18. March 2010 by Shannon.

I have to tell you about this product!!!!  I have just heard of (what I consider) one of the smartest, most needed products out there for families with children.  But first, I want to tell you a story.

Easter week, 1996.  Ev (who is now 16) was just under three years old.  He had some serious speech issues and most people, even in our own family, had a challending time understanding him.  We were visiting a local mall to “pet the animals” at their little Easter petting zoo display.  There were dozens of kids, some as old as 10-12, in this small area in the center of a crowded mall (okay, yes.. the obvious question is WHY did we go here??  Well, we had no car to visit the “real” countryside, so this was as close as he was going to get to farm animals as a city kid). 

I was sitting on the sidelines nursing a tiny 4-month old Kenzi, which my husband, Tony, took Ev to see the animals - firmly holding Ev’s little hand.  He decided to get some “animal feed” (kinda looked like guinea pig food), but the dial was stuck on the vending machine, so he LET GO of Ev’s hand just for three seconds to stabilize the machine while he turned the dial.  He looked back … NO EV.  Gone.  Just disappeared in a sea of big kids pushing and shoving.  He looked up at me (settled near the exit of the area, waiting for my men to come through the petting zoo) and mouthed, “where’s Ev?”… I scanned the area… no Ev! 

I delatched Kenzi, put “myself” away, placed her in the stroller, and went to meet Tony who was coming out the exit… with no Ev.  I asked him what happened while looking frantically EVERYWHERE for my precious little boy… and didn’t see him.  We walked quickly back to the entrance of the petting zoo (near where the information center was).. no Ev… so we decided to head to the information center directly… a few seconds later we spotted a crying Ev with a Very Kind Woman (but still … a stranger!) holding his hand asking him if he knew where his Mommy was (yes, of course, that’s why he’s standing crying with you???!!!  *rolling eyes*).  I left the stroller with Tony and ran to hug Ev the woman explained that he had just come wandering out the ENTRANCE to the petting zoo all alone and crying, but she couldn’t understand him at all, and she was just going to take him to the information center. 

It may have only been a minute or two, but it was a lifetime at the moment.. and if not for that angel of a woman… it might have been a lot worse..  I wish we’d had a way to let people know how to reach us… since there was no way Ev was understandable, speech issues and fear mixed together with tears do NOT make for a intelligible conversation.

I wish we’d had SafetyTats.  From their site:

“SafetyTat is a fun and colorful temporary safety child ID tattoo that’s uniquely offered either customized with your mobile phone number or blank so you can write in your cell phone number on them. When applied to the arm of your child or loved one, SafetyTat provides an immediate, highly visible form of child identification that stays in place even when wet!”

Not only for uses like my situation (and although we’re highly responsible people, we’ve also lost Kenzi on a couple of occasions, and even lost Chae once… Greys seems to be the only kid who likes to stick around! LOL!), but for any situation where your child may need something to speak for them.  What about non-verbal autistic children, or a deaf child who may not be understood by someone not familiar with sign language?  There are also tats for tweens and teens.  I know, someone said to me, “I think at 11, 14, or 16 they are old enough to TELL someone their parents’ contact information”… really?  Okay.. can I tell you another scenerio? 

Picture yourself at a public place… say, a waterslide park.  Your 16 year old decides that he doesn’t want to “hang” with Mom and the Littles.. so he goes off (with your permission) to enjoy something a little more challenging than the splash pad.  But after going down one of the slides, he’s walking back around and slips and hits his head.  Now.. he’s unconscious.  OBVIOUSLY the staff will contact 9-1-1, but this is a big park, and maybe you don’t know that an ambulance has been called to another section of the park.  Maybe they have no idea how to contact you and LET you know… because… well, your son isn’t TALKING right now.  Imagine now, a safetytat is stuck to his inner arm, something cool like a retro rock’n'roll guitar lookin’ tat has your cellphone number on it.  Now they have a way to reach you, to let you know that they are rushing your son to the hospital unconscious… and he never had to speak a word.  For that matter, even your spouse and you could have one on, with each other’s contact (or other ICE *in case of emergency* number on it), after all, he’s not invincible… even if he’d like to think he is! LOL!

