Another Homeschooling Magazine...& 2 Freebies!!

There is a new magazine coming to the rack:

The Homeschool Handbook.

You can read the premiere issue for free online, or download it and read it on your computer (suppose you could even print it out...lots- of- ink...)

I love The Old Schoolhouse Magazine...and I also like Home School Enrichment Magazine.

Do I need another one to read??

I don't know yet what I think of it...I'm a bit partial to TOS ;) Can we ever get too many? I mean, to read, 'cause I'm pretty sure I can have too many to pay for =D

Think that is something? Here's another something: FREE Page Plus Essentials Download from Amazon.com

You can see Money Saving Moms post on this download. You can watch a video of what it is exactly before you decide if it is worth 'free' ;) not everything free is worth the time, effort and space that it uses! But I'm thinking this is worth it :)

And check out FiveJs too :)

Thanks to FiveJs for letting us know about BOTH of these!

Newest Adds to Links Page

I don't think that there are many additions but thought I'd point out what there is :) & if I'm repeating myself sorry! Hope I didn't forget any.

Art/Music
+Drawspace (thanks go to FiveJs for posting about this!)
+Famous Paintings Art Appreciation(thanks to Cottage School for sharing!)
+Synthesia Piano for everyone, download for free add the 'learning' pack for $20

Computers
+W3Schools Web building tutorials (found this at FiveJ'sDesign)
+Dance Mat Typing BBC site, haven't used this one myself other than to see how it is set up; was made aware of it from someone on 3RHomeschooling Yahoo! Group. It is a flash site but it can be run with non-flash option.
+Typingweb Free lessons for typing online. There are games on the site and after reaching a point, you get to 'rest' by playing games- which are actually helping you learn to type :)

Geography/History
+Bringing Up Learners site with lesson plans, 150+ page guide
+Boys' Book of Sea Fights by Chelsea Curtis Fraser Military History up to WWI
+Boys' Book of Battles by Chelsea Curtis Fraser Naval Military History up to WWI

Government/Economics/Civics
+Lessons for the Young Economist by Robert P. Murphy (thank you to Rebecca Miller for this resource!) this is published under the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0
+Choosing to Participate A Facing History and Ourselves Publication, focuses on the civic choices—both large and small—people make about themselves and others in their community, nation, and world. The site also has lesson ideas.

Math
+Advanced Algebra II grades 9-12 this is a textbook, click on "Website" to view the pdf, includes lesson plans, teachers guide, assignments/homework, detailed explanations of the concepts
+I Play Math Games K-12 that link takes you to the free worksheets (thanks to Tell'n It! for posting about this!)
+Dad's Worksheets free timed math worksheets, this site even has a timer! "One Dad, two daughters. 5,137 worksheets...and counting!"

Science
+Light and Matter open-source physics textbooks college 200 level
+Eco Kids Canadian environmental education site
+My Science Box this site is really neat!
+Bottle Biology found this site by digging around on My Science Box

Sites of Interest for Learning/Teaching
+All My Faves/Education this is a site with so many sites listed you'll just have to check it out to see how great it is! Not all the sites are free but I'm sure there are a lot!
+CK-12 open content, the mission is to reduce the cost of textbook materials for the K-12 market both in the U.S. and worldwide. (Thanks to Laurie from 3RHomeschooling for the great resource!)
+Free-Clep-Prep Free resource for CLEP, DANTES, and ECE. Just one good thing about this site is it lists the tests available by difficulty level.
+CLEP Prep Lesson Plans for many CLEP tests. Click Lesson Plans to see what's available.
+Free Crossword Puzzle maker You can make the crossword free and print it from the web but cannot 'save' it.

What We’ve Accomplished Today…08/31/10

Woohoo...school actually started before 9 this morning. It seems that they each have a lot of work to do today but really I don't think it is so much. In HomeschoolSkedtrack you have to enter a time length for each activity that is done. I have them all as between 30-60 minutes (except Bible Verse: 10). So it seems that they have an extremely long day (Lee's says 8 hours??) but realistically it doesn't take that long.

Anyway, here goes!

Both:

Bible: OT: Matthew 20 (Lee) & 22 (Fox)- a day or two Lee either didn't do her readings or cannot remember reading chapter 20 and 21... I thought they were both on 22 (oops, I either didn't pay attention or entered it wrong in my 'records')

Verses: Lee: James 4:7, 8 Fox: Hebrews 4:12 (both only recited -Lee may have written hers?- because these are from last week and they pretty much have them this week)

Spanish: Colors (flashcards...we are not doing so well with this subject...perhaps on Thursday...)

Church History: Finished St. Ambrose (we had fun 'narrating' this reading- which is morbid in a way since there was a lot of death...um, yea)... next is Chrysostom -I'm trying to find a reliable ebook that is free...but having a tough time!

