Encouraging Moms Who Homeschool

Reviewing the product " English 1 - Introduction to Literature " from the Excellence in Literature series by Janice Campbell has been an absolute delight for me. Having used her products and subscribed to her e-zine for several years, I can attest to the fact that her products are quality curriculum and her wisdom is invaluable to homeschooling families - particularly those with students in high school. Excellence in Literature is a college preparatory literature program, an it's important to keep this in the forefront of your mind when using this curriculum. It's not some "easy-cheesy" workbook that demands little from the student and even less from the teacher. On the contrary, " English 1 - Introduction to Literature " is a first-rate product that draws excellence from the student provided said student pours hard work into the assignments. If you're wondering whatever happened to the lady writing this weblog who dislikes grading and favors

George Washington Carver was a man of such character that his life is studied as an example some 68 years after his death. Yes, he was a brilliant scientist. Yes, he was also a wonderful teacher. But the reason we, as human beings made in the image of our Creator, are drawn to George Washington Carver is truly due to his character. And the character of Mr. Carver cannot be separated from his concept of God Almighty. I say all that to tell you about a product I received (free of charge for review purposes) from Marshall Publishing ~ a DVD entitled " George Washington Carver - His Life and His Work ". This 30 minute DVD gives viewers a overview of the unique and fascinating life of George W. Carver beginning in his childhood and continuing until his death in 1943. Of course, 30 minutes is not sufficient to examine all of his life - but 30 minutes is enough to pique a student's interest and is a terrific place to start a study on the life of George Washington Carver. The DV

Here it is, another weekend filled with errands, youth group events, yard work, church and small groups, and of course homeschool preparation for the coming week. The response I received to a question I posed in my first "It's the Weekend, and I Was Wondering..." blog post was fabulous! I loved hearing what you all shared about spelling programs, and I've been able to implement some of those things in our family's homeschool. (To read that post, click HERE .) The question I'm asking this weekend has to do with penmanship. How important is it in your homeschool? What programs, curriculum, or methods do you use? Are some of your children simply neater than others, or have you been able to obtain a standard measure of neatness from all your children? Let me hear what you have to say about penmanship by leaving a comment. I can hardly wait to read your advice! Have a wonderful weekend and be sure to enjoy your family in the midst of your busy preparation for next

Gee, as a homeschooling mom who now has all girls at home after sending our only son off to college, I was shocked when receiving a girls only product to review! In all seriousness, I was very happy to see a safe, educational website specifically designed with young ladies ,ages 7-12, in mind. Always Icecream is appealing to me as a homeschooler because of the diverse educational content (language arts, basic & advanced math, geography, history, music, art, foreign languages, computer skills and religious eduction). Using games and videos, Always Icecream is a great supplemental curriculum option. As a mom Always Icecream is appealing to me because it's safe, free of advertising, and blocked to search engines. The site is certified by Privo and is subject to moderation, and user information is never sold; my daughter's safety is taken seriously and that is very important to me as a homeschooling mother. My 6th grade daughter has been using Always Icecream since we received

God makes us a spectacular promise when He says that all His promises prove true (see Psalm 18:30, Romans 3:4, and 2 Samuel 22:31 ). This isn't a promise made only to the Israelites, or one that is found only in the Old Testament. It is a promise that encompasses all of the Bible and all believers, and as such it is one we can take the spiritual bank to cash with full expectation that it will "clear"! Yes, I realize that in essence I'm claiming that God promises that His promises will prove true. And I get that you may think that's an odd concept, or maybe that I'm talking in circles or have put my thought processes in a blender and what came out what this blog post. But I really do believe that God's amazing promise to us that each and every one of His promises is true and can be counted on is one of the most important spiritual truths we can grasp. Think of a verse you consider dear to your heart ~ maybe you have prayed it over your children daily, or p

General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing was a one-of-a-kind leader who saved Europe in a one-of-a-kind war. The book "Pershing ~ Commander of the Great War" explores the entirety of Pershing's, culminating in an understandable review of his leadership during the First World War. For a man who never intended to become a soldier, it is a great irony that he became the only U.S. General awarded the rank of General of the Armies during his lifetime - the only U.S. General to ever own the rank of 6 stars (though in humility he never wore 6, only 4 gold stars in an adaptation the traditional 4 silver stars of a full general). I have always felt an understanding of World War II begins with a study of World War I. Mechanized warfare, chemical advances, aircraft and improved weaponry began in the Great War. Those who fought in the Second World War are known as "the Greatest Generation", and there is no doubt they nobly earned said title. I only wish those who ser

Right about now you might be wondering, "What's a Scruble Cube ?". Don't worry, I wondered the same thing when I received one (free of charge for review purposes). Turns out, a Scruble Cube is a fun educational game that is something like Scrabble combined with a Rubix Cube. The cube itself is 4 inches by 4 inches, and has 16 squares per side. Each square has a sticker representing a letter or other game play information on it (like 2x word score or 4x letter score ). Along with the game cube itself, I received a score pad and a sand timer. And lesson plans encompassing science, language arts, mathematics, English and spelling for grades 3-10 are available at the company website, www.ScrubleCube.com . When you visit the website, check out "Getting Started Tips & Tricks" - it's a great way to learn all about the Scruble Cube . And should you run out of score sheets, there are more online in a printable pdf format along with replacement directions. A

Today's calendar reads "Monday, October 3rd, 2011" . Umm, what?!?! It's already October ?? Anyone else a little surprised by the rapidity of this year's passing? Beginning a new month often leads me to think about what has taken place in the previous month. For our family, September was pretty eventful! And praise the Lord, He was faithful to bless us and sustain us through each and every moment of September. My son had just begun his freshman year of college when we received a text message telling us he had ruptured his Achilles tendon on his left leg. OUCH!! Since he was in a brand new community 12 hours from home, and is on a campus that doesn't allow freshmen to have cars, I loaded up a rental car and my youngest daughter's homeschool work and headed northeast for Gage's surgery. He did fine and has been making a terrific recovery, praise the Lord. Soon I returned home to Wichita, Kansas and to life as "normal" (whatever that means). Sho