When I told a friend about it, he said to me, “I think that it’s just so unlikely to happen, that I don’t see the need for something like this”.  Hmmm… so I told him, “okay.  Then, I guess following that logic, he won’t be taking out fire and break-in insurance out on his new house he’s building.. because after all, it’s VERY unlikely that his home will burn down or be broken into living way out in the country, right?” OF COURSE NOT… that’s what INSURANCE is… it’s for that rare time that it DOES happen.  Now I know nobody sets out to lose their kid while visiting the zoo, or museum, or even a crowded mall at Easter time… but it DOES happen.  Why not take out some “return” insurance on your kid?  Before you head into a crowded place, slap a tat on your kid and know that if it should be that your child gets separated from you, they don’t need to know your cell phone number or be able to talk, or even remember your name (you can have just your name put on, so should you not have a cellphone and you would like the information center to be able to at least page you by your name.  But never put your child’s name on a SafetyTat or anything visible on your child’s clothing!)  Hey… if we’re thinking insurance, would your child’s constant safety be worth a SafetyTat a week?  Once a week, slap a fresh tat on your kid so that you can go to even the “safe” places like the grocery store and local park with confidence that should your child be a “hider” (like Kenzi was) or a “wanderer” (like Ev was), someone will always be able to get in touch with you.  We put “if lost, please call” tags on our pets… why not on our most precious children??  It just makes sense to me!

As the Scouts say.. Be Prepared!  Get your SafetyTats today!!!

Blessings!

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25. February 2010 by Shannon.

Celebrities who homeschool their kids

I just found this excellent article about celebrities who homeschool their children (no, it’s not just another of those lists of the hundreds of famous, SUCCESSFUL homeschoolers… it’s a real article with quotes and everything! LOL!).   Maybe as more celebrities embrace the homeschooling lifestyle, the general public will be less wary of the rest of us.  I’d like to mention that throughout history, even when schools were available, the elite homeschooled their kids with “governesses” (read: tutor!!) because they knew that it was an exceptional choice for their beloved children.

http://www.famoushomeschoolers.net/index.html

And here is a website dedicated to lists of famous homeschoolers… all categorized on the left.  So, if you want to see more Famous Parents (homeschool, that is) you click that link on the left, if you want scientists, click that on the left.  Enjoy!

Blessings!

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22. January 2010 by Shannon.

Okay.. this is time limited folks… so act fast! 

One of my favourite resouces out there is www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com … they always have some excellent book of the past, or a link to a freebie offered by a wahm.  Every day is something new.  Well, this week it was Anna Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study (yes, that the one the Ambleside Online people always rave about.. with good reason!).  WELL… the generous people over at HomeschoolFreebie have been offering the book in chunks all week long, and now… they are opening up the entire week’s worth of links for the ENTIRE weekend!!!  Meaning?  Well, if you are just hearing about it now, OR if you missed one day this week… you can go BACK to www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com and just scroll down to get all the links!  What a fantastic gift!!!

One suggestion I heard for using the book (especially if you already own a print copy) is to print off pages as needed for images/etc to use in a nature lapbook… or if you are doing a Nature Notebook, you can put in 3-hole punched card stock, and stick mini-books to it.. while maintaining the continuity of your notebook.

Why is this so timely?  Well, lots of people think of Nature Study as something to partake of in the summer months, or spring through summer… maybe even into autumn… but really, the best “cycle” of Nature is to start studying it in the WINTER months… (perfect timing is right now!) since your child can then observe the entire cycle of life… winter is a dormancy time, but allows us to see the trees without all the busy foliage, we can find animal tracks easily in the snow as local wildlife searches out food during these leaner months.  Soon spring will “sprung” and with it the trees and plants will start their growing cycle… first buds, then blossoms, then fruit (if they produce fruit)… animals will be birthing their young, and we look forward to a summer of watching baby animal antics - squirrels chasing each other all over the yard, new little flyers coming to check out birdfeeders, and sometimes catch a glimpse of a baby deer following close behind his Mama.  Then Summer with it’s insects galore, flowers, fruit, and hot lazy days perfectly designed for sitting and observing the world around us.  And of course, my favourite season, Autumn.  When the weather cools to a more comfortable level, the bugs are less of a bother (sorry, but it’s my blog and I say bugs are a bother! LOL!), a bountiful harvest to be collected (if we’re blessed), and small animals scurrying around collecting up their winter stores… oh… and the colours!!! OH the COLOURS!  I love Autumn for the richly dressed foliage of the trees.  I love walking in the woods soaking in all artistic talents of my Heavenly Father!

What better time to embark on a lifelong study of Nature, in all it’s glory, than right now?  And with this fabulous resource… you won’t be left not knowing what it is you are observing… Ms Comstock walks you through with beautiful words.  Her passion for Ecology will inspire you in your journey of discovery!

While you are on the topic.. someone far more knowledgable than I has a great blog about this very book!  Check out Barb’s blog at http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/ .

