Pizza Hut: Book It! Reading Program 2010- 2011 Enrollment

This school year my oldest got to participate in the Book It! Reading Program sponsored by Pizza Hut. Now the enrollment is open for next school year. The program is open for all public, private, and homeschoolers. You get a packet in the mail in the fall around Sept. that will come with a Progress Chart, Awards, and Pizza coupons that can be redeemed at any Pizza Hut location. Its for grades K- 6th. You set the reading goals so if for you its 6 chapter books in a month than thats what it is. Here is the link Here

Thought I would pass along this freebie

Some Of Life Best Moments

One of the best ways to get your children to love reading is for them to see you reading. Here I caught a candid moment of my husband having readind time with our two oldest. How cute is this!

Online Homeschool Conferences!

In my last post about Homeschool Conference I mentioned how to locate your local state conventions but I neglected to mention for those who cannot make those conference there are other options. There are two different annual online homeschooler conferences that are coming up. The best part about attending a conference online is that you can replay parts you missed you can usually download the audio to your computer. Also you don't have to worry about what to do with your little ones, or transportation, or any of the other things I mentioned in my previous post. Now although I do prefer to go in person to my local state convention and curriculum fair to browse the vendors booths I do know it can be very difficult to attend the seminars and hear the speakers with little ones in tow. So if you are unable to make a conference in person this year consider these two options.

The Ultimate Homeschool Expo

My 1st Blog Award!!!

Thanks so much to Hannah at Preparing For Our Childrens Future.

This is such a blessing. Its the 1st but hopefully not the last Blog Award for me.







The rules for accepting this award:

1.Thank the person that gave you the award

2.Pass this award on to 15 bloggers you've recently discovered
and whom you think are fantastic!


3.Contact the Bloggers you pick to let them know they've won

4.State 7 Things about yourself!


So Here goes a little about myself:

1. I am a wife and mother of 3 wonderful children ages 1, 3, and soon to be 6.

2. I am the Prodical Daughter. What I mean is that I was raised in the church and left out the back door as soon as I got to college and had my beliefs challenged for the 1st time only to find myself 1o years later crying out for the Lord to wrap his loving arms around me and show me the way back to him.

3. I am the oldest child. I still have a sibling at home in highschool.

4. I have a serious passion for education and learning new things.

5. I enjoy reading and surfing youtube! Youtube is replacing baseball as an "All American Passtime".

6. My husband and I are a Quiverfull Family. The Lord will decided if and when children come through my womb.

7. I am a Midwest Girl at Heart with a Country Girl Syle.

As Promised Here are the 15 Blogs I pick to recieve this Award also.



Catholic Christian Homeschooling
Four Bad Apples
Home Grown Families
Joyfully at Home
Learning for His Glory Homeschooling
Mama to 3 Blessings
Marmee's Pantry
Outside the Sandbox
Preparing Our Children 4 Life
Strong Quiver
Team Gray
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
The Way We Homeschool
The Mahogany Way
The Bridled Tongue

Tot Books: Brown Bear, Brown Bear

I printed the activity booklets to go with the new childrens Classic book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin and Eric Carle. We love how this story is a good reinforcement for learning colors and common animals. Here are some pics of what we did with it.

What I Like About Classical Education!

The things we love best about using a Classical Approach to homeschooling is you are taught from an early age how to recite. When you are a little older you learn Logic. Finally towards High school you should know how to research a topic, write a complete argument, and present it. It’s called the Trivium or 3 stages of learning. They are Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric stages. Which if you break down into terms we are accustomed is 1- 4th grade, 5-8th grade, and 9th- 12th grade. You expose children to the Great Books and Living books at an early age. Also during the Grammar stage you introduce them to recitation on a weekly basis. This is also when you do the most memorization of facts, tables, and timelines. This will create memory pegs to tap into in latter learning. That is how we are training our children to be lifelong learners. Another thing that is cool about Classical is that we study history and geography from a chronological view from Creation to Modern Day. Which means we start with Ancient World (Egypt, Nubia, Kush, Greece, Rome, China, Japan, and India), then Early Renaissance, next Late Renaissance, and finally Modern day.

