How to Spread the Reading Disease.

Reading is one of my favorite past times.  I read even when I don't want to read.  If there is print in front of me, I have read it before I even have time to think.  Therefore, my family knows not to leave things around that I should not read (Christmas gift receipts, for instance), as my brain will process that information before I can tell it to stop.  I read for information, I read for enjoyment, I can't even comprehend not liking reading.  So what did I do when my fourth born child first struggled to read and then, once he became proficient, declared he hated reading?

Well, I'm glad you asked, as this week's Blog Cruise question is, "What do I do if my child doesn't like to read?".  I've experienced this and am seeing that turn around currently.  There is no magic cure all, but there are a few things that seem to be working at our house.

We all have regularly scheduled reading times but I usually allow him to choose his own reading material.  Yes, even if it's twaddle (Gasp).  He has read graphic novels, Star Trek books, and even gaming manuals.  My goal in this is for him to find enjoyment through the skill of reading and not just view it as "school". 

I read aloud.  A lot.  Actually, I read aloud to all of my children, as we almost always have a read aloud going.  We started off the year with curriculum prescribed read alouds and found ourselves dragging our way through The Golden Goblet.  So I decided to mix it up a bit and headed to my favorite haunt- Borders.  The Children's section showcased some of the currently popular books.  We thought we'd give them a try and I read aloud the first book in the Percy Jackson series and the first book in the Harry Potter series (We had never read Harry Potter and I wanted to see for myself if all the hullabaloo was justified.).   

Reading the first book in a series has been an excellent way to spark interest in reading for enjoyment.  This same reading reluctant son begged for an afternoon of reading this past Wednesday, as he had his nose buried in the second book of the Percy Jackson series.  I pretended to be put out about setting aside my plans for the afternoon in order to read, but truthfully, I was cheering inside.  The boy who hates to read did not want to put down the book.  Success.

When we don't have a read aloud in the works, we will listen to a book on CD.  On the agenda for our summer reading, is the Radio Theater version of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters.  Just a little light summer fare.  (GRIN).

Having seen the turn around in my thirteen year old son, I would encourage anyone struggling with a child who hates reading to try one or more of these ideas.  Read for enjoyment yourself, creating a home of readers.  Allow him to choose his own reading materials, even if it's a lower level.  He may need to build his confidence and proficiency in order to find enjoyment in the process.  Read aloud, and choose books full of adventure and excitement.  Try reading the first in a series (make sure it is at his reading level) and then pick up the second book, make it available, and see if he takes the bait.  Listen to great audio versions that help train his imagination. 

And have patience.  It may take some time to create a reader out of a non-reader.  But the beauty of homeschooling is the opportunity for your child to grow and learn in his own timing, at his own pace.  Don't rush the process, just enjoy the stories.  It's contagious. 

Lesson Planet Search Engine for Teachers

A subscription service for teachers, Lesson Planet wants to be a one stop resource for your lesson plan needs.  You simply type in the subject you're interested in, click for lesson plans or worksheets, and wait for the results.  The links bring you to various sites where educators and others have provided lesson plans.  Many of these include objectives and are written in standard "teacher speak". 

My first time on the site, I was rather pleased.  I was looking for ideas for a gaming elective for my fourteen year old.  He is already working with programming using GameMaker Pro and I plan to encourage him in writing adventures for RPG style games as well. I was excited to find lessons on topics such as race and gender roles in video games and using gaming as an educational tool.  My second time on the site, I was not so pleased.  When searching for more general items, I discovered many broken links and left feeling frustrated. 

More recently, I have been researching for a unit on The Chronicles of Narnia.  When I typed in Narnia, I had 14 results but only 3 were actually related to The Chronicles of Narnia.  This surprised me because when I did my own search, I came up with oodles of lesson plans and educational resources on this series. 

I am left with mixed feelings about Lesson Planet.  Without this search engine, I may not have found the wonderful New York Times lesson plans on gaming.  And yet, when searching on other topics I was left frustrated and found more on my own.  I want to like this, especially for the high school level.  It was invaluable in creating an elective study.  But for me, I'm not sure this would be worth the expense. 

Membership in Lesson Planet is available for $39.95 a year.  There is a free 10 day trial that I would recommend trying first to see if this is something that would be helpful to you in homeschooling.

*Disclosure: I received a 3 month free subscription for review purposes.  

To check out more reviews on this product, head over to the TOS Crew site.*

Never Let You Go by Erin Healy

Lexie's life seems out of control.  Her sister is dead, her father is in a mental institution, and her drug dealing husband has abandoned her and their daughter.  Working two jobs and barely scraping together an existence, Lexie does what she can to build a life for her daughter but she finds herself drowning in resentment and bitterness.  When an old nemesis shows up with the news that her sisters murderer is up for parole, right at the same time her deadbeat husband turns up claiming he's clean, it's all more than she can take.  And so begins a wild ride for Lexi Solomon, where everything is not what it seems and there is more going on than meets the eye.


Never Let You Go by Erin Healy is just the kind of book I enjoy most.  This is a novel full of realistic people dealing with troubles and struggles that have no easy answers.  The supernatural aspect of the story is not overdone but fits seamlessly within the story and makes sense. Themes of forgiveness and the devastation of bitterness are woven in without it becoming overly preachy.  Although I found the first couple of chapters overly descriptive, I soon found myself caught up in the story and enjoyed it quite a bit.  If you are looking for a good summer read, this may be a good start.

*Disclosure: I received this book at no cost through Book Sneeze, for review purposes.*  

17/52

Convention Update: Day Two (Part Two)

So Convention Day Two...where were we? Ah, I'd just finished Instant Improvement in Writing and I headed to Entrepreneurs at Home with my husband.   After taking a peek at the handout, I realized this was a little basic for me and I slipped out to do a little more browsing in the Exhibit Hall.  Shockingly, I didn't make any more purchases. 

