I attended the homeschool convention last Friday and Saturday, with my friend and fellow homeschooling mom, Amy. It was way awesome! Friday they had a used curriculum sale, at which I got lots of good history and writing books for cheapy cheap! Amy got some very good stuff, too. After we did the used curriculum sale, we attended a presentation on the Constitution, by Stewart Rhodes. So amazing! I loved it! And, really that’s putting it mildly. Of course, those that know me well, know I’m very politically involved and that I’m passionate about the Constitution. So, that was really great! Then, on Saturday, we went and all the vendors were set up. Also very cool! We got our math program, Math-U-See, purchased, which was the main point in going Saturday. We were also able to see some other really great vendors, like the Atomic Testing Museum and the Las Vegas Astronomical Society, and get lots of good info, especially about more field trips and educational programs. So, all in all, I would say we had a really great experience and it was pretty fun. I’ll definitely be going back in the future! Thanks to Nevada Homeschool Network for putting it all on!
Math-U-See June 19, 2008
I’m so excited because I think I’ve found the math program that I want to use! I really thought I was going to use Saxon Math, which really looks like a good program. However, this looks even better! You’ve got to check out Math-U-See. This looks perfect. A DVD to refresh my brain (because it’s been a long time for some of this stuff), manipulatives, the textbooks look great. This really looks like it’s it. I’m hoping to be able to attend their demonstration at our homeschool convention this Saturday. I’ll report back.
Another great treasure! May 27, 2008
I just love the DI! I try to go every couple of weeks or so, just to see if I can find any treasures. I went again today, and like last time, found a ton of Living Scripture workbooks! This time, I got 57! Can you believe that?! I think I’ve got to have nearly all of the New Testament and Hero Classics now! These things are so full of learning resources. What a find! I’m also using these to create Sunday Folders for the kids. I also got for $.50 each, a book about the Gettysburg Address and a book about questions about animals, called I Wonder Why Camels Have Humps. Yeah! I love bargains. I’m definitely going to have to check out the little used book stores in the libraries, like Erin suggested!
Progress and Rewards May 15, 2008
Well, I’m doing much better now. I think I’m over my Yikes moment, for now. I’m sure there will be more in the future. As I’ve read, I’ve come to discover that homeschooling takes some getting used to and some trial and error. I have every confidence that we will be able to make things work out well. I’ve started already, with some small things with the kids, and so far so good. We’ve also got our classroom all ready. That was a lot of work, but it was actually really fun to do. The kids helped a bit with it too, as well as Grandma. I’ll have some pictures of it up in a day or two. And, a special thank you goes out to my friend Erin, who discovered two amazing books that outline and detail grade by grade curriculum and expectations. Hooray!
Also, this week I’ve discovered the rewards of telling people that you are a homeschool teacher. First I went to Learning Is Fun. When the sweet lady asked me if I was on their mailing list, I replied that I wasn’t, but should be since I was going to be homeschooling four kiddos. So, when I told them that, they not only put me on their list, but also gave me some teacher magazines, but also some of the coupons teachers get to hand out to their students to get a prize at Learning Is Fun. Then, when I took our calendar over to OfficeMax to get laminated, I was asked if I was a teacher, and I told them I was a homeschool teacher. Then, they gave me their teacher discount and reward card. So, that’s pretty cool. These stores are now on my newly created list of homeschool friendly businesses.
Best Book I’ve Found, So Far May 5, 2008
I found this book online, somewhere, called Homeschool Your Child for Free. So, I went and checked it out from the library, and wow, is it a wealth of information. It’s full of lots of great ideas from the author, as well as other parents. The bulk of the book is spent on listing different websites, broken down by category, with descriptions of the sites. This has been exceedingly helpful to me, especially as I look for lesson ideas. She’s got the book separated into sections, including resource sections like curriculum and education essentials, and then into subject sections like language, math, social studies, etc. It was published back in 2000, so some of the websites are no good now, but most are. Also, I just read something from the author where she said she is now working on a new edition of the book. I was planning on going out and buying this book, but I think I’ll wait until the new one comes out.
Today’s Exciting Find May 5, 2008
Today I went to DI and found a great treasure for our classroom! There were tons of coloring and activity books from Living Scriptures. Gavin and I sorted through them all for the ones that didn’t have any coloring in them, and managed to get 20! We’ve got books from their Animated Hero Classics, Church History, Book of Mormon, New Testament, and Old Testament. I couldn’t believe it, and for only $.50 each! These will be a great resource for us to use as I teach various subjects, not just history and religion. I plan on copying the pages as we use them, so that we can keep using them for a long time. (And, I checked and the publisher says it’s ok to copy for personal or classroom use.) The kids were pretty excited about these too.