In early America before the formation of the NEA (National Education Association) and the beginning of Compulsory attendance laws, most schools were taught this way. They were usually called Latin Schools or Grammar Schools. The reason why some of the Classical Schools of early America where referred to as Latin Schools is, “You Guessed it!”, they taught Latin starting at the Grammar stage of learning. The philosophy of Classical Education is to train children to become thinkers and processors of information by equipping them with the tools necessary to break down any and all subjects at the root. Latin is one of the root languages our Language is based upon. So with a good firm grasp on Language it will help train our children to always go to the original source 1st. And don’t be intimidated by the Latin either. With all the resources and curriculum available to homeschoolers today it’s a matter of how do you want to teach it. You can choose from books, DVD’s, CD’s, CD Rom, and even taking a class with a local COOP group.

I must say out of all the things to love about Classical Education it has to be the rich emphasis on Great Works of Literature. Time has been the biggest test for some authors as to there relevance in modern day education. A great writer never goes out of style. And for those parents on tight budgets like us you can always find Great Books at your local Public Library. There are even websites dedicated to putting out Suggested Reading List for all levels of learning. Check out some of my favorites under my Classic Home Education Resources Links to the left sidebar. My favorites right now for suggested reading for my Preschool and 1st grader are the Ambleside list and also the Classical Christian Homeschooling site under 1000 Good Books List.

I truly feel that with these bare essentials:

Bible
Library Card
Internet Access
Math Text
Latin Curriculum
Basic School Supplies
You can succeed in producing a Well Educated Child from Preschool thru High School.

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

-Proverbs 22:6-

Homeschool Convention and Curriculum Fair Season !

I don't know if you guys are thinking about it yet but I am already mapping out my plans for this years state homeschoolers convention and curriculum fair. Last year was my 1st year of attending and I didn’t have any particular game plan. But this year I will have my list of curriculum that I need and a list of the workshops I want to see and there time slots already in place.
I think it is best to navigate these conferences with a through plan of attack or else you can end up doing one of two things: Getting this you really didn’t need or not getting things at all due to being overwhelmed. Here are some of my tips to successfully attending a Homeschool Convention and Curriculum Fair

1. Order Catalogs- It’s best to order all the curriculum catalogs before attending. Have a general idea of what you are looking to purchase so that you can spend your time on the exhibitors hall looking for the best price for your selected items and then check out the new and exciting things.

2. Meal Plan- Plan out your food for the family and making sure to have a change of clothes and shoes for each member of your family in the car. Most convention centers don’t want you to bring in outside food but you can still bring your food and take a designated lunch break at the car. They don’t mind you going in and out.

3. Baby Carriers- If you have small babies bring a carrier or wrap of some sort and a stroller. The stroller can be used as a storage device for all your handouts and curriculum and supplies.

4. Buddy System- Also if you have a large family pair a younger child with an older as a walking buddy. Train your child on what to do if they get separated like looking for information desk or security officer. Try to point those things out on the way in. For a very shy or non speaking child try putting on ID bracelets.

5. Little Ones- If you have all little ones I would try to get a baby sitter and go alone or only go to the exhibit hall and not the workshops cause you might not get much from the seminars if they get fussy.

I find that attending the Conferences can be a great encourage for a child who doesn’t have much contact with other homeschoolers on a regular basis. They get to see that there are many others in there state that get there education at home also. It’s also very reassuring and inspirational for the parents to be around other parents who take on the task of home education. A word about diversity at Curriculum Conferences is that I have found here in my state of Georgia (The South) it didn’t make me feel uncomfortable at all. And I actually found a few African American vendors as well as other ethnic groups in attendance.
Here is a link to how to find a Conference in your Area!

http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/conventions/index.html