While most people headed out for lunch, I made my way back up the escalator for one of the lunchtime sessions,  Computer Science @ Home: Computer Animation with ALICE Programming.  The speaker is a professor at Wheaton College and he did his best to demonstrate the programming to everyone from computer geeks to computer clueless moms.  It was obvious that he was unfamiliar with demonstrating via laptop and projector (his body blocked the screen much of the time) but I found the software itself to be pretty cool.  ALICE is a free program (found at http://alice.org) and can be installed on Windows, Mac, or Linux.  I thought my 14 year old son would enjoy it, as he is currently using the Pro version of GameMaker, but so far he is finding that he prefers the GameMaker.  This could be a learning curve or he may just prefer GML or C+ coding (I have no idea what that means, I am quoting him!).  I'm not ready to give up on it yet though and may play around with it myself. 

When this session ended, I scooted out quickly and grabbed a Chicken Caesar Wrap from the cart outside the workshop rooms.  Feeling somewhat self-conscious with my lunch, I headed into the next class and sat toward the back.  My friend Hannah saw me and dragged me towards the front where she had seats waiting.  So much for self-conscious!  I ate quickly as Vicki Bentley began the session, Organized (Well, Almost!)- Time Management for Busy Moms.

Many of the ideas were either not new to me or ones I had no interest in implementing, but I still enjoyed the session.  She began by having us ask ourselves 5 Key Questions; What is working (and why)?, What's NOT working?, What items are most essential to you?, Why do you want to get organized?, and What's causing problems (Technical errors, which can be fixed; External realities, needing compensation; or Psycholigical obstacles, developing new habits)?  She talked about setting goals, prioritizing and writing To-Do lists, and then planning.  Asking herself, What do I need to do in a week?, she then lists these and plugs them into her schedule. 

One idea we may use is the making of specific lists of what should be completed before school starts.  We already have assigned chores, each child having the same daily chore.  This helps in knowing who needs to do what but I still find myself having to direct every morning.  Perhaps if there was a check off list, this may lessen. We shall see! I am also attempting to reorganize items so that they are closer to the place where we use them, as she suggested.  I had been trying to keep the living room from becoming school central, but this is really the central area of our schooling.  We are a homeschooling family, our home will reflect that.  I need to let go of this idea of a nice sitting room and embrace the books and projects and various homeschool overflow.

My favorite quote of this session had to be, "Don't get so caught up in doing "school" with the kids that you forget to enjoy and teach them."  Amen.

The last session for the day was Lapbooking with Tammy Duby of Tobin's Lab.  This is a hands-on session that I have attended a few times.  I didn't need a refresher course, but was tagging along with a couple of new to homeschooling friends.  The funny thing is that I did find it refreshing.  It reminded me of how much we enjoy lapbooking and how much I treasure the file boxes full of lapbooks my 17 and 19 year old created years ago.  We will definitely be re-incorporating lapbooks into our schooling in the fall.  If you're new to lapbooking and it sound's intriguing, Tammy Duby has an excellent how to book on the subject, The Ultimate Lapbook Handbook.

Having attended a homeschooling convention for the past fifteen years, I had found myself becoming pretty jaded about the workshops.  This year was different and it took me by surprise.  Each session I attended was encouraging and I left the convention feeling refreshed and renewed in my homeschool vision. 

No matter how many years you've homeschooled, a convention could be just what you need.  If there isn't a local one you can head to, there is an online version I plan to "attend" next month- The Old Schoolhouse Expo.  This will be a new experience for me.  It won't include shopping and connecting with friends, so it loses points right there, but I'm looking forward to checking it out anyway!

After a quick nap, we ended our weekend with the fourth annual Saturday night Super Date.  But that is a post for another time!

Convention Update: Day Two (Part One)

Exhaustion prevailed and I did not write up the Day Two Update on Day Two.  I'm sure those who have been to a convention understand!  Here I am with about 20 minutes to spare before checking out of the hotel, we'll see how much I can run at the fingertips in that limited amount of time. 

Saturday was workshop day.  This is actually a new way of approaching the convention for me and it just happened to work that way due to the scheduling of the workshops.  After so many conventions, I typically only attend a couple of workshops and am known to sneak out if it becomes clear that there is no new information or encouragement to be gathered.  Surprisingly, I ended up attending a total of six workshops throughout the weekend (including Friday's Spelling and the Brain) and only walked out of one (I needed a break!).

First on the agenda was Andrew Pudewa's Instant Improvement in Writing.  Once again his sharp wit prevailed and made even his biting comments about bloggers tolerable. ;-)  He taught us how to teach outlining through using key words and we all worked through a paragraph, identifying three key words in each sentence, and using them to outline.  There were a couple of quotes I found to be gems once again (although the slay/sleigh remains a favorite); "The skill of thinking is closely related to the skill of asking questions.", "Summarize should be spelled some-a-rize (it's not the sum, or all, but some.)", and "The Latin root of curriculum is 'race track', the root of instruct is 'to load upon'.  To educate is 'to draw out'".  He is quite adamant that curriculum is only as good as the teacher.  We don't need to load down our kids with more and more curricula, but use what we need to "draw them out" and help them learn.  I completely agree with this philosophy but need the reminder ( as I am still a curricula junkie).  Tweaking and adapting and using what fits your student is the best way to educate, in my opinion.

He then taught us various sentence openers; subject, prepositional, "ly", "ing", clausal, and VSS (Very Short Sentences) and we practiced changing one sentence using the various openers.  We were left with the challenge to write one paragraph using each of the openers.  This was a great exercise and one I will repeat with my kids.

