Merry Christmas from CheesePress Publishing!

 We've been diligently working on our youtube page for our publishing company, Cheesepress Publishing. 

We have managed to put up several videos a day for the last month, and as of today, our stats are climbing! 

Here is our Christmas video: I hope you enjoy it! 

With so many JFK conspiracies abound, what do you know about the Warren Commission

 Do you believe they were thorough, or do you believe it as part of a cover-up surrounding John F Kennedy's death? 

Kennedy's sudden death left the nation in mourning and fueled suspicion.

After the assassination, questions and conspiracy theories increased public

interest in a thorough investigation.

President Lyndon B. Johnson acted quickly to investigate Kennedy's assassination. 

On November 29, 1963, one week after Kennedy's death,  Johnson established

the Warren Commission, officially called the President's Commission on the

Assassination of President Kennedy. 

Chief Justice Earl Warren chaired the commission, which included former

CIA director Allen Dulles, future president Gerald Ford, and others. The

Warren Commission investigation of Kennedy's assassination

and death included witness testimonies, ballistics reports, and medical exams.

The findings released in September 1964 reiterated that  Lee Harvey

Oswald alone killed President Kennedy from the Texas School Book

Depository's sixth-floor window. The Warren Report sought

closure but was unsuccessful in eliminating doubts about JFK's death. 

Can you find the error in this educational video?

Hint: 

Watch Carefully! 

As educators, we should be able to discuss difficult subjects

 such as gun control. 

For example, the reason the NRA was even started was because Union soldiers weren't very good with guns during the civil war. 

Do you think this is worth discussing with students? 

How to study history - the ultimate hot-topic

I think the coolest thing about studying history is the massive amount of information that exists regarding it. But how do you know that information is correct? 

Can you even trust textbooks?  

 Here are some tips to help you explore and learn about history. 

Homeschool Advice: Confessions of a homeschool cheat

 What would you advise the person in this scenario?

click for video short- 

Apparently, a homeschooled student had been left to their own resources and had been cheating on their homeschool work. 

They wrote this confession on Reddit, which I read on Youtube and gave my best advice?

What would you do it you were the parent?

How would you handle it? 

What would you recommend to the student? 

Why we study history

 Here is the first of our Teen-led series on history. 

History is more than just a collection of dates and events; it is the very tapestry of our human experience. It shapes our present and molds our future. Through this series, we will showcase the profound significance of studying history and the countless reasons why it should hold a special place in our hearts and minds.

Join us as we unearth the stories of great civilizations, iconic leaders, revolutionary movements, and ordinary people who changed the course of history. Discover how understanding the past can provide invaluable insights into contemporary issues, offering wisdom for a brighter tomorrow.

Prepare to be enlightened, inspired, and engaged as we embark on this unforgettable expedition through time. History, as we will show, is not just a subject—it's a key to unlocking the mysteries of the human experience. Welcome to "Unlocking the Past" – a series that will forever change your perspective on the world around you.

Stop Downplaying and Apologizing for Homeschooling: A 1-minute Rant

Seriously ya'll.  It does no one any good to downplay yourself to make someone else feel good.  Especially when you know you are rocking it!


 

So the next time you find yourself at a party, surrounded by public school die-hards or teachers, just say "Yes, I chose something different and I am really happy about it" or change the subject.  You are not obligated to defend homeschooling to the masses.

College prep homeschooling: 8th grade foreign language

As it is an expected requirement that students have taken two years of the same foreign language in high school, 8th grade is a good opportunity to try out a few languages to see what might be a good fit.

College Prep Homeschooling: 8th Grade Electives

This video walks you through keeping track of and giving your child credit for homeschool, high school electives.

This ranges from taking care of the home, cooking, sports teams, clubs, hobbies, music instruction, and just about any other recreational activity your child might do... including scouts.  You can give your child a great deal of homeschool elective (and even subject matter) credit for scouts

College Prep Homeschooling: 8th grade science

notes:

Most colleges require a student to have studied at least biology and chemistry and two other lab-based sciences. I also like to get a jump on these requirements in 8th grade.
This is also a chance to get your child more interested in science and to build a positive attitude around it. Note: don’t jump into chemistry until you have done the math to support it, preferably Algebra 2. Likewise, I prefer calculus happen before physics. For 8th grade, you don’t NEED a lab science, but you can use this opportunity to introduce your student to lab work. Still, your options for high school science are numerous. I like this college course from MIT called Kitchen Chemistry. It allows chemistry to happen at home with a manageable mess and no danger of explosions. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/experimen... My child followed this curriculum. It was not too difficult for her at 14, and we did her lab work on Wednesday, just in time for dinner. Yum. If you are not too keen on doing labs in your home, most communities have science groups, classes, and the like where your child will have more than a full year’s curriculum. Robotics clubs Astrology at the local planetarium Virtual dissections online Science labs are available at science museums in every major city.