Shakespeare: King Lear; Read from Cliff Notes; Summary of Act 1, Scenes 1 & 2 (we will be reading from Lamb's Shakespeare next week)

Life of Fred: Lee: Still working on Chapter 2 in Beg. Algebra (there are a lot of questions!); Fox: Chapter 26 in Decimals & Percents (only 5 questions...I think I need to find some timed drill work for him)

Reading: Lee: Prince Caspian; Fox: Age of Fable

Writing: My Access online (Fox is writing about If I Never Had to Sleep...or something like that; Lee is writing something about Dreams...) it's interesting that although they both do not like this program it has definitely awakened their desire to write again...they just dislike that they have to write.

Science: Reviewing chapter 1 (they didn't do so well on the quiz :/ so we need to review because a test is next!)

Lee:

Bede's: Week 7 section

Logic: Fallacy Detective; Lesson 19 (Either Or)

World Studies Read pages 58-60, Section Review on page 60 #1-5

Fox:

Military History: Boys' Book of Sea Fights, narration.

Story of the World: Chapter 6, labeled maps and wrote some on the timeline

Spelling City was supposed to do a test but...played games only :(

Math Arcade

Much better than yesterday! I guess :) Attitudes were sour at varying points and so privileges have been taken away. I don't need to wonder how either of my kids gained the 'gifted' label while in public schools. With 25-30 kids in a classroom it is easy (or necessary??) to set the standard low. A kid meets that low standard, and passes it to what I would consider average, and they are 'gifted'. A parent gets the mentality that their child is 'superior' (because after all isn't that what an A means?) but are sometimes shocked to find they are really average.

I am not putting down my kids, please don't misunderstand. My kids are very smart and very capable. There are kids out there that strive to high standards on their own, or with the coaching/pushing of family and/or mentors. My kids are not that motivated on their own. They've been given only a low standard to reach for and have become comfortable with that standard. The teachers and public school is as much to be held at fault as I am. (Or am I more responsible??) Without the interaction I should have had with teachers and the schooling process while my kids were in public school, I was voluntarily unaware. At times I think I was simply content to let them be labeled 'gifted' because it made it easier to let the mediocrity fly. Argh, hindsight is indeed 20/20!

Just makes my job all the more, uh, fun ;)

It is now just after 12 and we are just about done with school. I put up Science although we haven't done it yet. It will get done though, right after lunch. Then we are done! Oh, well, there's still chores to do ... muhaaahaa (yes, I'm evil).

What We've Accomplished Today....08/30/10

Okay So I said I wasn't going to do this anymore but...I have to! I can't keep a record unless I write it all down (er, type it all down). I keep a record through some other source but mostly forget and have to catch up for weeks at a time. Blah, no fun. This is much more fun. And if I thought this was something that somehow was disrespectful or a disservice to my kids, I think it was/is simply the condition of my heart and mind that need to change. I tend to focus too much on the negative aspects and not the positive :( So that's something that I will work on as well. But I have to do the WWATs or I'm just not going to keep track any longer...it just seems doomed otherwise.

Okay, so that is my 'reasoning' ;) Now, here is What We've Accomplished Today...08/30/2010

Nothing.

LOL I'm halfway, no, more like 3/4 of the way joking. We did no 'school' today but did 'learning' activities. I received a few electronic devices, ahem, in the mail today so we have been learning about those ;) We learned a lot about Word 2010~ Also, Lee wrote a lot on her book. Fox even started to put his down on 'paper'. Fox made a quick movie with LEGOs also (stop motion?). I can't wait to see the finished deal.

If I think about it we did 2 of the 3 Rs: Reading, 'Riting, and Relaxing. OH! Relaxing isn't one of the Rs, silly me.

*Note* Here comes the 'negative' seeking...but just bear with me, it has a positive, I think, near the end.

With the new electronics we (uh, I) got carried away and didn't start school on time. THAT right there is why we did no school. That is the absolute bottom line--and I wasn't on top of it this morning, or this afternoon. I love routine, crave it even...but find it so so difficult to get into one.

Tomorrow is another day (as Scarlett was fond of saying) and I will not be on the computer much *I'm saying this now so I will be accountable* and we will do our school. The kids read so much today though that if I were to count the minutes it would have been a weeks worth of reading in one day- maybe. They read a lot anyway :)

Got a book from Booksneeze today! Yay!

Awhile ago I agreed to review Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny by Agostino von Hassell and Ed Breslin from The Generals Series for Booksneeze and actually quite enjoyed the book. So when I saw Lee: A Life of Virtue by John Perry, aslo from The Generals Series, I quickly requested it.
I haven't started actually started reading yet but soon, very soon, I will.

I also got a book from Paperback swap and a kind lady sent me CDs that compliment two books she sent me before (they had no covers so she could not list them).