I found him to be quite fond of his view of writing only with outlines and was left with the impression that he would not care for National Novel Writing Month.  I believe there is room for both types of writing and different processes and love that my children create without use of outlines.  However, I did find his workshop to be refreshing and helpful.  He remains my favorite speaker of the conference.

And I have run out of time!  I will post this as Part One and finish the update at some point today or tomorrow, for those interested. 

Convention Update: Day One

Convention Day One is over and, as planned, was a day of shopping and friends.  I did attend one workshop at the end of the day, mostly because my feet hurt and I wanted to sit down, and I was so glad I did because it was excellent.  Andrew Pudewa, of Institute for Excellence in Writing, taught on Spelling and the Brain.  He is hilarious, a wonderful speaker, and just plain likeable.  We laughed as we learned and I love that!

He shared how the old fashioned "Spelling Bee" method of learning was so much more effective than workbooks (workbooks are an oxymoron in his view, as they don't work).  He made a great case for learning this way but I did have to laugh when he added that this didn't always work with kinesthetic learners.  Guess which learning style the majority of my kids have?  Yep, you guessed it.  Still, I was able to pick up several great ideas and really enjoyed the class.  He cracked me up with his statement about how confusing our language is, when talking about slay versus sleigh he said, "Do you want to kill someone or ride in the thing?".  Love it!

One idea I really loved involved building a Sound City.  You cover a large wall with paper and build a city as you learn spelling words.  So you could have a house for OW with the ow sound and add words like cow and towel, a house for OW with the oh sound and words like bow and yellow, a shiver river with words like liver, a fair hair airport, and a jail for all the words that break the rules.  I don't know if my kids are too old to need this, but I know they'd enjoy it either way!

I didn't think I would be purchasing much at the convention but they had more items on my list than I anticipated.  The photo above shows my purchases of the day.  This is the first year that Hands of a Child has attended and it was nice to meet Nikki and be able to turn my friend Hannah onto their great lapbooking products.  Plus, I had never actually seen a Project Pack and I LOVED them!  I have purchased down-loadable e-books in the past, and they're great, but there's something about holding the book in your hand and having all the materials pre-printed for you.  Ahhhhh.  I picked up the Prince Caspian Project Pack and look forward to using it next school year!

Both How Great Thou Art and Tobin's Lab were also quite helpful vendors.  Mrs. Stebbing came and found me when she located the paint cards I was looking for, and Mr. Duby was very helpful and apologetic when a clearance item rang up wrong.  Tobin's Lab is always a favorite booth and I was excited to pick up the discounted Bio-luminescent coloring book with glow in the dark paint.  I think that's just super cool.

We enjoyed our standing lunch and dinner dates.  We always have lunch with fellow homeschooling and ministry friends and we've had the same dinner dates for the past fourteen years (minus one when the wife was in Iceland!).  We go to the same restaurant for dinner and very frequently have the same meals!  It's become a well-loved tradition. 

Tomorrow is workshop day and I have a full schedule picked out.  We'll see if I can squeeze in a bit more shopping time as well.  I'll be starting off with another Andrew Pudewa seminar, seems like a good beginning!

Top 100 Children's Books List

I grabbed this from Debra, at Footprints in the Butter.  I thought it pretty interesting, may be a good challenge to read all the ones I haven't read yet!  I've read about half of them (the ones in bold print) and there are some definite favorites on this list!  If we could count seeing the movie but not reading the book, I'd be further along. GRIN.  How about you? How many of the Top 100 Children's Books have you read?

 

100. The Egypt Game - Snyder (1967)

99. The Indian in the Cupboard - Banks (1980)

98. Children of Green Knowe - Boston (1954)

97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - DiCamillo (2006)

96. The Witches - Dahl (1983)

95. Pippi Longstocking - Lindgren (1950)

94. Swallows and Amazons - Ransome (1930)

93. Caddie Woodlawn - Brink (1935)

92. Ella Enchanted - Levine (1997)

91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Sachar (1978)

90. Sarah, Plain and Tall - MacLachlan (1985)

89. Ramona and Her Father - Cleary (1977)

88. The High King - Alexander (1968)

87. The View from Saturday - Konigsburg (1996)

86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling (1999)

85. On the Banks of Plum Creek - Wilder (1937)

84. The Little White Horse - Goudge (1946)

83. The Thief - Turner (1997)

82. The Book of Three - Alexander (1964)

81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Lin (2009)

80. The Graveyard Book - Gaiman (2008)

79. All-of-a-Kind-Family - Taylor (1951)

78. Johnny Tremain - Forbes (1943)

77. The City of Ember - DuPrau (2003)

76. Out of the Dust - Hesse (1997)

75. Love That Dog - Creech (2001)

74. The Borrowers - Norton (1953)

73. My Side of the Mountain - George (1959)

72. My Father's Dragon - Gannett (1948)

71. The Bad Beginning - Snicket (1999)

70. Betsy-Tacy - Lovelae (1940)

69. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Stewart ( 2007)

68. Walk Two Moons - Creech (1994)

67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - Coville (1991)

66. Henry Huggins - Cleary (1950)

65. Ballet Shoes - Stratfeild (1936)

64. A Long Way from Chicago - Peck (1998)

63. Gone-Away Lake - Enright (1957)

62. The Secret of the Old Clock - Keene (1959)

61. Stargirl - Spinelli (2000)

60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi (1990)

59. Inkheart - Funke (2003)

58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Aiken (1962)

57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Cleary (1981)

56. Number the Stars - Lowry (1989)

55. The Great Gilly Hopkins - Paterson (1978)

54. The BFG - Dahl (1982)

53. Wind in the Willows - Grahame (1908)

52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007)

51. The Saturdays - Enright (1941)

50. Island of the Blue Dolphins - O'Dell (1960)

49. Frindle - Clements (1996)

48. The Penderwicks - Birdsall (2005)

47. Bud, Not Buddy - Curtis (1999)

46. Where the Red Fern Grows - Rawls (1961)

45. The Golden Compass - Pullman (1995)

44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Blume (1972)

