Check out Homeschooling in Heels in PLAYGROUND Magazine

For those in the Central Florida area, check out the Homeschooling in Heels feature in the fall issue of PLAYGROUND Magazine. The kids and I had a lot of fun at the photo shoot, and the article has lots of homeschooling info, including a comprehensive list of local resources. Special thanks to PLAYGROUND for showing their readers what a cool option homeschooling can be!

75% Off Time4Learning in July

A big thanks to my friend Sarah for giving me the heads up that Time4Learning is offering a super-low price of $4.99 for your first month's membership (regularly $19.95) during the month of July! Noah has been asking to try Time4Learning for about six months now, and for some reason, I'd been hesitant to try it. Apparently, a 75% savings was just what I needed to finally give it a go!

Time4Learning is an online, interactive program that can be used as core homeschool curriculum or as a supplement. Offering over 1,000 multimedia activities that encompass language arts, math, science and social studies, Time4Learning is aligned with state standards and provides a variety of reports to assist with record keeping.

Noah is anxious to get started, so I'll be reporting back soon with a review of how it goes for each of the kids. If you decided to give Time4Learning a try, please mention that Homeschooling in Heels sent you!

2011 Southest Homeschool Expo

If you live in Georgia (or anywhere within driving distance), you may want to check out the 2011 Southeast Homeschool Expo, which will be held in Marietta, GA on July 29th & 30th. Here's an overview from their website:

"The Homeschool Expo is a "don't miss" whole family two-day event with hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of products where parents can review and purchase the latest curriculum, hear great speakers who give practical encouragement, and receive personalized help and answers to any question. Our workshops especially emphasize the practical aspects of working with children in ways that will promote their educational, social and emotional growth."

In addition to an extensive vendor list, interesting speakers and an ultra-reasonable price, the conference offers these additional cool features:

- Homeschooling for Excellence 101, an additional one-day conference for parents considering homeschooling or just starting out.

- KidsZone, a series of workshops kids can attend while their parents are at the conference. Workshops are designed to engage them in the learning process and challenge them to become excited learners.

- College Fair, which allows parents and students to get questions answered by a wide variety of homeschool-friendly colleges and universities.

Online registration begins at just $20, with early bird discounts available by registering before July 17th. Additional information can be found on their website. 

Great Value on Chester Comix Bundle at HSBC

I first heard about Chester Comix a few years ago, but at the convention last month, I purchased my first one - the Greeks, Romans, Countrymen book to go along with our Ancient History unit. We haven't started on that yet, but I think that Noah will love the format of historical info presented in a comic book.

Although most of the books are a little old for us in terms of subject matter, the deal on the co-op is great for those of you with older kids (my guess is middle school and up). The retail value of the 28-book set is 125 (although it sells for more on Amazon), but if you buy through the co-op. you can purchase the entire series plus the teacher's guide for just $79! 

The Chester Comix Superbundle includes all 28 Chester Comix books, plus Teacher Guides (PDF). For more information about each book:

• American Symbols
• Ancient Africa
• Chester Economix
• Civil Rights Freedom Train
• Civil War, Vol.1
• Civil War Vol. 2
• Constitution Construction
• Exploring the Americas
• Founding Fathers
• George Washington Leads the Way
• Go West Young Crab!
• Government By the People
• Greeks, Romans, Countrymen
• Heroic Folk
• Lewis & Clark Transportation
• Moving & Grooving Transportation
• Reconstruction Junction
• Revolutionary Rumblings
• Revolutionary City
• Slavery's Storm
• Tar Heel Tales
• The First Americans
• The Jamestown Journey
• Virginia Geography
• Vital Virginians
• War for Independence
• Wonder Women
• World War 2 Tales

Membership in the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op is free, and if you decided to join, please use my referral number (65626). For every person you refer, you earn 100 points to spend on curriculum! 

Map of State Homeschooling Laws

I've always heard that we're lucky to live in Florida because of the relatively lenient homeschooling guidelines. But as we consider relocating to another state at some point in the future, I'm always curious about the requirements in other parts of the country. Since we're not at that point yet, I've been putting off the research - but I loved this visual of how different states fare.

