  Enjoy!
Psst!  A Secret to Scheduling Success!

by Cindy Rushton
http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=hclife&pid=1
Want to know one of my biggest secrets to homeschooling the easy way? Want to know one of my biggest secrets to scheduling success? This one secret can make your daily schedule finally fit. It can end your scheduling frustrations forever.

I am not a “schedule by the minute” type of person. (GRIN)  I fail with schedules like that. They don’t meet my needs. My life includes too many areas that have different needs daily. Timed schedules just do not work for me.

So, what has worked for me? Setting up a framework to my day. This is one incredibly powerful tip. It can make a HUGE difference in your day as well. It just might be the secret that has alluded you through the years.

Wondering what I mean by a “framework” for your day? By framework, I mean a general flow to each day that includes all of the areas of my life that I juggle. But, how do I do that? Here are some quick tips: (more…)