Well, that's about all that's exciting today... :) Better than nothing and way better than something bad-exciting!! I've been scouring my public library for books on South Dakota. I did find a few that I think will be beneficial. Actually, there were more than I anticipated. Guess I better get back to 'work'!

Hope all have a great day!

You're Not Going to Want to Miss This!! Good thru 09/15 & 09/19

Awhile ago I wrote a couple of posts on my magazine subscriptions. Some might know that I am an affiliate for The Old Schoolhouse magazine as well as a TOS Crew member this year (yay!) but even if I were not I would want you to know about this great deal- because it is GREAT.

Until September 15:

Get a one-year print subscription—new, renewal, or a gift for a friend—for only $7.95 (U.S. and Canada)! New subscriptions start with Winter 2010.

But there are only 5,000 of these to give at this great discounted price. Oh, make that 4,999 (I'm getting in on this!!)!

Click the picture!
If you don't want the physical magazine sent to you (go green!) sign up for the digital one-year subscriptions for only $6.95—new and renewals.
If you Just Can't Wait for the Winter issue of TOS, then choose the 1-year subscription + the current issue for just $12.95! There are a lot of options here!

OH! and since I'm sharing this awesome deal I will let you in on a great new product put out by TOS: PLANNERS for students!

CLICK THE PICTURE!!!
Ah, and an added goodie that comes with any planner that you purchase until September 13: buy an E-Planner, Planner on CD, Planner E-Book, or Planner CD with Student Planner and get the 2008 and 2009 Planner modules and the WeE-book insect bundle free—that’s 27 free E-books!
**Disclaimer: I am a TOS affiliate. The links included in this post are affiliate links. I will receive some compensation (cash, if I'm lucky!) if you purchase from TOS Store after clicking my links. See more about my Disclosure/Policies.**

Makes me glad I have internet... because I don't have cable.

I was surfing my Yahoo! Groups (only got to the first few pages) when I saw this:

Restoring Honor Rally on C-SPAN

Watch it, if you would like. I did not know what it was, honestly because there was nothing but a link. Here is what it says at the site:
Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and others spoke at the Restoring Honor Rally, held at the Lincoln Memorial.

Perhaps it is just me but just listening to the national anthem gets me all teary eyed.... The entire program is over 3 hours. Many of the people who speak, I don't even know who are. The first speaker, Glenn Beck, poignantly states, "America today, begins to turn back to God." If that were only true!

*note: it does turn into (or is it's original purpose?) a fundraiser of sorts, tossed in here and there.*

Insomnia Strikes Again

It's not terribly late, not really. But I was going to get up early with hubby tomorrow because he is going to be out of state for the entire week (yes, I just had the poochy lip syndrome). I plan on making him some breakfast- if he wants it. He doesn't like to eat real early in the morning. Not that I blame him. Guess we'll see.

And I'm finally done with this term's classes :) Yippie Skippy! Now I have almost a month of no school. It is nice... If all went well I ended with a B in each, if not so well then a B & a C. I don't want a C but I did what I could. I missed an assignment in each class :( That's why the grades are low. Of course, I still have to work ;) You know, teach and all that stuff. But they kids' school is so much more fun than mine. Although next term I will be taking Spanish (note to self: kids need 4 YEARS of foreign language in order to get ahead in this life!)

So I was just looking at Petra School's Geography Terms Tour- Cliffs and Debbie's Geography/History Link-Up, which got me to thinking: we need to do a states study! Why? Well, why not! The kids did this in elementary school I am sure but they do not recall majority of it. So I am trying to think of what to do for state study that is fun, not too time consuming (for them or me!), and fun. Oh, I mentioned fun already! One thing that I want to do, regardless of studying states or countries or just the world! is to make salt dough maps (?). I never did that when I was in school (yes, yes, I was deprived lol) and as far as I know my kids didn't either. So why not now :)

I want to find books that are written in the different states by a good writer. There is a lady that wrote books about all the states (she's from Nebraska perhaps??) and the kids loved them but they are books for the fairly young (1-3 grade ?). I know that John Muir is a good author of such books but I am not entirely sure that is the route I want to go just yet...in keeping with the 'fun' part...

So I was searching for state facts for South Dakota. We learned quite a bit last year when we traveled there but we've not retained it well. Or maybe it's just me :)

Anyway, now it is late, late, late and yay! I'm tired....

Geography Blog Hop?: 1st stop- South Dakota Black Hills OR What We Did This Weekend!

Custer, South Dakota~ Oldest City in the Black Hills. This isn't where we stayed this past weekend, but we drove through there and stayed at the Game Lodge area campground in the Black Hills National Forest.