43. Ramona the Pest - Cleary (1968)

42. Little House on the Prairie - Wilder (1935)

41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Speare (1958)

40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Baum (1900)

39. When You Reach Me - Stead (2009)

38. HP and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling (2003)

37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Taylor (1976)

36. Are You there, God? It's Me, Margaret - Blume (1970)

35. HP and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling (2000)

34. The Watson's Go to Birmingham - Curtis (1995)

33. James and the Giant Peach - Dahl (1961)

32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - O'Brian (1971)

31. Half Magic - Eager (1954)

30. Winnie-the-Pooh - Milne (1926)

29. The Dark Is Rising - Cooper (1973)

28. A Little Princess - Burnett (1905)

27. Alice I and II - Carroll (1865/72)

26. Hatchet - Paulsen (1989)

25. Little Women - Alcott (1868/9)

24. HP and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling (2007)

23. Little House in the Big Woods - Wilder (1932)

22. The Tale of Despereaux - DiCamillo (2003)

21. The Lightening Thief - Riordan (2005)

20. Tuck Everlasting - Babbitt (1975)

19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Dahl (1964)

18. Matilda - Dahl (1988)
17. Maniac Magee - Spinelli (1990)

16. Harriet the Spy - Fitzhugh (1964)

15. Because of Winn-Dixie - DiCamillo (2000)

14. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling (1999)

13. Bridge to Terabithia - Paterson (1977)

12. The Hobbit - Tolkien (1938)

11. The Westing Game - Raskin (1978)

10. The Phantom Tollbooth - Juster (1961)

9. Anne of Green Gables - Montgomery (1908)

8. The Secret Garden - Burnett (1911)

7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)

6. Holes - Sachar (1998)

5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - Koningsburg (1967)

4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis (1950)

3. Harry Potter #1 - Rowling (1997)

2. A Wrinkle in Time - L'Engle (1962)

1. Charlotte's Web - White (1952)

Pre-Convention Update

It's time for our state homeschool convention! We are heading into our 15th year homeschooling and this will be my 15th convention (14th at this particular one!). My husband has accompanied me for the past 14 years and it has become a weekend away to connect with homeschooling friends, some whom we only see once a year.

Remember the discussion about doing something crazy fun this year? Well, we decided on corn rows. Just getting corn rows didn't seem funky enough, so we added in colorful hair extensions. A few of us got together Wednesday for a fun time of hair and nails.

My husband and I planned to arrive at the hotel by mid afternoon today, to enjoy some down time and a nice dinner, just the two of us. Didn't work out that way. A little before noon, our 19 year old asked to be taken to the ER with lung pain. He has chronic issues with this lung and we weren't sure if we would be attending our 15th convention this year after all. Thankfully, the lung had not recollapsed and he was given some medication and sent home. After assuring us he would be fine, we finally headed out, arriving at the hotel about 9:00pm. Just in time to post and then crash before tomorrow's craziness begins!

I will try to update each day, we'll see how it goes. On the agenda for Friday: Exhibit Hall, lunch with friends, Exhibit Hall, dinner with friends. Saturday will be workshop day. Should be fun!

ReChurch: Healing Your Way Back to the People of God by Stephen Mansfield

"[Jesus] loves his bride.  Go figure.  She's a mess in my view, but he's crazy about her and won't put up with me either speaking ill of her or pulling away from her if I am going to be intimate with him...  The fact is that if you are going to love Jesus, you're going to have to make nice with his wife."

When I saw ReChurch: Healing Your Way Back to the People of God, I knew it was a book I needed to read personally.  As the wife of a pastor, I don't have the option of leaving physically when things get tough but sometimes leaving mentally and emotionally can be just as bad.  Or worse.  Can I be that honest with you? I have never given up on serving God but there are days I want to give up on his people- myself included.  Myself more often than not.  If that has ever described you, you need to read this book.

Stephen Mansfield has not written a book that will prompt you to rant and rave about what those church people have done or how everyone's just a hypocrite or how bad you have it and how much "those people" have done to hurt you.  Instead, he quickly shares his own journey through the pain of being hurt by those from whom you least expect it (without giving details or bashing those from his past) and then the rough road back to healing.  I say rough road because he doesn't focus on what everyone else has done or continues to do, but he focuses on you.  He focuses on me.  He leads us to look at ourselves, to look at our beliefs, to look at the truth of the situation, and to view the church as God does.  He gives a wonderful illustration about how we hold onto our bitterness, one that will stay with me for a long time to come.

He writes from the perspective of a man who was formerly a pastor and continues in a different type of ministry now.  Not everything was applicable to me or my situation but there was plenty there that was, and it hit hard.  As in "hurts so good" hard.  There is no lack of grace here though, or belittling of the pain some have experienced at the hands of good Christian people.  This is not a "just get over it" type of book.  I appreciated this, as well as the practicality of his message.  He doesn't just show you why you need to change your thinking and your heart, but follows it up with practical exercises to help you not just read but DO.  I read this rather quickly and want to go back through, taking time for the exercises which pertain to me.

I plan to recommend this highly to my friends who also work in full time ministry.  I believe it could be a huge help, life changing even, for any one who is still bearing wounds from the church body in which they had hoped to find safety and rest.  I finished the book with a truer understanding of the church and a better understanding of myself.  I finished the book with truths planted firmly in my heart that will hopefully take root and help "restore the joy of my salvation".  I finished the book with hope.

