Not Another Homeschool Blog

we piled in the car with Dad for his business trip this week. We are in Richmond Virginia right now. There are 4 people and two dogs in a room that is probably 20x12, but we are happy and together. Homeschooling is so freeing! Laptops ir not, and a car and the learning never has to stop or sit still.

Hubby has taken a contract job out of town, and with the changes that has been caused in our schedule, I am taking a step back to see what would be more natural hours for the kids to work. I thought they would want to do their work in a large block and get it all done, but instead they prefer to stretch it out through the day, though both kids are most effective with math at the crack of dawn. I am trying to watch quietly and see what else I discover.

When I gave my kid a can of catfood to open and a toenail clip she had asked for previously, she tried to open the cat food can with the toenail clip.

How timely is this? I just moaned about the fact that we are on the lookout for a new laptop for my son, due to it being broken and he uses it to homeschool. Meanwhile, I stumbled upon Tablet PC Reviews . This website focuses on laptop reviews, news coverage and support forums for people like me! Some of the things I have found useful on this site are the story on Navicore and Nokia having announced the addition of GPS Navigation functionality to the popular Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, and the release of the Fujitsu newest Tablet PC convertible, the P1610 in Korea. In addition there is a choose a database where you can price Tablet PC's. If you need advice from other users, the forum is a great resource. Plus, if you like deals and coupons, Tablet PC Reviews has that too!

grrr.... we were told by HP that my sons laptop was covered under warranty. We were very clear in telling them it was dropped and the screen cracked. They sent a box anyway and we sent it off. Now they tell us that the screen is not covered and it will cost $699. to fix it. Here's the clincher... the laptop costs 500.00 So we are now on the lookout for a new laptop. Until then, he is tied to his desk because he can use it with his desk monitor. I wonder if he would like a Mac

I hate to stumble upon homeschooling message boards. Not becauese they are homeschooling message boards, but because of the venom that is spouted by the opposition. Here is what I found today These guys didn't even try to put a lid on the potty, that is their mouths! Talk about get a life... how does my homeschooling my child make you so angry that you have to curse like an old sailor? Is your way of life feeling threatened? Relax , Listen to some tunes,... And Chill

Here is an article I wrote about short term homeschooling: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/74072/the_dangers_of_short_term_homeschooling.html Frankly, I feel that homeschooling a child when you plan to only do it for 1 year is a bit scary and disturbing. What is your opinion on this?

free stuff for homeschoolers and anyone else who wants free stuff: I just came across this site for free stuff. For homeschoolers in particular, it offers tons of freebie teaching tools and advice from "thehomeschoolmom". Also under the education tab there are freebie items for teachers, students, parents, college, information package from Stratford Career Institute, scholarship information, high school at home information. But that's not all, freebie fanatic also offers free items for the auto, the baby, computer, finance, health and diet, magazines, music, coupons, credit cards, and much, much more. If you are as cheap as I am, you will love this website.

Just that we as parents give the school to much power over our kids and have too much trust in them. You would think that at the very least, if you dropped your kid off at school, you would expect to get them back at the end of the day... from the school. I remember the day when my then first grader did not get off the school bus... I thought I was going to drop dead right there... then when I located her still at school the teacher as accusative.. toward the child. Something even worse happened yesterday to another parent: An angry couple removed their 4-year-old from a church preschool after the boy wandered away Friday without any staff members noticing.

I was just asked how I feel about my inkjet printer. Frankly, I do not think I could homeschool without the thing. Sure, we go through a whole lot of ink, but if I think about the amount I would spend on workbooks if I did not have the inkjet printer, I would definitely be in the whole. However, what about other printers you ask. We have other printers. We have a printer that uses toner, We also have two Epson inkjet printers that are a printer, scanner, and copier, combination inkjet, and we also have a high-speed black and white printer. We still use the inkjet printers the most. It makes the kids worksheets more interesting, it is more user friendly for the kids, and it is compact, so we can keep it out in the open where everyone can get into it. Also, we return the empty cartridges for free paper! So, homeschoolers, what kind of printer do you use.

My daughter has been struggling with fractions. She understands how to add and subtract them, but gets confused when it comes improper fractions and mixed numbers, so although she understands it in theory, many of her answers are wrong. If she were in school, They would have moved on to multiplying fractions by now, but I have no reason to move forward before she fully understands these computations. This morning I figured out a way to make converting fractions to and from mixed numbers make sense. I had her first write a mixed number as an improper fraction, and then simplify it. Next, I had her convert it back to a mixed number. If the answer is equivalent to the original number, then it is correct, only the fraction is in its simplest form. Here are some examples: 5 2/8 = 42/8 = 21/4 = 5 1/4 or: 6 3/6 = 39/6 = 13/2 = 6 1/2 When she can get a page of these right (5 or 6) then I know she is ready to multiply fractions. If anyone else has any tips for converting fractions that m...

Don't forget, it is breast cancer awareness month! I have lost two aunts from breast cancer , my mother from ovarian and lung cancer, and my stepsisters from a rare form of cancer called Gardners syndrome. So, for me breast cancer awareness month is about a whole lot more than breast cancer, but about cancer in general. Have your kids do something special to give to the breast cancer charities. Have them make and sell some items, or have a bake sale or something. If everyone took 1 day and did what they could, then this disease would already be licked. Thanks.

get extended warranties My son just dropped his laptop computer... thank Goodness it had a warranty... for the price of a new monitor, we would have had to buy a new one! WHEW! dodged that bullet!

If your homeschooler is interested in inventions, then you will want to check out Inventionland It is scheduled for a massive grand opening extravaganza on November 8, 2006. “Where the products of tomorrow are invented today.” It’s also said to be the most innovative workplace in the world. Many people have compared it to Wonkaland. Watch this video about Inventionland on youtube .

check this one out! Just about everything your child will need to know about math from the 2nd grade and up is currently being compiled on http://www.mathcasts.org This is a wiki type website, so be sure to always check your facts before presenting to your kids. more about mathcasts: "Mathcasts are screencasts (screen movies) which are created and shared to improve the learning and teaching of mathematics. Mathcasts were originally called math movies and then Whiteboard Movies but when the term screencasts became popular mathcasts seemed like a great name for them. " This free homeschool resource and more can be found on my free home ed database at www.freehomeed.com

I just came across a new site called Mommy's Work At Home Jobs . It is a fairly new work at home website that features new ways to make money at home daily. Personally I prefer writing or blogging for money, but if you are more of a saleperson, or marketing type. This site could be useful.

Funny Math Lesson: how not to do math!

I recently came across this story about "The History of a Video Phones". Apparently, video phones , while seeming futuristic, have been around awaiting it's time in the limelight for some time. They go on to say, "In many ways the days of Captain Kirk and George Jetson are upon us, as video messaging and video communication take place on our telephones.' If you and your kids are interested in modern trivia, then this is a fun page to read and study.

Instead of listing every week what I want them to do, I set the basic week schedule for them, I plan to start posting their completed work instead.

I painted this peice for the owner of my daughters homeschool curriculum