We live in Wyoming now and you might think,"Wyoming=Yellowstone National Park". Which you would be right. But we live on the other side of Wyoming. Here it looks a lot like Nebraska (flat and dry...and a lot of cows). That picture there should give you an idea...Not much green down where you see "Torrington", not much in the way of elevation changes either.

We ventured to South Dakota (to see Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse) twice last year and just fell in love with the Black Hills. We went back again the second time for more sightseeing and climbing (Harney Peak). This year our purpose was simply for some R&R and that's exactly what we got. Not much in the way of sightseeing nor driving (car didn't move once we turned it off after arriving). But here are some photos from last year and this year:

All those photos are from last year, our first and second trip. Here are some from this trip. No buffalo in these photos :) We stayed right at the campground and although we saw many buffalo chips, no buffalo (bison??)!



There was a pond in the campground that had ... cattails!!! I haven't seen cattails since I lived in Ohio, so at least 20 years! My kids have never actually seen a cattail and this was their first to touch one too :) We were intruding on a spiders territory though and didn't know it in our excitement. (Check out that zigzag stitch!!)




A few more just because photos :) The first one was Lee getting an artistic shot of the fire

and a cocoon.

and some deer in the field by the pond

Here's a last picture, I drew this after our hike up Harney Peak last year.

and a photograph my hubby took:


Honestly, while we were there this time we didn't 'learn' anything ;) We visited the 'theater' and watched a PowerPoint by Kelly Jo Schumaker (oops probably spelled her name all wrong) which was very informative. Homestake Mine (in the Black Hills) is now home to a laboratory where they are researching "Dark Matter". Sounds interesting...or creepy, however you want to look at it! Anyway, I plan on getting us more educated about South Dakota this coming week.

Haven't decided where we will go next for our Geography Hop...

4H 2010- Going to STATE!! **UPDATE**

So we didn't get to go to the state fair in Douglas, WY. It was 2 weeks ago. We didn't get to go to the county fair either~ we were in WI. Oh well.

You might recall that both Lee and Fox won ribbons. Fox got a red ribbon for his robotics poster and Lee received 4 blue ribbons (all her entries) and 3 of Lee's entries went to state.

We picked up their entries yesterday afternoon and were pleased to see that Lee was given 2 blues and a red at state.

We're just jazzed! Now...do they get anything to go along with that? Someone (a friend that grew up with 4H) mentioned money...I'm not going to mention this to Lee but wouldn't that be awesome (or maybe we've already talked about it...my memory...)!

They will need to get their project notebook (?) all organized, pictures put in, forms filled out and all that so they can turn it in September 20th. Since this is our first year, we need some help. Thankfully there is going to be a club meeting set up to help with putting these together the correct way and also some ideas on making them great :)

I'm thinking...Giveway. Yea, that's what I'm thinking!

I think that for my 300th blog post, I will host another giveaway. That's less than 20 away...shouldn't be too difficult.

Now, what to give away? Oh, I know, I know! Can't tell ya just yet though ;) Come back and keep checking while I work out all the KiNkS!

Another giveaway will happen when I reach 50 followers. Oh, I'm getting all excited! I've definitely got two great ideas in mind...I'll have to iron out the wrinkles in my plan....

See you in a while...at my next post!

How do you make a 'cover' in Word?

I would like to put a 'cover' on the book I am writing. What, is that putting the cart before the horse? I do not have the ability (as in I don't have the software needed) to turn my document into a PDF. I've read many many blog posts and articles that start out great and then...well, they get to that PDF converting part and my eyes gloss over and they've lost me. I 'know' how to convert but I cannot. No, I'm not going to buy Adobe Acrobat (or whatever it's called...it's expensive and I just refuse to...for now).

I am hoping to 'upgrade' to a newer version of Word but I just love my 2003 version so much...it'll be tough but someday I will upgrade. Just not today.

So, in simple terms can you tell me how to put a 'cover' on my Word document?

Thanks in advance to any and all who take the time to first read this, and then hunt down that elusive information for me :)

I'm Writing a Book!

I'm excited! I have wanted to write since I was little. I've loved reading and love words. I was looking for a book for my kids about ancient civilizations that isn't dry and boring with facts (or 'theories' such as evolution) presented in a dull, monotone manner, but have yet to come across one. I do have quite a few of my own books that are great for using to understand the early civilizations better but they way they are presented, I do not particularly care for or the information has to be pieced together. Granted, I've not been able to check out every book that is available. Our public library here in Goshen County, although they try, is very lacking. Unfortunately, it is also based on what is 'popular' or what the director of the library decides is okay to have on the shelves. The library does not even have a "Friends of the Library". Instead there is a 'committee' that is headed by the library director. Well, I don't mean to bash on my library because we love the library.

