The Old School House Subscription

Did you ever dream of getting a horse for Christmas? You can get a sneak peek of our Fall issue and see Nancy Carter's first horse! The Old SchoolHouse Magazine.
Oh, and she's not the only one sharing her childhood pictures. You'll see photos from the 50's through the 80's.
But, you'll need the Fall issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine to go on this walk down memory lane.

Plus, do you like to create holiday memories? The brand new TOS holiday E-Book can be yours, too. It's all about the fall and winter holidays - mainly Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it's not even for sale yet. This is your chance to get it first - for FREE ($12.45 value)!
Normally when a person subscribes, their subscription starts with the upcoming issue which can take a while. But, TOS thought about that when they planned their Fall Special.
If you subscribe now with their Fall Special, you'll get

Almost 50% off the cover price for 2 years The current Fall issue as soon as it is ready
6 Bonus gifts
12 months of Teacher's Toolbox, which contains a FREE E-Book every month PLUS, the new E-Book, Homespun Holidays for FREE!

This is over $250 worth of product for only $39!!
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE NOW!
(Please link Click her to subscribe now to this url The Old School House Subscription

One 2 Believe In, Nativity Set

I was so excited the other day to get a big box on my front door and in this box was a beautiful nativity set just right for children to play and learn with. My kids tore through the box and started playing with it right away. I was going to put it back in the box and save it for Christmas, but then I had a revelation! They can play with it all year round and then I can gather the pieces up at Christmas time and put it on the coffee table. Then maybe those little hands will stay away from my stained glass nativity set! So now it sits out for them to play with. They even incorporated it with their Little People play sets.

The set contains a very small storybook and 17 figurines. The pieces are VERY sturdy soft PVC. There is a star on the manger and I really thought it would just pop off, so I pulled and pulled and there it stayed! It's everything you need to share the Nativity story with your children. However I really wished it had a bit bigger storybook to go with it or some sort of mini curriculum for a school project, especially if you are to give this as a gift to an un-saved friend. It would be nice to have a little more meat in the storybook.

This set is recommended for children at least 3 years old, because there are some small parts. Now according to the description on the One2Believe web site, the nativity is made from PVC, which could be a danger to children who put things in their mouths. One 2 Believe has many toys available and the nativity is only $24.95 so you'll want to be sure to check it as well as all their other toys all out at One 2 Believe In .

Score: 10 out of 10

Homeschooling A B C’s by Knowledge Quest

Now first let me say that I am not a reader. When I first set out to homeschool I got book upon book upon book on how to homeschool, different curriculum's to choose from and general education books. Did I read them all cover to cover? No! I skimmed over each book. Read the table of contents and read the chapters I thought were good.

I was given the opportunity to review a product called Homeschooling A B C’s. Terri from Knowledge Quest has put together a wonderful weekly study for new homeschoolers who are like me and do not want to read a 500 page book to find out how to homeschool.

When you sign up with Knowledge Quest you get a weekly email with a link to your next lesson starting with A and moving forward till you get to Z. That’s 26 lessons in all. But now this is not just s reading, you get 10 awesome bonus gifts AND over $250 worth of homeschooling curriculum and a little homework to teach the teacher how to do things. I want to wet you appetite so here are some of the topics you will study.


Determine your philosophy of education
Understand your children's learning styles
Learn the in's and outs of buying and selling curriculum
Find out how to get and stay organized
Learn how to teach multiple ages at the same time
Make the most of field trips
How to handle the "S" question - socialization
How to start each day WELL and keep it going that way
Get hundreds of dollars of free curriculum


Now here is one of the best things. It all comes from a Christian point of view. So now the question is how do you get your hands on it and how much is it? Right? Well is it $10.00 a month that’s $60.00 total. Now I know money is tight right now, but if you are thinking about homeschooling and really just are feeling too scared, or your ready to start and don’t know exactly where to start, then this is the e-book/weekly study you need to have. Beside I added up all the books on homeschooling I have on my shelf. They added up to around $180.00. So this is a much better deal and it gives you all the information you need to get your homeschool up and running in as little as 48 hours. Stop by their website Homeschool ABC's and check them out.

Score 8 out of 10

Homeschooling Library

BOOKS ARE EXPENSIVE! I'd love to add a ton of educational literature to my homeschool library, but purchasing them can be extremely expensive. Well I found a place to go to build my library without spending hundreds of dollars. Homeschool Library. Two Moms got together and decided to provide homeschoolers and non homeschoolers alike with a place to find books at a very reasonable price. But the thing is they are not just an online bookstore. They offer much more. Things like

Book Search: If a customer needs an out-of-stock book or a title we’ve not previously carried, we are happy to search for it.
Fundraising: They know from experience how tiresome and time consuming fundraisers can be. Their fundraising program is designed for ease so that neither money nor orders are taken by the organization itself.
Product Marketing: They offers the opportunity to get the word out about a “homegrown” product or service through their website as well as a monthly online newsletter. This is a free service offered to our HSLB members.
Spotlight on the Season: They preview and select sites for the current season or holiday, to eliminate searching, and enjoy that special time of year with their children.
Helping Hand: Through the Helping Hand program they have had the opportunity to raise money for those in need. They have a specially designated category of books whereby all money goes to helping others
Frequent Buyer Program: They offer incentive programs through their book points program. Fifteen book points equals one dollar for use toward future purchases. These points never expire. Points can be earned a number of ways.