Blessings!

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15. March 2009 by Shannon.

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade named BOOK™.

BOOK™ is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use even a child can operate it. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere–even sitting in an armchair by the fire–yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc. Here’s how it works:

BOOK™ is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binding that keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufactures to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, BOOK™s with more information simply use more pages. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.

BOOK™ may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it. BOOK™ never crashes or requires rebooting, though like other display devices it can become unusable if dropped overboard. The “browse” feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an “index” feature that pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.

An optional “BOOKMARK™” accessory allows you to open BOOK™ to the exact place you left it in a previous session, even if the BOOK™ has been closed. BOOKMARKS™ fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKMARK™ can be used by various manufactures. Conversely, numerous BOOKMARKS™ can be used in a single BOOK™ if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK™.

You can also make personal notes next to BOOK™ text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (PENCILS™).

Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK™ is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. Also, BOOK™’s appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking. Look for a flood of new titles soon.

(author unknown)

Blessings!

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3. December 2008 by Shannon.

Christmas is my favourite time of year - for many reasons, our Lord and Saviour’s birth not the least!  However, another thing that makes me happy is a good Sale!!!  I try to be as frugal as reasonably possible… so when one of my favourite stores ever is having a SALE I want to shout it from the rooftops!  So here I go!!!!!!!

Blessings!

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7. November 2008 by Shannon.

As a proud member of the TOS Review Crew, I was sent three books from a company I’d never heard of before (and kinda wish I had!!): Salem Ridge Press.  Started by a homeschool teen interested in bringing back wonderful literature from the past, Daniel Mills (mentored by his dad, Chuck) started this little publishing company with some pretty strict guidelines for what he would consider appropriate materials to make available to today’s readers.  Rule Number One?  No kissing.  Seriously!!  I love it! *grin*

So, ahem.. back to three books.  I’m not sure exactly what I am supposed to tell you, whether about the company itself or the books they sent.  So I’ll tell ya about both.  First the books…

Each of the three books has a pleasant type face to read… not tiny and squished like some of the older classics you find in the second hand store… all three of the ones I received have line drawing illustrations in them, with clothing styles reflecting the period of the story.. however, I’m not sure if these were original prints or if they were done by Salem Ridge Press.  The book is of good quality in it’s binding and covers… over all for that I’d be comfortable with giving as a gift (it’s not cheap looking, is what I mean).

The American Twins of the Revolution (softcover is $12.95) is based on a true story of the American Revolution!  It is written much like the style of the Little House on the Prairie books.. however one of the twins is a boy around (I’d say) 11 years old, so it doesn’t “alienate” the boy crowd during read-aloud time the way the Little House books might being stories of all girls (Farmer Boy excepted.. my son LOVED that book!! LOL!).  It’s a lovely read and I always love “based on a true story” historical books.

Glaucia the Greek Slave (softcover edition is $14.95).  WOW.. I could not put this down for the life of me.. MOM loved it.. forget kids.. who cares! LOL! No, really, my almost 15 year old son has just picked it up to read it (he loves the greek/roman time period as that was also the early church).  But if you want MY opinion, this is a fantastic book… excellent quality, and wonderful deep messages that would inspire hours of conversation on beliefs, faith, theology, etc… it was a true joy to read, and I have to say my favourite of the three books…

and Mary Jane ~ Her Book (softcover is $12.95), was the third book I received.  This one was more challenging.  My almost 6 year old son wasn’t interested in listening to it (what self-respecting “pirate wannabe” boy wants to hear about dollies and tea parties?!?!? *grin*)… my 3 year old, well, she wanted to use it as a “building” in her little “town”… and my Bigs are kinda old for the story line… so Mom read it all alone.  It’s a very easy read but not very interesting… at least not to this never-you-mind how old Mom of four.  I don’t mean to say there is no merit to it… maybe in a couple of years, Chaeli might be interested in hearing the story of another little girl (younger than school aged) and her little adventures.  The plot is basically the preschool adventures of precocious Mary Jane… and the book explores several slightly deeper concepts such as how you DON’T give drinks to baby birds in nests with the garden hose… and Important Things To Know like that… *wink*

All in all, I love the quality of the books, I love that Daniel’s standards in literature are so high, and I’d feel safe buying any book they publish. 

Well done!

Blessings!!

PS.  Check out their Christmas Promotion Here!!

As a review blogger,  I am provided a free copy of the book, curriculum or product to test and use in order to write an honest review. I receive no other compensation and the opinions I share are my own and not influenced by the company in question.