Anyway, I am hoping to have a book that describes ancient civilizations through time. From the beginning to about the fall of the Roman Empire. Some things my book will not include are descriptive rituals or practices (some civilizations have been known to have participated in some pretty nasty rituals/practices); no evolutionary theories; and nothing that cannot be confirmed by more than one source. I also do not want it to be a 'dumbed-down' book. I know kids of all ages are smart, no need to pretend they aren't! Some things that it will include are biblical references, information presented in a way that is interesting (I hope), activities and recipes at the very end that correspond to each time in history. I hope to include civilizations from all parts of the earth that are known about.

Another thing about my book: it does not support the view that the earth is millions of years old. Because of this, there are some dates that cannot be confirmed, they are only guesses. I do not pretend to know when these dates are so I have not included them, but there is a note at the beginning that lets readers know this.

When I am done with the book I hope to find a few people to 'proofread' it or edit it for me before I actually 'publish' it.

I am just so excited! I started yesterday on it and the first chapter alone now has more than 10 pages. I think that's pretty good for starters :) I have a lot of work ahead of me still but I hope my excitement does not die out and I can continue this work. And if it is not something that is widely received by others, at least I personally will have learned a great deal :) I know my kids will read it ;) lol

He Hath Heard My Voice

I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. Psalm 116:1-2

I love the Lord: Everyday I am reminded that I love the Lord. I have a heart that over flows with love for Him. It is possible for me to love the Lord because He first loved me.

He hath heard my voice and my supplications: How often have I come to the Lord with an aching heart, a worrisome heart, a tired heart? How many times have I not been able to say a word because of my pain or worry? How often have I been ashamed and could not even say what I wanted, what I needed? And yet, He hears me every time. He listens to my heart. He knows what I am feeling, thinking, without my saying a word.

He hath inclined His ear unto me: I know He hears when I pray, when I say nothing at all. I know that when I am in need of Him, He leans my way, carries me through. I am special to Him.

Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live: He is my God, my Lord. He cares for me. He never leaves me, never turns from me. I will turn to Him, I will call on His name, I will keep His ways before me; as long as I live.

Everyday I have a scripture waiting for me on my sidebar. I read them everyday. Some days they make me think, reflect more than usual. Today's verse did that. I felt a welling up in my heart and I wanted to share.

Penmanship....Copywork... Freebie

Thanks to Freely Educate for pointing this freebie out. It comes to us from the Bogart Family Resources.

It is a 109-page ebook that helps homeschoolers with how to choose a style of penmanship, why to do copywork/penmanship, and includes 36 pages of copywork.

It is labeled as elementary grades at Freely Educate...or those that need to brush up on penmanship.

Curriculum Clean-Out, August 22-28, 2010

Perhaps it is pure selfishness or simply the truth but I have nothing to give away in this Curriculum Clean-Out, hosted by

I love all my books! Truly though, if I had something, I would give it.

Wanted to make some that aren't aware, aware of the Curriculum Clean-Out going on from August 22-28, 2010. There are some great curriculum giveaways. I've entered for two myself ;) Thanks to SisterTipster's Tell'n It! for bringing this to my attention :) So head on over and see what great items are being given away and better even, if you have something to give, link up!

Have a great Monday~

College Professor Critiques Homeschoolers

This is an article that was brought to my attention through the Yahoo! Group Homeschool2College. Perhaps people (especially homeschoolers) have already seen it. I thought it was good and helpful and so am passing it along in it's entirety. Perhaps you have heard of Greg Landry or have had your students in one or more of his classes.

This article may be published on web sites and in publications as long as it's reproduced in its entirety, including the resource box at the
end of the article. Thanks!

College Professor Critiques Homeschoolers
copyright 2009 by Greg Landry, M.S.

I teach sophomore through senior level college students - most of them are "pre-professional" students. They are preparing to go to medical school, dental school, physical therapy school, etc.

As a generalization, I've noticed certain characteristics common in my students who were homeschooled. Some of these are desirable, some not.

Desirable characteristics:

1. They are independent learners and do a great job of taking initiative and being responsible for learning. They don't have to be "spoon fed" as many students do. This gives them an advantage at two specific points in their education; early in college and in graduate
education.

2. They handle classroom social situations (interactions with their peers and professors) very well. In general, my homeschooled students are a pleasure to have in class. They greet me when they enter the class, initiate conversations when appropriate, and they don't hesitate to ask good questions. Most of my students do none of these.

3. They are serious about their education and that's very obvious in their attitude, preparedness, and grades.

Areas where homeschooled students can improve:

1. They come to college less prepared in the sciences than their schooled counterparts--sometimes far less prepared. This can be especially troublesome for pre-professional students who need to maintain a high grade point average from the very beginning.

2. They come to college without sufficient test-taking experience, particularly with timed tests. Many homeschooled students have a high level of anxiety when it comes to taking timed tests.