Details can be found on the HSLDA website. Thanks to Free Homeschooling 101 for the link!

Free Homeschooling 101 Seminar at SPARK

Interested in homeschooling but unsure where to start? On Friday, January 21st, join educational consultant and homeschool mom Jan Zeiger for an informative seminar at SPARK Enrichment Center in Winter Springs from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. There is no cost for the seminar, but you must register in advance by calling SPARK at 407-679-SPRK(7775).

Wild Idea Wednesday - Free Homeschool Seminar at SPARK

Need some new ideas for keeping learning fun? I’ll be sharing our favorites each week on Wednesday. To be honest, the thought of committing myself to having one great idea every week is stress-inducing, so I’m going to put it out there in advance that I will probably borrow heavily from all my wise mama friends.

Thinking about homeschooling but don't know where to start? Already homeschooling and looking for some new ideas to incorporate into your classroom?

Jan Zeiger - educational consultant, certified teacher and homeschooling mom - is presenting her Homeschooling 101 seminar at SPARK Enrichment Center on Saturday, October 16th from 11AM - 12:30PM.

Jan, who is also a homeschool evaluator, shared some great, new ideas with me during our evaluation this summer and putting them into practice has really enhanced our learning experience.

There is no cost for the seminar, but you must register in advance by calling or e-mailing SPARK.

Buy 2, Get 1 Free on Dr. Seuss Learning Library at Borders

To celebrate the launch of the new PBS series, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, Borders is extending a special "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" offer on select books in the Dr. Seuss Learning Library. Through October 25th, enter the code CATLEARN at checkout to receive the discount when shopping online. The offer is available in stores as well.

These books have always been among my favorites, and we have a number of them in our library already. I'm planning to add a few new ones during the sale, including Wish for a Fish and A Whale of a Tale to tie in with our ocean unit.

Hip Homeschool Moms

Have you seen Hip Homeschool Moms yet? When I saw the name and the cute logo, I just had to check it out. Visit their Facebook page to connect and share ideas with other fun homeschooling moms!

New Fall Homeschool Classes at SPARK! Family Enrichment Center

Spark! Family Enrichment Center kicked off their new fall homeschool schedule this week with an amazing assortment of classes every day of the week. In addition to language (French, Spanish and Mandarin), science, math, language, music and writing classes, they have some really unique offerings such as Picturing America, Reading Theater, Architectural Explorations and American Girl Book Club. 

If you're looking for your child to study for a day or two outside the house or are interested in specific topics you don't feel comfortable teaching, be sure to check out Spark! Both of mine have taken classes there, and in addition to it being a fun learning environment, the staff is amazing and I felt very comfortable leaving them there. They also have a parent's lounge with Wi-Fi if you want to stick around while the kids are in class.

In addition to their homeschool classes, Spark! offers support services to homeschooling families, including evaluations and standardized testing. They're also hosting an upcoming homeschooling seminar series with Jan Zeiger that starts tomorrow! 

Here's a peek at their current schedule; class descriptions and pricing can be found on their website.

Monday:

9:00-10:00 Study Hall (by the hour)

9:30-11:00 Art Grades K-5

10:00-11:00 Life Science/Biology Grades 5-8

10:00-11:00 Spanish Grades 1-4 

11:00-12:00 Geography/Map Skills Grades 1-4

11:00-12:00 Spanish Grades 5-8

11:30-1:00  Teen/Adult Art

12:00-12:30 Lunch12:30-1:30 Architectural Explorations Grades 5-8 

12:30-1:30 Science Grades 1-4

1:30-2:30 Architectural Explorations Grades 1-4

1:30-2:30 TBA Grades 5-8

3:00-4:00 Mandarin Chinese Grades 1-6

Tuesday:

9:00-12:00 Study Hall (by the hour)