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6. November 2008 by Shannon.

I don’t have much to say for today… it’s been a long week - I promise to catch up soon!  BUT… I don’t want to leave you with nothing, so check this AWESOME Contest out… I hope you win!!! :o) (I can’t, I’m in Canada, but judging from my son’s “Cooooooool!” it’s a good contest.  LOL!)

The Official HSB Community Blog - The Quest for Thunder Mountain Contest!

Blessings!

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11. October 2008 by Shannon.

I posted this review on my www.momlovesbooks.com blog… but it’s worth sharing here as well. 

Having been at this ‘Homeschooling Thing’ for 10 years now… I know the fears, doubts and frustrations with starting out… or restarting homeschooling. I’ve had the “homeschooled since birth” experience as well as the “yank ‘em out of school fast” experience, as well as one “he’ll finish up the year and that’s the end of that” experience. And every single time it comes with that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling of

NOW WHAT?!

Well, a friend of mine, Terri Johnson, came up with a wonderful answer! She’s created an ABC’s of Homeschooling E-Course (oh, and btw, I’m not the ‘brightest bulb in the house’ as it took me to lesson F to realise that she was indeed going through the Alphabet - even the fact that there were 26 weeks to the course didn’t tip me off… *oh brother*).

Ahem! Back to what Terri did…

Imagine walking hand-in-hand with a Veteran Homeschooling Mom who is there helping you week-by-week to plan what you will be doing…

Imagine being introduced to all her Homeschool Veteran friends who want to bless you with gifts of curriculum and encouragement…

Imagine learning alongside your children, in a pleasant, RELAXED way…

Imagine knowing that what you will be learning and doing can be re-used and re-done a thousand times without wearing out either the learning or the fun…

Imagine developing your OWN Educational Philosophy (a lofty goal for some… but completely attainable!)…

Imagine having the time and know-how to create your own “Unit Study” geared to your children’s gifts and passions, or know that you can fully meet all Provincial or State requirements…

Or best of all - Imagine having the ANSWER when your neighbour asks “What about SOCIALIZATION?!”…

Would it be worth it to you to have this kind of help? Would you be willing to give up a cup of coffee at a Fancy Coffee Shop a week for it?

Well, Terri’s Homeschooling ABCs E-course costs as little as that… less than 2.50$ a week ( only $10 a month for 6 months)!!! And you’ll get lots of free goodies from Terri and her friends (your new friends!), not to mention the incredible opportunity to “sit at their feet” and soak up all their years of experience and wisdom!!

This course is worth every single penny, in my humble opinion… and I’ve seen lots of “ABC lists” for Homeschooling (or any other topic you might wish to research) and this is not just a list… each course comes in an email with a link to the Homeschooling ABCs Site with links for downloadable PDFs (which can be read/printed from the free Acrobat Reader ) and any links to your new Homeschool friends’ gifts to you (gifts totally hundreds of dollars, I might add.. nice friends, eh? *grin*). You’ll receive one course each week for (you guessed it… even if I didn’t! LOL!) 26 weeks… a whole Alphabet of weeks! :o)

One of the things I really REALLY liked about this course is that it was MUCH less intimidating than reading the ‘Guides to Homeschooling’ that are available in the market, and not full of all the “perfect homeschool - lookitus” mentality that can downright discourage a new homeschooler (heck, even a veteran like myself can be left wondering if I have what it takes in reaction to bragging like that!). This is not a collection of how all these wonderful things that happened when our kids got into “Ivy League schools on full scholarships the same year they won the Nobel Peace Prize just for being Homeschoolers” kind of encouragement - instead, it’s a PRACTICAL, HANDS-ON, WALK-YOU-THROUGH-IT-IN-BITE-SIZED-CHUNKS kind of encouragement. I like that kind! :o)

Terri (in case you don’t already know) is the talent behind Knowledge Quest Maps - she’s been homeschooling for at least 11 years - so she knows of what she speaks! I’ve had the priviledge of listening to web-seminars offered by her in the past, and her passion and vision is an inspiration.

So, If you are just starting out, or starting over - maybe what you are doing isn’t working and you’re ready to toss in the towel… WAIT! Don’t give up… think of Maria’s advice in The Sound of Music… “Let’s Start at the Very Begining, A Very Good Place to Start”… Well, Homeschooling ABCs E-Course will certainly get you off to a Very Good Place - and you might just hang that towel back on the hook (or better yet - why not wrap it around your head like a Pirate and chase the kids around the living room, fall laughing on the couch, pull our a copy of Peter Pan and snuggle down for a Good Read?).