3. Many homeschooled students have problems meeting deadlines and have to adjust to that incollege. That adjustment time in their freshman year can be costly in terms of the way it affects their grades.

My advice to homeschooling parents:

1. If your child is even possibly college bound and interested in the sciences, make sure that they have a solid foundation of science in the high school years.

2. Begin giving timed tests by 7th or 8th grade. I'm referring to all tests that students take, not just national, standardized tests.

I think it is a disservice to not give students timed tests. They tend to focus better and score higher on timed tests, and, they are far better prepared for college and graduate education if they've taken timed tests throughout the high school years.

In the earlier years the timed tests should allow ample time to complete the test as long as thestudent is working steadily. The objective is for them to know it's timed yet not to feel a time pressure. This helps students to be comfortable taking timed tests and
develops confidence in their test-taking abilities.

3. Give your students real deadlines to meet in the high school years. If it's difficult for students to meet these deadlines because they're coming from mom or dad, have them take "outside" classes; online, co-op, or community college.
_______________________________

Greg Landry is a 14 year veteran homeschool dad and college professor.
He also teaches one andtwo semester online science classes, and offers free 45 minute online seminars.
http://www.HomeschoolScienceAcademy.com

Pleased to Announce: The Book Guardians

We interrupt this blogcast to bring in some late breaking news. Just days ago a new blog was introduced to the world wide web. This blog was the brain-child of Very Blessed Mama to let people know what is in a book that they are thinking about buying for their kids or their home.

The name: The Book Guardians

The purpose: help other homeschooling families choose the best books for them

The location: The Book Guardians on blogger

The time: Now!

If you see this blog site please be aware that you will be informed about books that you or your children may be reading/using in your homeschool. At this time the number of books listed is low but it has promise to expand greatly in the near future.

This site will point out the content in these books. Watch for the following content area remarks:

Religious/ Secular Content
Adult Content
Mature Topics

Strong/ Inappropriate Language
Magic/ Witchcraft/ Fictional Characters
Disrespect/ Rebellion
Drug/ Alcohol Use
Violence/ Abuse
Educational Value

Positive/ Negative Messages

If you find the information on this blog helpful please pass it along to others. Remember, The Book Guardians, on a computer near you!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogcast.

**********************************************

Military History Independent Study

This post is in response to a request for me to share what we are using for Military History. It is going to be an Independent Study and not an actual part of our school day. Here are the books and resources that I have compiled to use for Military History Independent Study:

~Military/War~
+Boys' Book of Sea Fights by Chelsea Curtis Fraser
+Boys' Book of Battles by Chelsea Curtis Fraser
+War Inventions & How They Were Invented by Charles R. Gibson
+Military Instructor's Manual by J.P. Cole and Oliver Schoonmaker

~Civil War~
Reading books:
+Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Across Five Aprilsby Irene Hunt
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War Narrative by Bruce Catton

~World War I~
Reading books:
The Red Fighter Pilot: The Autobiography of the Red Baron by Manfred Von Richtofen
+The Diary of a U-Boat Commander by Stephen King-Hall/ Karl Von Schenk
+Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery
+A Traveler in War-Time by Winston Churchill (audio here)

~World War II~
Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

For WWII we also have a Time Life DVD set that we got from the local used public library sale.

The way I have 'planned' it out so far is as follows:War Inventions can be read throughout the course but I think it would be more beneficial if it were done before starting WWII. Also, Military Instructor's Manual can be read throughout the course as well.

Read Fraser's books first (Sea Fights and then Battles). This will give some background to some of the military pursuits up to WWI.

More focused areas of study will be Civil War, WWI & WWII. These will be studied at least 2 months each, I think. I will try to find other resources to help with the Independent Study but mostly, at this point, my ds will be reading and writing 'reports'. By reports he is to do a written narration at the end of each chapter in the books he reads. This is includes all the books.

This is not a 'year long' study. Although I would like it to be completed by the end of the year, if we feel that more time is needed, or wanted, then so be it. And as the study progresses I will add in, or take out, books and resources. Right now there is no schedule in place (such as read "pages x-xxi for week 1") just my list of books

The books with '+' in front mean they are free and online. They may be available at such a place as Amazon but we are using the ones for free. Most of the other books I have been able to pick up from our local used book sale put on by the public library.

~~Some of these books are very graphic in the nature of war. I would definitely advise previewing these before using them.~~

**Disclaimer: Some of the links included are affiliate links, I may receive cash compensation if you purchase from Amazon by clicking on the links I have included.**

Look @ My Books!! I *heart* Paperbackswap!

Wow, so I have advocated Paperbackswap now for, well, I think years! I recently signed up for the Box-O-Books. I thought: Great- now I can get books even if I don't have credits! At first I was disappointed :( People wanted to trade my good kids books for unappealing Romance novels. (YuCk!- I don't like Romance books, could ya tell?? Unless they are ones like the few you see up top of my stack in the picture below- but I really don't consider those Romance..)