9:30-11:00 Biology with Lab Grades 8-12 

11:00-12:00 Cartooning/Anime Ages 7+ 

10:00-1:00 Montessori Grades K-2 

*** Afternoon is open for in-house field trips for Homeschoolers ***

Wednesday:

9:00-10:00 Study Hall (by the hour)

9:00-10:00 French Grades K-2

9:00-10:00 Art K-2nd Grades

10:00-11:00 Aerospace/Rockets Ages 5-8

10:15-11:00 French Preschool

10:00-11:30 Physics Grades 8-12

11:00-12:00 Art Grades 1-6

11:30-12:30 Aerospace/Rockets Ages 9  and up 

12:00-1:00 Science Grades K-3 

 

Thursday:

9:00-11:00 Study Hall (by the hour)
9:00-10:00 Readers Theater

10:00-1:00 Montessori Grades K-2

9:30-11:00 Physics Grades 6-9
10:00-11:00 Picturing America Grades 2-6
11:00-12:00 Music Appreciation
11:00-1:00 Math Lab Grades 6-9 (by the hour)
11:00-12:00 Architecture Explorations  Grades 6-12
12:00-1:00 Creative Writing Grades 3-6
12:00-1:00 Spanish Grades K-2
12:00-1:00 Architecture Explorations Grades 2-6
12:00-1:00 American Literature Grades 6-8
1:00-2:00 Spanish Grades K-2

Friday:

10:00-11:00 American Girl Book Club Grades 2-4
11:00-12:00 American Literature Grades 8-12
1:30-2:30 American History Grades 8-12

Looking for free homeschooling resources?

Since it's Teaching Tool Tuesday, I thought it would be a great time to post about a wonderful blog I've been visiting, Free Homeschooling 101. Both the blog and the Facebook page offer great links, broken down by subject, to free homeschooling tools and resources.

Don't let the small number of posts in the index fool you . . . each post shares a number of resources. For example, "Free Geography" shows only one post, but that post contains links to 10 great free resources. Can't wait to check them out, especially the "White House 101" (we're hoping to tour the White House on our DC trip this month) and "50 States and the games at Grammaropolis (Noah will love these!)

Homeschooling Seminar Series at SPARK Enrichment Center

It's already on my "to do" list to blog about the new homeschool schedules at two fabulous enrichment centers in town - SPARK and Misty Forest. While I promise to get to that soon, I wanted to go ahead and post about a series of homeschooling seminars being offered at SPARK by homeschool consultant Jan Zeiger.

Jan is a homeschooling mom with teaching experience in both public and private schools. If you're considering homeschooling, just getting started or are looking for new ideas, Jan can guide you in finding a fun, balanced, child-oriented approach to homeschooling.

Hands on Homeschooling: The Elementary Years
Saturday, August 21st at 11AM

Hands on Homeschooling: Language Arts

Saturday, September 18th at 11AM

Hands on Homeschooling: Math / Critical Thinking

Saturday, October 16th at 11AM

Hands on Homeschooling: Science / Social Studies

Saturday, November 20th at 11AM

Each seminar in the series will last 60 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A session. The cost is $20 per family. Register by phone by calling SPARK at 407-679-7775.

Group Buy on Dave Ramsey Financial Curriculum

I'm still knee-deep in all things cars, but I definitely wanted to take time out to blog about the current group buy that the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op is offering on financial curriculum from Dave Ramsey. We'll be using this as the core for our year-long study on money.

When you purchase through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op, you received great savings of up to 67% on products that help all ages learn about personal finance. The discount applies to their adult books and the elementary / high school curriculum. This group buy ends on August 16th.

We will be purchasing the elementary bundle, which includes Financial Peace, Jr. and Junior's Adventures Boxed Book Set. Here is the description from their website:

Financial Peace Jr. PLUS Junior's Adventures Boxed Set
 
Make a real difference in a child's life! For ages 3-12, this special includes age-appropriate tools for teaching kids about money. It's never too early to teach them how to make wise decisions with their money, whether it's $1 or $100. Designed for ages 3-12. Bundle includes:

• Financial Peace Jr. - Dry-erase board to track commission earnings, Dry-erase board to track savings amounts, Envelope system (3 separate envelopes), Clip-n-carry coin case, Give, Spend, and Save magnets, Cool calculator, Instruction manual, Instructional audio CD

• Junior's Adventures Boxed Set - 6 hardcover kids' books in a keepsake boxed set, each book centers around a particular life lesson - working, spending, giving, saving, integrity, and debt.