College Prep Homeschooling: 8th grade History and Language Arts

The series continues- College Prep Homeschooling: 8th-grade history and language arts.

I teach these two subjects as one cohesive unit.  Find out how. Find out why.



 Here are the notes from the video

White paper on weaving literature into social studies; https://britannicalearn.com/wp-conten... Book lists for novels set in other countries for children and teens. https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books... In addition to reading for Language Arts, students should be using a grammar/writing workbook. Here are some good options. Editor in Chief, Critical Thinking Company https://amzn.to/2y1AeFT SAT Reading and Writing Prep https://amzn.to/2Mgtlnc Holt McDougal World Geography https://amzn.to/2JEpHBM (Teachers version) Holt McDougal World History https://amzn.to/2Mgr3EC The Critical Thinking Company, World History Detective https://amzn.to/2y1AeFT Sparknotes.com has online questions that your student can answer for many of the novels you can choose. Summary: Tying Language Arts and History together. 1. Choose a book textbook or history curriculum. 2. Go through the table of contents and pick books according to the geographical area and possibly the time period being covered. At least one book per unit or for every 3 or 4 chapters. 3. Have the student read the books at the same pace that they go through the history units 4. Use unit tests and a final term paper to grade history. 5. Use a language arts/grammar and writing workbook or test prep book to grade the students language arts, in addition to questions and answer on the novels or book reports. Also grade on final term paper looking specifically at grammar, and format of the paper. CLEP by college board, https://clep.collegeboard.org/about-c... *Disclosure: I will use affiliate links from time to time, including Amazon links. I endeavor to always find the lowest price for anything I recommend and I only link to items I believe in.

College Prep Homeschooling 8th grade math

Here is my second video of the series


Here are the links I mentioned.

I talk about a few curriculums here, but I prefer you go through some curriculum reviews and choose for yourself. My preference, however, is Khan Academy, and even if you use another curriculum, I like to use Khan Academy as a supplement. Why? It teaches to mastery, and it is FREE. But to be fair, I will be linking some curriculum reviews that could be helpful to you. Teaching textbooks review: https://youtu.be/LqbZ1fEKNbw Teaching textbooks: The good, the bad, and the ugly https://youtu.be/LCBOGjXQhUQ Khan Academy review: https://youtu.be/s1ifjuTC2zU Saxon math review: https://youtu.be/-BJ_linfdVM ALEKS MATH https://youtu.be/N0nX8eGu0HU

College Prep Homeschooling - a guide

You know how I have been saying what feels like a decade that I was going to write a homeschool book?  I have written, re-written, scrapped and started over a dozen times. 

But.

My 30ish days of homeschool videos has prompted me to get this done.  I am currently going step by step into college prep homeschooling and am writing a guide along side of it... so, yep.  A goal being accomplished!

Here is the link to the first video:

What happened in that last year of public school after we made our intentions to homeschool clear

Let's just say, that once we verbalized our intent to homeschool, things got interesting.

Our journey into homeschooling

It took a while from the time I started learning about homeschooling to when we actually did it.

This video shows our awkward journey.

Why we homeschooled

I don't know if I ever told the full story about why we homeschooled our children. It was so many years, ago, but the journey to homeschooling will always stay with me. 




Some people homeschool for religious reasons. Some homeschool for academic reasons. Some feel that homeschooling protects their child. Why did you decide to homeschool?

So why did you decide to homeschool your children?

5 steps for transitioning from homeschool to college

The first question asked on my youtube videos was:

How do you transition from homeschool to college.

Here are the highlights


Step 1. Set their habits. Get them used to the amount of work required in college by demanding that from them early.
Step 2. Prepare for standardized tests.

Step 3. Take the standardized tests... a lot.
Step 4. Figure out what the best colleges for your children are (that will scholarship them) based on their test scores.
Step 5. Let them go happily with joy and celebration... save the crying for later!


Here is the video

I'm making homeschool videos again

Almost-Free curriculum? 

About 5 years ago when I graduated my last homeschooled child, or maybe sometime before, I stopped making youtube videos.  When I started making the videos I was working as a content writer while homeschooling, and so I didn't have a lot of time for videos.  When the content industry dried up (it seems temporary) I also stopped doing videos because:

1. It threw me when people I knew mentioned my video to me... when I was doing it, it felt so anonymous, and I realized that not only were people following my videos, but people I knew were following my videos.  I am more shy and introverted than people realize, so that was hard.

2. I thought my videos were goofy.

3. I didn't really believe that I had much to add to the homeschooling conversation...

I do now.  so I am back.

Here's my first homeschool video in 5 years.

Maybe I will get that book done soon too.  Who knows?

Homeschooling or Hackschooling from a kids perspective

This video from TedX makes me want to start homeschooling all over again. I'd have to go find a new kid though.