*Disclosure: I received this book at no cost from Tyndale Publishers, for review purposes.*

16/52

Super Star Speech

Both of my younger daughters tend to drop their "R's".  As we live in Massachusetts, this isn't a huge problem because most will just assume it's their regional accent.  I am not convinced though, as neither of their parents have this tendency.  If they choose to drop their "R's" as a dialect option, I'm fine with that.  I actually adore the Boston accent.   But I do want to be sure they can pronounce their "R's" correctly if needed.  When I discovered the TOS Crew would be reviewing an at-home speech therapy program, I chose Super Star R & L, published by Super Star Speech.

Super Star Speech is a family owned business of fellow homeschooler and TOS Crew member, Deborah Lott.  Debbie is a licensed speech pathologist with a Master's Degree in Education and Speech Pathology.   I love the fact that she is not only accredited in speech therapy but she is "accredited" in homeschooling as well.  This means you get the best of both worlds- what you need to help your child with speech development done in a way that is easy to use and affordable for homeschooling families.

The book I received, Super Star R & L, comes spiral bound with a hard plastic cover.  It is full of worksheets and games, as well as simple instructions for working with the sounds with your child. The illustrations are kid friendly and the instructions are easy to follow.  Head over to the site and scroll down a bit to see examples of the pages.  I don't know about you, but it always helps me to actually see what it looks like.  Yes, I am a visual learner!

I believe Super Star Speech can be a great help to those in the homeschooling community who do not need major intervention with their child's speech but do need an affordable, easy to use intervention, written by someone with the credentials to back them up, that they can fit right into their homeschooling day.  The book I received sells for $18.95, with an e-book version available at 30% off that price.  There are other sounds available, as well as games for homeschool enrichment.  

*Disclosure: This product was provided at no cost for review purposes.  To see what others on the Crew thought of Super Star Speech, check out the Crew site.*

MyBlogSpark: Cascade Complete ($25 Wal-Mart Card Giveaway)

I was pretty excited about this offer through MyBlogSpark.  First of all, I love having great giveaways for my readers!  And who couldn't use an extra $25 to spend at Wal-Mart?  I was also looking forward to trying this product for myself.  I currently buy a similar product that is less expensive at BJ's, but we frequently have dirty dishes AFTER the dishwasher cycle.  My almost 13 year old son has dishwasher duty, and I am sure his version of rinsing the dishes has a lot to do with this problem! 

I received a package of 16 Allin1 Pacs and a square baking dish to use with the 24 Hour Challenge.  I was to bake a blueberry cobbler, leave the dirty dish out for 24 hours, and then wash without rinsing. I happened to have frozen cherries and blueberries in my freezer, so I went ahead and made the cobbler using my own healthier recipe.  It may have been to due to the high water content due to my not defrosting the fruit, and using real fruit rather than canned, but the pan was pretty clean when we finished.  I knew that even with my dishwasher, my normal detergent, and my son's non-rinsing skills- it would be clean.  For me, the bigger challenge was cleaning my normal load of dishes!

Yeah, well, no.  You just can't put dishes in without rinsing and expect them to be clean.  I will say that I DID see a difference with this brand compared with my usual brand.  If I continue to see an improvement, I will be swapping brands for our home.  A few dollars more is worth not having to rewash the dishes!

If you'd like to try Cascade Complete Pacs for FREE and see how they work for you, you may just have that opportunity!  One reader will win a Wal-Mart Gift Card worth $25, with which you could buy your own Cascade. 

TO ENTER:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post (required).

2. Share this giveaway via Twitter (optional, leave additional comment with Twitter name)

3. Share this giveaway via Facebook (optional, leave additional comment letting me know )

4. Share this giveaway on your blog (optional, leave TWO additional comments letting me know)

5. Follow/subscribe to this blog (optional, leave additional comment letting me know- if you already follow, leave TWO additional comments)

6. Place my button on your blog (optional, leave TWO additional comments letting me know.)

Drawing will be held on Wednesday, May 5th. 

*Disclosure: This product review was based on using complimentary Cascade product provided by P&G. I also received a $25 Wal-Mart gift card to give away to one of my readers. P&G does not represent or warrant the accuracy of any statements or product claims made here, nor does it endorse any opinions expressed within this blog site.  (Can't blame them for that, but whoa, was that a long disclosure statement, or what?)*

Wordless Wednesday- Percy Jackson Fun at Borders

Library Skills Giveaway Winner

Michelle, Mom of Three Munchkins, has won the Library Skills Lapbook CD!

Michelle, please send me an email with your mailing address to HomeschoolReviewsandMore@yahoo.com.  :-D

Planning for Next Year

I'm in the midst of planning for next year's school and thought I'd share a little bit while still in process.  Our state convention is this weekend and I'd like to know what I'm doing before then.  Not that I ever know what I'm doing, but still. 

I like to start by assessing what worked this year and what didn't, as well as taking into consideration what next year looks like- at least as far as I know.  I thought I wanted a structured curriculum this year but discovered that I really don't do well with already laid out lesson plans.  We used Sonlight 6 for the first half of the year and then I threw off the constraints and changed up the second half.  I am still a Sonlight fan, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't a good fit for us right now.  For the second half of the year, I have been using block scheduling.  I sat down, figured out what I really wanted to cover the rest of the year, and then separated the subjects into monthly blocks.  For instance, we spent a month on Science, we are now in our month of Spanish and Art, and next month will be Rome.  Math and independent language arts are included throughout but we concentrate on one main subject at a time, and it has worked really well for us.

My oldest daughter is graduating this year, a year earlier than expected.  This means I only have five children to homeschool next year, third grade through tenth.  My upcoming sophomore will work independently and so I sat down with him and asked him what he'd like to do for next year.  Since high school is more independent, I want my teens to have a lot of input into the curriculum they use.  He looked at a couple of curricula we have, knowing we could research something else or put together our own, and he decided on Sonlight Core 300.  He enjoys reading and he likes the structure of the daily lesson plans.  I purchased this last year for my oldest daughter, who soon discovered she liked tweaking and putting together her own courses like her mother, and I think it will be a good fit for him.  He will also have an Economics course, Advanced Algebra via Life of Fred, and we're putting together an elective on Gaming.  He'll also continue with One Year Adventure Novel, which is turning into a two year adventure novel!  Science is still being discussed at the moment, but he's pretty well set otherwise.  High school has been the easiest to plan this time (If you're looking for help with high school planning, I highly recommend Senior High: A Home Designed Form+U+La by Barbara Edtl Shelton.  I need to find time to write a review on this book, it's my all time favorite!).

The block scheduling has been working, so you'd think I was all fine and dandy on continuing that for next year with the third through eight graders.  Yeah...well..not so much.  I was heading down that road when I decided a literature based unit would be good for a month or two block.  I began reading through Further Up and Further In and soon found myself wondering if perhaps I should take the year and do something different.  We usually base our studies off of whatever historical time period we are in (we work chronologically, but not in four year rotations).  We should be in the Middle Ages.  But here I am intrigued by the idea of tossing that out the window, at least until the following year, and spending a year immersed in the world of Narnia.  After a quick Internet search, I discovered a lot of material available for this.  We could notebook/lapbook through the year and listen to the series using the Radio Theater version.  We haven't lapbooked in awhile and I treasure the file boxes full of my older two kid's lapbooks.  Creating memories to treasure while learning sounds pretty good to me.  Can you tell where I'm leaning?

One thing that is working that I am keeping, is the weekly assignment list.  They are each responsible for completing their weekly independent work and must schedule themselves.  I purchased a cabinet with bins and they each have their own bin.  It's not really "workbox" style, but does work well to hold all their personal school items and they have really loved having their own space.  

Still researching and praying and thinking and discussing with my kids, but thought I'd give anyone interested a glimpse into my mind at the moment. Any feedback welcome!

Oh, I Could Never Do That- My Kid's Won't Listen.

This week's Blog Cruise asks, "How can I homeschool if my child won't obey me?"

This is both an easy and a difficult question to answer. The flippant and quick response is "How can you parent if your child won't obey you?". This is not a specific to homeschooling question.  If we're struggling with disobedience in our children, we need to work on this whether we homeschool or not.  I think the root of the question is fear that our children will not listen to us and respect us as teachers.  So the easy answer is that we need to teach them obedience no matter what our educational choices.

The difficult part is that I will not pretend to be an expert in this, despite having seven children.  Our children are not animals and I refuse to train them like pets.  They are individual people with their own free will, who make their own choices.  I will place consequences for bad choices in their way. I will teach them the reasoning behind what I think are good choices.  I will train them up and help them memorize Scripture for areas they struggle in.  I have taught my children to be very independent, to be themselves, and to not worry about what everyone around them thinks.  Sometimes I am pleased with this upbringing, other times I am concerned I totally blew it.  So there's my disclaimer in answering this question!

When it comes to homeschooling though, I believe it actually helps in this area.  When I only see my child a few hours a night and on weekends, I do not want it to be filled with strife and discipline.  It's easier to let things slide and ignore the issues.  If they are home with me every day and we can't possibly accomplish an iota of work because of the strife, we are forced to work through the problems.  For me, one of the most important aspects of homeschooling is building relationships with my children.  If I need to put the books aside while we work on this, so be it.  Relationships are first, the book work comes second.  

One thing we have started this year, which has helped with some of the daily frustrations, is having them be responsible for their own independent work.  Each child has their own assignment book and I write a week's worth of assignments for them at a time.  They are responsible for completing the work and they can decide when they will get it done.  If they want to do four math lessons on Monday, they are free to do that.  If they want to wait until Friday to read four chapters in their book, that's fine too.  If it is not completed by Saturday morning, they will be unable to do anything else until they complete their list.  

This past Saturday, my nine year old had to read three chapters in her book because she had not finished.  This is a lot for her to do at one sitting and she sat on the couch for a few hours when she would have rather been playing with her siblings and their friends who had come over.  Hopefully she has learned to manage her time better, without a lot of strife and misery for the both of us.  She knew this was the consequence, and while there was some whining, there wasn't a lot of arguing. 

I do try to be sure that I don't over schedule them and that I allow them time during the week to work on their lists.  This is key too, I believe.  We need to be sure we are not asking too much of our children and prompting them to rebellion and disobedience.  I want to set them up for success rather than failure whenever possible.  And I want to be sure I am disciplining disobedience and not inability or simple mistakes.

The honest answer to the question of the week is that you can't.  We can't homeschool our children if they won't obey or respect us (not perfectly mind you, as they are as imperfect as we are!) but our relationships with our children are important enough to make this a priority.  Whether we ultimately choose homeschool or traditional school, this is vital and worth every bit of effort.   

Check out more answers to these questions at the TOS Crew Blog Cruise Hub.  

School Planning-I Need Your Help!

Our homeschool convention is coming up next week and I am hard at work planning for next year's schooling.  I am fluctuating between a block schedule format (concentrating on one subject per month) and spending the year on a literature based unit study.  I reviewed Further Up and Further In last year and am seriously considering using that as a jumping off point for a year long unit in The Chronicles of Narnia (with my 3rd-8th graders).  As I was surfing the 'net, looking for resources and ideas to help me in my decision making, I thought perhaps I could use my homeschool blog as a resource for me too.  Do any of you know of any good books, sites, or studies?  Have you used Further Up and Further In or some other unit covering Narnia?  Or have you done another literature based study you loved and would recommend checking into?  I am a natural researcher myself but would love some input! 