So after about 6 offers to trade for those type books I was thinking I made a big mistake. And that's always sad...

I got a message about 2 weeks ago, however, from someone with good books! I was sooo excited, I just can't even tell you how excited. I went to their list and immediately found 21 books I wanted! They requested 24 of my Magic Treehouse books (actually- ALL of them- I only had 24). After thinking about it, I thought that it wasn't really fair of me to ask them to trade bigger, heavier, hardback (some) books in exchange for my books. I whittled down my choices to 12 and thought that was good. I paid $3 some for shipping to them.

I got my box of books today and WOW! I feel a bit ashamed that I asked for so many now. Other than 4 of the books in the picture here, those are what they sent. I cannot figure out how much shipping was because it is in stamps with a lot of heavy postmarks all over them. But I can tell it had to be a pretty penny! I am so thankful!!

But those are my Paperbackswap books delivered to me in the last two weeks.

On one transaction with another wonderful swapper, I requested one book but she had another that I really wanted- but I didn't have enough credits to request it. I asked if she would be willing to send it along with the other one I requested...I expected a nice apology but no. She said YES! It was so kind of her!

So I just wanted to share my excitement with my Paperbackswap deliveries and to let others know that may not know about this service. It is a great wonderful way to build up your library! And if you have books that you no longer need, or want, you list them and someone is almost guaranteed to want it.

***Disclaimer: The links are 'affiliate' links. While I do not receive cash compensation, I could receive credits if you sign up for this service. You really should check it out!***

Weekly Wrap-Up...this time I have something to say

I wanted to participate last week (well every week) but it really felt like absolutely nothing was done and therefore I couldn't really 'wrap-it-up', if ya know what I mean.

This week, although it has gone fast and we really haven't done much, I can wrap it up :)

Our week really starts on Sunday (even though I want it to start on Tuesday most of the time) so I will start there. We had a great Sunday school lesson. You can check out my reflection on that here. My daughter has been sitting in adult Sunday school for the past month or so instead of going to the 'funner' kids class. I think now that is really almost 14 she wants to be more grown up. Arg..that gives me mixed feelings! She is already saving for her first car and planning her living arrangements when she moves out...

Monday started out swell. My dear dear hubby has been getting up 30 minutes earlier to walk with me. I have planned to walk about 2 miles in 30 minutes but we aren't there yet. This was our second week of walking. The first week we walked 3 days because he tweaked his back on Wednesday night and wasn't able to do the walk on Thursday and Friday. As far as the kids and schooling goes, it was a day when just about everything got done and we felt proud of ourselves. It's interesting but I can't even tell you what they 'learned'; I just know they did!

Tuesday was Medieval Day(s) at our house. It was a lot of fun. There was a lot of work put into researching the time period by Lee, and some by Fox (but not so much...). She did all the work for the day (mostly, but I helped a wee bit). You can see how that went by reading my posts here and here. I so wanted to get pictures but no, no pictures- this time! Next time is Greek/Roman Day...and I will be ready!

Fox met a personal goal and was treated to a movie. The movie they picked was Furry Vengeance. I'm not sure I liked it much but the kids thought it hilarious. We picked it up from Red Box for the night.

Wednesday Fox started on his independent study of Military History. His choice. I have been scouring through books we have and books we can get (free if possible) for him to read for his study. I don't really know how that will work because he doesn't want to write about what he reads, he doesn't want to narrate what he reads- he just wants to read. For the most part that is what I am letting him do because he has a pretty full load otherwise.

Another thing about Wednesday is that Lee found a recipe to make a polymer clay (I think that is what it is called) so she has been designing and devising what she can make with this new found neat stuff.
Because the day went alright I decided to let the kids watch the movie again before it was due back.

Thursday ....I couldn't tell ya what went down...it's a blank in my mind lol. Fox is having some troubles with math. We are using Life of Fred and we all like it but...some of the basics he should know he does not...required a bit more time than usual and I am wondering whether I need to find some more resources for him. He does a lot of math games online (Math Moves U, mathgames.com, Math Arcade, etc) but perhaps he needs more of the dreaded worksheet type work.... shudder...

Anyway, on to Friday. We were a bit behind in our Foreign Language classes but it seems that we are constantly reviewing what we did last time so today I just said go for it. They did a quiz in Latin and both got 100%. Makes me feel a wee bit ashamed that I thought they weren't catching the lessons. Funny though sometimes I think Latin is the one subject we are doing the best with. Ah, Lee finished her PreAlgebra 1 with Biology book today...for the next few days she will be watching Math Tutor DVDs to 'catch up' on any concepts she may have trouble with when she begins her next book, Beginning Algebra.