The regular price for this bundle is $79.94, but the price through the co-op is $44.95. Orders over $65 ship for free.

If you're not familiar with the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op, it's a wonderful resource for finding discounts on popular curriculum. In addition, when you buy certain items, refer new members or write field trip reviews, you can earn points to use on future purchases. For example, I'm planning to use points I earned buying our Critical Thinking Company curriculum from them (same price with free shipping) to pay for part of our IXL membership renewal.

Membership is free, so if you're interested in joining, please consider doing so through my referral link. When you join through this link, I'll get 100 SmartPoints, and you'll get 100 SmartPoints just for joining!

A Year in Review: Our 1st Homeschool Evaluation

Oh, I am a bad, bad blogger . . . I can't even bring myself to check the date of my last post because I know it's been way too long. This summer has definitely been more about the heels and less about the homeschooling. But, I finally have Noah's first-grade year officially wrapped up and am busy planning for our second-grade adventure. There is no summer break for homeschooling moms, am I right???

So the last item that remained to be checked of my list was our first portfolio review / evaluation. Fortunately, my friend Jan is a homeschooling consultant and, as a licensed teacher, performs evaluations. As much as I like to over-complicate things, I took her advice to keep the portfolio simple and was happy to find that much of the work was already done.

First, I printed reports from Homeschool Tracker, pulling from the information I'd been entering throughout the year. Granted, I printed the wrong reports, but all the right info is in there somewhere - and I know specifically what I do and don't need to include for next year.

Next, I put together a binder with a tab for each subject and added in work samples. Resisting the urge to include everything he'd done all year, I used only one or two samples from the beginning, middle and end of our school year.

Finally, because keeping it that simple just wouldn't be me, I made a Shutterfly album using pictures of our co-ops, events, activities, art projects and science experiments. This turned out to be by far my favorite part, and I plan to do it every year. Looking back at our year in pictures was so fun!

The evaluation itself was very low key. Jan reviewed all the information and spoke briefly with Noah at the end. It was wonderful to have an objective evaluation of our overall program, and she gave me some great ideas for incorporating more authentic experiences into parts of our curriculum.

I'm planning a post on Florida homeschool evaluation requirements in an upcoming Homeschool 101 series, so I'm going to leave this post as only our experience in closing out our first homeschool year. Next up . . . I'm off to finish my planning and will be sharing our plans and some exciting Homeschooling in Orlando field trips soon!

Summer Reading Roundup

I'm having a hard time keeping up with most things these days, so I thought I'd try to start with something small . . . like free summer reading programs. Here are some details on the three I've found. My goal for the week is to print out the forms for all of them, find a box of books to unpack and turn Noah loose with them!

1. Books-a-Million
Books-A-Million recently launched their 2010 Magic Tree House Summer Reading Program with reading ambassador Mary Pope Osborne. Children ages 7-12 can have an around-the-world adventure with Jack and Annie this summer by picking up a passport at any Books-A-Million location or downloading it. Children who participate in the program and read six books between May 20 and August 1 will receive a free, exclusive Books-A-Million Magic Tree House tote bag to take on their own summer adventures. Children can also enter the “Passport to Adventure” essay contest; the Grand Prize winner receives their very own custom designed Magic Tree House from Kids Crooked House.

2. Borders
Read 10 books, get 1 free. Kids 12 and under can download the program form to track their summer reading. After completing 10 books, kids can return the completed form to any Borders, Borders Express or Waldenbooks location by August 26th and choose their free book from 13 great titles.

3. Barnes & Noble
Three easy steps to a free book . . . 1) Kids read any 8 books of their choosing. 2) Use the Passport to Summer Reading to document the places visited in each book. 3) Redeem completed Passport at any B&N store by September 7th to receive a free book (at least 6 choices at each grade level)!