Curriculum Clean-OUT! Giveaway

Fellow Crew Mate, Jolanthe, over at Homeschool Creations is sponsoring a Curriculum Clean-Out!  I admit it, I tend to horde curriculum, only parting with it when I need to sell in order to purchase new curriculum.  But this sounded like fun and I love giveaways, so I searched my resource closet for something I could bear to part with that would be fairly inexpensive to mail (Did I mention I can be cheap as well?).  I discovered a lapbook study on CD that was very lonely on my shelf.  It had been there for a couple of years and never been used.  I think it was an impulse buy that was never even popped into the computer and gazed upon.  Poor lonely disc.  I'm sure it is wonderful and is just waiting for the chance to be used to it's utmost.  It cried out to me for the chance to shine, how could I resist?

So if you'd like to give a home to my Live & Learn Press Around the World...In the Library, here's your chance!  The study is described thus; "We cover a multitude of skills necessary for proper use of the library in this Learn 'N Folder . Alphabetical order, numerical order, vocabulary, and more are taught in this ready-to-use Learn 'N Folder. This Learn 'N Folder is made up of 30 mini-books that fill 2 folders."

Just leave me a comment and be entered to win!  Tweet, Facebook or Follow for extra entries.  Drawing will be held on April 21st. 

This Giveaway is Closed.

Green Giant Giveaway Winner

The winner of the MyBlogSpark Green Giant Giveaway is JC!  

Please drop me an email at HomeschoolreviewsandMore@yahoo.com with your mailing address and I'll pass that on to MyBlogSpark.  Gratz!

Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze (Blog Tour)

Forget Me Not opens with a murder.  It follows this with a woman on the run, her life in danger. Beaten, bruised, and dumped near a Crisis Center, this woman cannot remember who she is, but her resemblance to the center's owner's dead wife is unmistakable.  Who is she? Who is she running from? And how is she connected to his wife?

I had high hopes with this beginning, as I adore thrillers and suspense.  And there were times where I was flipping through the pages, anxious to discover where the author was heading.  Most of the time, though, I found the story to be a bit uneven.  Many plot points were obvious to me from the start, and at times there were holes in the story.  While I appreciate characters of faith, I found the main character's to be somewhat unrealistic in that she neither truly struggled with it nor fully embraced it in a way I would find believable during the crisis and chaos she faced.

This would be the type of book I would choose when I wanted something to occupy my mind, but not something that I couldn't put down and pick up at will.  There is room in my life for these kinds of books, but I wouldn't recommend it as a favorite.

Forget Me Not is available directly through Waterbrook Multnomah, or at your favorite online or local bookstore.

*This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.*   

15/52

Learn What They Love

"How do you instill a love of learning in your child?"

My children would say that's impossible.  I don't believe them.  They tell me that every kid hates school and my goal to make them love learning is a quick trip to frustration. That, I believe they think they believe anyway. They want to believe they hate school, and probably some of it they do, but they love to learn.  They just don't know it.

When my 19 year old wanted to play the drums, he got himself a drum set and spent hours on the Internet, researching and viewing teaching videos.  He loved every minute of it and is now a very good drummer.  When my 17 year old was interested in cultural anthropology and floral design (interesting combination, I know), she researched these things online and read books and requested information in the mail.  When my 14 year old wanted to know more about game design, he researched it and figured out what he would need to learn what he wanted to know.  He saved money to purchase the program he needed in order to do what he wanted, and then he purchased it.  

They know how to learn and they love learning about things they are interested in.  And I think that is the key.  They may protest about learning everything we want them to learn.  I am all for child directed learning to a point, but sometimes they just have to learn something because we want them to know it.  We understand the importance, even if they don't.  This learning, they may not love.  But if we teach them how to learn, they will learn to love learning about what they love (say that ten times fast).

So how do you instill a love of learning in a child? 

Teach them how to learn and then allow them the freedom to learn what they love. It's that simple.

Check out more answers to these questions at the TOS Crew Blog Cruise Hub.  

Links will be posted each Tuesday!

A Little Homeschool Flair

Our state homeschool convention is coming up soon. I was hoping to have the opportunity to connect with vendors and possibly discover and share some really cool products with you.  The biggest hindrance to that awesome idea is that I can be more of an introvert and striking up a conversation with a stranger is scarier than an ocean full of sharks.  My usual "modus operandi" is to keep my nose in the books, smile and pay for my purchase, and head to the next booth.  Not a great way to connect and discover.

So my brain began processing this problem and came up with various ideas.  Business cards with the blog information was an obvious choice but this still involves making the first move.  T-shirts are always an option but I'm just not a t-shirt kind of girl.  Then it came to me while I was on Facebook browsing for new Flair- Buttons!  Pin one to your shirt and you're good to go.  A little discussion starter that's not too intrusive; perfect.

I popped on CafePress, created the button you see above, and ordered a pack of ten.  I'll let you know how it goes!

What Am I? Beehive Reader #2

My eight year old ADORED the first book in All About Spelling's Beehive Reader series.  Book one was below his reading level, but the stories and illustrations were so engaging, he read it three times in one sitting.  When I told him we would also be reviewing the second book, What Am I?, he was very excited.  And I was excited to see him so excited!

After several anxious days stalking the mailbox, the package arrived and he ripped it open and disappeared.  This second level book was at his reading level and at first he was disappointed that he couldn't speed through it like the first book.  But he was soon caught up in the beautiful illustrations and the cute stories and enjoying it as much as the first.



Like book one, What Am I? is a glossy hardcover with thick pages.  The quality impresses from the start.  And it stay impressive.  The illustrations are wonderful, the stories interesting, and the whole thing is just a delight.

Although designed to go along with the All About Spelling levels, these books are a great addition to any reading program- or simply enjoyable reading on their own.  I love these books and highly recommend them.  I'll be watching for future books as well!

What Am I? will be available for $19.99 some time in April, through All About Spelling.