Oh and did I mention they have tons of $1 $2 $3 $5 bargain bins with great books in them. The only thing I wish they had was a wish list so I can have all the books I want saved and go back and buy them a few at a time. Go to Homeschool Library and check them out.

Score: 10 out of 10

Prop 8

So here I am once again writing about politics. For those of you who have known me for most of my life, you know this is not me! However, this year is so important to our country not only who we vote for but on several of the propositions. So instead of preaching about prop 8 and giving you my opinion, which I am sure you know by now what it is. I have decided to give a link to a video. Watch it. It is only a few minutes and I think you will be shocked that jail time for us parents could possibly be in our future for those who have children in public school. Shoot me a email or post a comment on what you think about it! Prop 8 Video.

Bill A3123

Our state Assembly has put forth bill A3123, which seeks to highly regulate homeschoolers. We will all pay higher school property taxes if the bill passes.
A3123 will force every homeschooling family to be evaluated as to whether their education is appropriate. However, "appropriate education" is not defined in the bill. We know from experience that poorly defined bills lead to extensive, costly litigation. Result: Higher property taxes.

The state commissioner of education will have the power to mandate courses and content if this bill is passed. This means that each district will have to hire an administrator to examine the educational program of resident homeschoolers. More employees equals higher taxes.
Some parents will not be up to fighting this new bureaucracy and will enroll their children in the public school. These parents have been saving taxpayers money every year by paying out of their own pockets to educate their children. Now you will have to pay for their "free" public education, to the tune of about $15,000 per pupil. Again, this will increase property taxes.
Please call or write your Assembly members and ask that they vote against the bill. It will take significant freedom away from thousands of responsible parents in New Jersey, and will take even more money out of your wallet. The ones who will benefit by this bill are the educational bureaucrats, and I think we've seen that they're already doing quite well.

MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it. Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox. Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids. Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of carpets. Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up. Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?' and get their answer when a little voice says, 'Because I love you best.

Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade...It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother...

The Images of Mother
4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it.
35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom' s opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair ...

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul ... It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

The Computer is a Great Tool for Homeschooling Families

The Familyman
Todd Wilson, Familyman Ministries

Let me just jump in and say that the computer is a great tool for homeschooling families. We use it for typing, piano, math, and grammar. The computer allows our children to learn at their own pace and get hands on instruction. . .sometimes from a person who is a whole lot smarter than us.

Let me also jump in and say that the computer is dangerous and should not be trusted. I constantly have parents write me and share horrible stories of how their sons and daughters have been caught in its snare.

These are some of the lessons I have learned from them. Never allow your children unsupervised time on an Internet connected computer. Don't ever assume that your son or daughter is just doing online school. Don't ever assume that they won't go poking around sites they shouldn't be viewing. Don't ever assume that it won't creep into your house.

Make sure you have controls, filters, guards, and passwords on your computer. One dad told me how his son would sneak down at night and get on the Internet while they were asleep.

How does something like that start? Just a little bit at a time. It begins by doing a research paper and stumbling across something "bad." The first time or two they resist. . .but later on, they might just take a "click." The next thing you know, they're in over their head.

I'm telling you Mom and Dad, the computer that is hooked up to the Internet is a possible pathway to death.

I know it sounds like I'm making a big deal over nothing, but when you hear horror story after horror story it changes your perspective.

Yes, use the computer. . .but be careful. Don't assume that it's safe. . .because it is not. Take precautions, train your children to flee temptation, and view your computer like a potential family destroyer.

The Greatest Homeschool Magazine

The Old School House. I have been a subscriber for a couple years now. As a matter of fact I use to have a subscription to 4 different ones when I first started homeschooling. As I became more confident in homeschooling I realized I only needed one magazine to fill my needs. That was The Old School House. They have some great how to articles, they keep us posted on the new things going on in homeschooling, contests, Homeschool Units and so much more. I really do love this magazine. And I have to say the photography is FANTASTIC. The one thing I am still not to sure of is their digital magazine. You can either go paper or paperless. I like the paper magazine much better then digital. I have found I do not read the whole magazine when it is digital. And I certainly will NOT print the whole thing out! Read my article on Digital or not in August. Gives a truer feeling of the digital times. They are having a deal on a subscription right now.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Fall Special. You can get two years of the magazine, 6 physical gifts (no downloads!) worth over $120, plus the current issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine that is full of ideas for the new school year, so you start receiving your magazine in a flash!
It really is one of their best deals ever and you don't want to miss out. In fact, they've got a really cute Homeschooling with Heart tote bag (valued at $13.95) for the first 1000 to subscribe. About half of them are gone, but you should still be able to get one if you hurry! (They will remove the info from the subscription page when the bags are all gone.) The total value is over $212, but you receive it all for only $39 - 50% off of cover price! Plus subscribers get their online monthly Teacher's Toolbox which focuses on a different topic each month, giving you words of encouragement, hands-on teaching ideas, book recommendations, field trip ideas, and a bonus download item.
Here is the link if you are interested http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/US_Promotion.php.