Whatever you decide… don’t give up - just go back and learn your Homeschooling ABCs!

Posted in Great Ideas, Curriculum Choices, Great Finds, General Homeschool | Print | No Comments »

29. September 2008 by Shannon.

Bonnie commented on my blog post about Connect the Thoughts from a Christian Worldview:

I am trying to find out some things about Steven David Horwich and Google brought me to this post. I found his curriculum on CurrClick. I am trying to determine if the curriculum is built upon the Scientology theme. Are you a Christian? What do you know of the religious theme of Connect the Thoughts? I tried to access the Yahoo group you mention in this entry but it was not available.

I wanted to address in a new post my answers to these concerns (btw, I am doing this not as an “expert” on anything, but as my humbly offered opinion):

Connect the Thoughts is NOT religion based.  Not Faith-Based at all.  I am a Born-Again Christian and with the exception of the first course in Science, and the first course in History (and that one only a very little, and used it as a sounding board for my own faith based discussion) have read EVERY Upper School history course and found nothing offensive in it. 

I am helping with the editing of the courses (slow work with 4 kids underfoot er… underkeyboard?) and we are addressing aspects which could be construed as anti-God.  Steven Horwich has made every effort to be as neutral as humanly possibly in his POV as far as religion goes, and the courses offer NO Scientology references/theology/ideals or anything else.  He has done an exceptional job at producing something of incredible importance. 

Steven believes that in order to improve the world, people need to be educated.  He offers his courses at a often ridiculously low price to keep them affordable for the average person… shortly all written materials will come with the course (meaning, there will be no other books to buy as resource materials… I’ll be updating when this is finalized sometime in the next few weeks).

When I first posted this I’d only recently “discovered” CTT myself, but now I have worked with Steven quite closely and constantly amazed at what a compassionate and thoughtful person he is, having no intent to offend anyone.  He holds in very high regard those with ANY beliefs at all, as he says it is sad how so many now have no strong beliefs at all… or at least nothing that brings good to the world.

To put it in perspective… I am doing Apologia Science, and using CTT for history, Creative Writing (absolutely the best writing course out there!), Current Events, Art and my kids read all the time.  The reason I am not using CTT for science is because I like to do science as a family, and Apologia affords me a more conversational tone for science that I like, while keeping with my belief system.  CTT’s science is Very Good… but it must be understood that there is a clear separation of God/Creation and Science from his POV… but the courses themselves are very informative.  I think if I Christian were to skip the last lesson in the first course and move on to the next book, they’d do just fine with CTT Science courses… the last lesson has a fair bit of what can be interpreted as opinion (in my humble opinion), but the materials in the rest of the course and the following courses are exceptional.

I hope this has helped! :o)

You can find all the CTT courses at Currclick and OOPS - I goofed on the Yahoo group… here is it:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ConnecttheThoughts

Blessings!!

PS - for those who haven’t seen them… I wanted to share a picture of my “gang” doing school that I think I’m going to have blown up and framed to remind them what they *should* look like… LOL!

Around the table from back to front:

Chaeli (Pre-K), Kenzi (Gr7), Greyson (K) and Everett (Gr9)

Posted in Curriculum Choices, Great Finds, General Homeschool | Print | 4 Comments »

13. August 2008 by Shannon.

(heehee, I can hear everyone saying “Huh?”)

Livemocha is a language learning website.  We all know how desireable it is in today’s markets to be comfortable in more that one language… well, Livemocha provides support for six popular languages (English, Spanish, French, Hindi, German and Mandarin Chinese) and offers impressive and comprehensive lesson plans for each, including a full range of practical reading, listening, writing and speaking exercises.

The best part is that Livemocha makes it easy for you to learn on your own (and at your own pace) and connects you with a huge network of other students and native speakers to help you master your new language.

Now, understand, I am a BIG fan of Rosetta Stone language learning software… BUT I do realise that the cost can be very limiting for homeschoolers who are often making ends meet with only one income… so, here comes Livemocha… for FREE!  I can’t say it’s EXACTLY the same thing, but where the they meet is in immersion and where Livemocha excells is in the practical conversation with others working towards the same goal… sometimes company makes the journey more pleasant.

SO, if you have been panicking over your teen’s “foreign language credit” - panic no more!  Hop on over to Livemocha and set them up and let the learning begin!  There - that’s one less thing on your planning To Do list!  You’re welcome! *grin*

Blessings!

Posted in Curriculum Choices, Great Finds | Print | 5 Comments »