*Disclosure: This book was provided at no cost for review purposes.  To read more reviews of this product, please check out the TOS Crew site.*

Feeling Burnt Out? Been There, Done That, T-Shirt's Buried Somewhere In the Laundry Pile.

Last week was crazy busy and I never had the chance to answer the Blog Cruise question of the week.  I found this slightly ironic, as the question was what to do about burnout.  Back in my Bible college days, I often heard the phrase, "Better to burn out than rust out."  It was a phrase we disliked, as we realized that either way- you're out.  How is that a good thing?

Homeschool burnout is a real issue.  Frankly, burnout with anything we do is a real issue.  Sometimes I am just plain burnt out on life.  And last week I was unsure how I would respond to this question, as many days I'm feeling it myself.

Then I went to my Women's Bible Study this morning.  We're working through Beth Moore's updated Breaking Free study and in the DVD session, she spoke on the "captivity of activity".  As soon as she began, I became uncomfortable.  I know one of my issues with burn out is that I want to do everything and then I get to the point where I can do nothing.  What she shared was nothing new and yet somehow very difficult to apply.  I needed the reminder, perhaps you do as well.

We can't do it all.  In our culture, we are praised for doing it all.  We want to do it all.  We desire to be that Super Mom.  (Tell me it's not just me?).  I'm sure you've heard it before- we can do a few things well or several things not so well.  This applies in homeschooling as well.  When I began, I had grand visions of my children being "super star homeschoolers". You know, the kind who grace the magazine covers in matching outfits, speak three languages, and have colleges fighting for their presence.  Instead, I'm happy if all my children are wearing clothes and have showered recently, can remember how to say "My name is" in Spanish, and have full time jobs when they finish high school.  Have I given up?  Have I settled?  No, I have simply become more realistic in what's right for our family and where our priorities need to be.  We need realistic goals and we need to stay focused on what God wants for our specific family, right now.

We must rest.  This was a biggie for me.  I feel that I am naturally a lazy person.  Struggling with illness for awhile now, I frequently spend time sitting and feel that is resting.  But in reality, I may be resting my body but my mind rarely rests.  I always want to be doing, at least mentally, and rarely take time to just relax and rest in the Lord.  I don't take the time to become refreshed.  We go, go, go and do, do, do until we finally have had enough and we just want to quit in frustration.  We lose ourselves in exhaustion and we just don't want to do it anymore.  Everything seems too hard and we start believing we can't.

So what do we do about it, when we get to this point?

First, I believe we need to make time to rest.  Sometimes, our kids are just as burnt out with homeschooling and they need a rest as well.  Take a week or two and just decompress.  Read books aloud together.  Have a reading day where everyone reads silently.  Watch movies and drink hot cocoa.  Play at the park.  Build "fairy houses" in the backyard.  Make a fort in the living room.  Have fun with your kids and remember they are the reason you started this homeschooling thing in the first place.  For me, the relationship with my children outweighs any academics.  Rest and enjoy each others company. 

Then we need to really pray and discover what we need to be doing right now, with our family.  Not what our best friend thinks we should be doing or what that awesome homeschooler who does these great projects with her kids is doing or what our relative who is a public school teacher tells us we should be doing.  Is our curriculum working?  Is our philosophy working? Do we need to read a few encouraging books to help get us re-focused and renew our vision?  Do we need to let go of a few sports or programs or classes or whatever?  Am I expecting too much of myself?  Am I doing too much outside the home?  Do I need to add something outside the home?  Why am I doing this? What is my purpose and what needs to change to better meet that?  And again, do we just need an extended break?

After fourteen years of homeschooling, I can tell you that burn out is real and it will occur more than once.  But I can also tell you that the joy and excitement of homeschooling can return and you can do it.   You don't need to be Super Mom, you just need to be Mom.  Focus on the priorities and make time to rest.  God didn't rest the seventh day because he was tired, but because he knew we would be.  Frequently, burn out is merely exhaustion.  Rest and refresh.  That joy will return.

Check out more answers to these questions at the TOS Crew Blog Cruise Hub.  

Links will be posted each Tuesday!

Hand of Fate by Lis Wiehl

Hand of Fate: A Triple Threat Novel is billed as a thriller, revolving around the lives of three women.  Federal prosecutor Allison Pierce, FBI Special Agent Nicole Hedges, and television news crime reporter Cassidy Shaw make up the "Triple Threat" to which the subtitle refers.  The story opens with the murder of Jim Fate, the obnoxious talk radio personality we all love to hate.  Investigating who would NOT want him dead would be an easier job for these women.  Woven throughout this main storyline are sub-plots involving domestic violence, illegal immigrants, rape victims, and food safety.  The number of social and political issues touched on is understandable, as the author is also a Fox News analyst and commentator.

While I would not call this a "pulse-pounding thriller", I did find that I enjoyed the story.  It did not draw me in and make me fall in love with the characters, but I found myself interested in the storyline and curious as to who was behind the murder.  Curious, but not page turning breathless.  What I appreciated most is that this was not a one-sided political story.  Knowing the author was a news analyst, I feared I would find a strong politic message thinly disguised as story.  That was not the case at all.  There were more questions here than answers.  No one political party or viewpoint was pushed and the gray areas were many.  The social issues of our day were given a face and a story and the answers aren't as easy and one sided (on either side) when faced with hurting people in difficult situations.  There was much to think about in an easy to read "beach-side" book.


Hand of Fate is available through Thomas Nelson (although not a "Christian" book) and your favorite online or local bookstores.

*Disclosure: I received this book at no cost through Booksneeze.com, for review purposes.*  

14/52

What's In The Bible? Giveaway Winners

Voucher for Volume 1:

Linda Kish

Voucher for Volume 2: 

HillaryM at Our Homeschool Studio

Congratulations!  

Please send your mailing address to HomeschoolReviewsandMore@yahoo.com, so that I may get that in the mail to you.