Tonight Fox is having a friend spend the night, Lee is reading one of the four books she checked out from the library, I am working (ahem, really I am) on my paper for class, and dear hubby is watching a documentary. It's been a fast week and I'm surprised I remember any of it! I think I will start my What We Accomplished Today again on here so that I have it.

Head on over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers to link up to more Weekly Wrap-Ups. Have a great weekend!

Passing along a post...which has been passed along :)

I am guessing that Ordo Amoris has a large family (well, the first sentence may have clued me in). The post I am sharing makes reference to having a child every 18 months.... I don't have a large family (Thankful to God for what blessings I do have!) but this post is excellent and great even if you don't have a large family.

I came across the post from Trisha @ A Multitude of Mercies (some of you may have already seen it) and was directed to the post The Long Haul @ Ordo Amoris. Truly a great post- both of them.

I pass them along to you, homeschooler, with a small size family, a medium size family and large size family. Even if you do not homeschool you may appreciate these posts.

Medieval Days Update

I wish I could say that we got great pictures of the Medieval Day at our house but sadly, no pictures. Near the end of the day I mentioned, yet again, that I really wanted to take some pictures and still I met with resistance. Until right at the end when dd was so hot that she didn't want to wear her costume any longer...then she said she wanted some photos. And wouldn't you know, no batteries for the camera! I was so frustrated with that! Two cameras and dead batteries in both. Sigh. But it was a great day anyway!

I mentioned in the previous post about how we had french toast for breakfast and what we planned for lunch and dinner. I think I like these "Days" deal- they did the work! Well, Lee did the work anyway. She did dishes so I could get started on the meat pies. We bought packaged pie crust mix (I'm not too great at making pie crust...) and wow, was that easy! I also had picked up some small pie pans, the little tin/aluminum (?) ones. A pack of 8 for $.99 I thought wasn't too bad a deal. Anyway, I made 8 little pie crusts as she finished up the dishes. She browned some beef. It called for either ground beef, sausage or another kind of meat and since we are fairly bland food lovers we chose the beef :) She then made the filling which consisted of the browned beef, 3 eggs, sage, oregano and one other thing we didn't have so it just got the two. It didn't give really specific measurements for the spices and she was worried about putting too much but she did just fine :) Then after the filling was made she filled each pie crust and we put it in the oven for 35 minutes.

While that was cooking she dug out the crockpot and I got some cabbage from the freezer. She cut up carrots, 1/4 of an onion and the cabbage. She measured out 6 cups of water and got 6 bouillon beef cubs from the cupboard for the cabbage and dumpling stew. She had me measure out 3/4 tsp of salt. I'm not terribly specific with salt I guess, because I just guesstimated by the palm of my hand. She stirred it all together in the crockpot and set it on the counter, on low. We hoped it would take a couple of hours.

We ate our meat pies- they were delicious! And Lee has been so worried that when she lives on her own she won't know how to cook or know what to eat...silly girl! She did great. Oh, we had milk with breakfast and lunch. Well, they did, not I- can't tolerate it.

While we waited for the dinner stuff to be done there was playing with the cardboard shields and swords that were made yesterday in anticipation for today. They were going to have a 'bow-and-arrow' contest and see who could shoot the farthest but we don't have bow-and-arrows. Instead the Nerf guns came back out. I let Fox's friend come over for a while to join in the 'hunt'- or rather I think it turned into a conquest of land or something...an all out war between all three. Good thing there were truces and we were able to set down peacefully for awhile later.

Dinner was 'trenchers' and the cabbage and dumpling stew. The trenchers were simply bread that had been extra toasted in the toaster. We were going to make the dough (pizza dough perhaps) and bake it in the oven but oh no, it was hot after cooking the meat pies! Oh, yes, forgot that Lee also tried to make the dumplings. The recipe doesn't call for enough flour so she panicked a bit when it was runny. I just tossed in a bit more flour to thicken it and plopped 8 dumplings in the crockpot. They were fairly too big for the crockpot after just a few minutes! They were good though :) We had mead with dinner- simply 1/2 cup honey, nutmeg, orange slices and 2 quarts water. She didn't like the idea of adding so much honey so I think she added maybe 1/4 cup. I think it would have been really good had we had more oranges- or put a bit of orange juice in with it. I liked it.

After dinner was some sparring- more sword fighting. It was so good to hear them laughing. Especially Fox- he's been having a difficult past two days (just very sour attitude; can't find happiness in anything but the wii or tv- neither of which he gets to even do often!). It was so nice to hear his loud laughter and when he was defeated even! It was great, great, great.

I wish there were pictures but there are not :( I have my memories and now I have somewhat shared our Medieval Day with you :) I am definitely getting fresh batteries for Greek/Roman Day!!