Score 10 out of 10

Help Me 2 Teach Review

I had a chance to review a site for teachers and homeschoolers. This site has over 2,000 links to educational sites for parents, students and teachers. The person who put this site together was a teacher for 40 years. And Help me 2 Teach was created to enable us to use these links for a supplement to our current curriculum. In a nut shell this is basically a search engine specifically for sites that deal with school stuff ONLY.

The thing I love about this site is the fact I do not have to weed through 10,000 different search answers that come up on my Google search. If you want information lets say on the human anatomy, it comes up with only those sites that would be appropriate for me.

They have it layed out very nicely. They give you a clue as to the age appropriateness of the site as well as grade level. There are 23 different topics ranging from Music, Health, Science, lapbooking (only 1 site), animals, crafts etc. Then under most of those topics there are sub topics to help narrow your search down. Or you can type a specific word in the search engine on their site. It really is a wonderful help and time savor.

Now for the one thing I disliked about it. I was trying to get info on character training...nothing. Then I tried for a Bible study...nothing. Then I tried Creationism...nothing.
So what does that tell me? that this is a pure secular site.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but personally I would like to see them branch out to some biblical sites too. Oh yes, and many of the science links are evolution based. If you don't mind digging through those websites then this will not be a big deal for you. In their Newsletter you do get to give your opinion on sites you have found. I am sure we all could give them 100's of great christian sites. Also, there were not as many resources as I would have hoped. in some cases there were only 1 or 2 web sites for a subject. I tried one that I have about 15 sites for and they only had 1 (lapbooking). So there is some work to be done on this site.

Now for the specifics...You can purchase a subscription for three days at $4.95, one month at $9.95, three months at $15.95, or an annual subscription for only $29.95. And when you subscribe you'll receive a newsletter with new links to new sites as they update. They've spent so many hours doing all the research on the Internet to help us have these great educational sites which go from pre-k to high school. http://www.helpme2teach.com/

In closing, I think this could be a good supplement site to use during my homeschooling career, but remembering there are tons more out there if you have the time to do a Google search. Once again, just be aware of the evolution base info on some of the sites.

Score: 7 out of 10

Tracy...to homeschool or not. That is the question!

On the Homeschool Blogger the following question/comment was written. I had a few things to ask her. Read on after her question for my answer to her.

Dear Minute to Minute Readers,
I am a homeschooling mom of two. My daughter is 7 (almost 8), and my son is 5. I am feeling guilty for enjoying a few hours break from my children. Okay, here is my predicament. I have been homeschooling my children from the beginning, but just this summer I have let them attend a couple Bible study summer day camps. Also, my daughter has been attending some art classes through the local art museum. She had so much fun and is eager to attend more as they come about. I enjoyed them too as this was the first time I have been away from my children since they were born.

Now, I'm wondering if I am doing them a disservice by homeschooling them. They are both very social and really enjoy being with other kids. They are enjoying all the art and interaction that they are getting, as well as the time away from me. And yes, I have been enjoying a little bit of freedom from them, too. Time to myself, which I never get.

I think we are all enjoying this new found freedom, and I hate giving it up now that the summer camps are over and life has gone back to the normal school year. Any suggestions on how I can get time for myself? I do belong to a homeschool group, but they are a long way away; almost an hour's drive from my home. We are the only homeschooling family within my neighborhood block, and it seems like I am the only stay-at-home parent within that area, too. It gets really lonely here at times. Thank you for your advice.

A Homeschool Mom Seeking Alone Time,
Tracey

Tracy, Instead of giving you advice I am going to pose a several questions/comments for you to think about.
1. Why did you homeschool to begin with? Get out you philosophy or your why sheet and review them. If you never wrote
them down, then this is the time to do that.
2. Have you accomplished the goals you set up for you and the kids during homeschooling?
3 Other then friends, what else will the schools have to offer them that is better then what you are offering them now?
4. Do your kids have friends and other activities during the regular school year? If not why or why not?
5. You really have only begun homeschooling. Why would you want to give it up now? Have you really given it enough time
to make such a decision?

Ok, look I have a 6 and 3 year old and have been doing this for only 3 years (just beginning too). There are days I want freedom and question myself about it too, but God gave us the responsibility to RAISE our kids. I have yet to find a verse in the Bible where God says to give birth, keep them until they are 5 and hand them off to anybody else to raise.
I am sure you have a certain amount of things you want your kids to learn and I am not talking about scholastic.

6. My last questions...Will they learn the things YOU want them to learn about Character, God and Manners etc. or will
they pick up on the other 200 students character, Godliness or lack of and manners?

I will keep you and all the other moms out there with the same struggle in my prayer. I pray that God will help you to make the right decision. Pray about it before you do anything! Good luck and God Bless!!!