Homeschool Buyer Co-op

One of my homeschool groups has recently established a group buy program, harnessing the buying power of its members to secure reduced pricing on curriculum. Our first buy was such a great deal, that it sent me searching for others, and I stumbled onto a fantastic site.

The Homeschool Buyer Co-op is a free homeschooling organization for both new and veteran homeschoolers. Co-op membership is free and entitles homeschooling families to discounts from over a hundred educational suppliers. They also sponsor group buys for curriculum packages that save homerschooling families lots of money. On the site, you'll find free information, such as databases of free curriculum, field trips and educational contests and scholarships. Click here for more information.

I'm already planning to renew our IXL membership here at a 40% discount. If you visit and create a free account, please use my referral number (65626). For every person you refer, you earn 100 points to spend on curriculum!

Homeschool Enrichment Classes at Misty Forest

Noah's only taken a few classes at Misty Forest, but he's always had a great time and I've been very pleased with the types and content of classes they offer and their unique approach to education. From their website:

Misty Forest is an enrichment center for children, families and the community that offers alternative education focused on self esteem and being green. Classes, projects, groups and clubs are just a few of the offerings here at Misty Forest. Our goal is to create a place where children and parents can come to find the tools, skills, support, encouragement and confidence to evolve, enrich, enhance and become who they hope, and are meant to be.

Last year, they started a once-a-week homeschool program, offering a half day of classes for homeschool students of all ages. We're still waiting for the right mix of classes to meet Noah's interests, but I wanted to share their current schedule in case they're a great fit for anyone else. The K-6 enrichment program meets every Thursday from 9:30AM - 1:30PM with classes in Sign Language, Magic and Music. Classes run in six week sessions, and multiple-class discounts are available.

Misty Forest also offers after-school classes and summer camps. Details can be found on the website.

Free Homeschooling

Well, I thought I was headed to bed at a relatively decent hour tonight. At least until I decided to check out the latest Facebook buzz amongst my homeschooling friends . . . Free Homeschooling 101. After, tooling around on the Facebook fan page, I found my way to the blog . . . wow, this is going to take a while!

So far, I've seen some favorites (such as NeoK12 and IXL), but I've already stumbled upon many great, new, FREE homeschooling resources conveniently organized by subject - everything from history and language arts to astronomy and typing. Just wanted to pass along this great resource; can't wait to explore it more myself. In the morning, that is.

Fun, custom handwriting worksheets

So handwriting has never been something we've practiced just for the same of practicing it. I like that many of our curriculum books - including Singapore Math, Language Smarts and Dr. DooRiddles - require enough writing for Noah to get a good amount of practice each day.

However, since I never actually taught him how to write - it's one of those things that he just started doing on his own - I realized that he was having some issues with proper letter formation - especially with lower case letters. I jumped online looking for answers and was thrilled to find a free site that lets you create customized handwriting pages.

Simply enter a sentence, and it creates a printable worksheet. You can choose to have the sentence printed once at the top with practice lines beneath (as pictured) or for earlier writers, the sentence can be repeated on the entire page for tracing. Either way, the kids get a dot to remind them where each letter begins.

We've been doing one per day all week, and I've seen improvements already. I wasn't sure how Noah would like them (he gets bored easily with any type of repetition), but he loves writing the fun phrases about himself - Noah likes to ride bikes . . . Noah's dog is named Madison . . . Legos are fun . . . I've even been using them with Ava just by typing one letter several times with spaces in between and repeating it on the entire page (she is working on a letter a day).

Charting Our Progress

As part of our Early America co-op series this month, we've been collecting food items for The Sharing Center. During this week's class, we inventoried the food collected during our food drive and charted the donations on a bar graph.

Since it's been a while since we used this fun graphing site, we decided to take a look at how the same data would look in different graph forms. Here are our results:

Bar graph:



















Pie Chart:



















Line Graph:



















Area Graph: