Sent in by J. Cedeno
February 22 - 24
We invite you to join us online for the bi-annual Heart of the Matter online homeschooling conference.
Are your feet dragging? Do you need a little pick-me-up? Winter is wrapping up and we are anxious for spring -- for green, for sunshine, for life, for a little oomph in our homeschool day. It's easy to get bogged down and for things to turn hum-drum.
Heart of the Matter Online is excited to bring you a Homeschool Refresher conference that is sure to give you a boost. This conference will feature some speakers chosen specifically for their ability to revive, rejuvenate, and renew the hearts and minds of their audience. You are sure to walk away motivated and inspired to achieve great things!
Conference speakers are:
Belinda Bullard, founder of A Blessed Heritage - How Will I Be Remembered? A Mom for all Seasons
Cindy Carrier, founder of Values Drive Family Ministry - Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers, OH MY!: Successfully Integrating Little Ones into Your Homeschool
Sheila Carroll, founder of Living Books Curriculum - Planning for Learning--Homeschool Planning the Charlotte Mason Way
Maggie Hogan, founder of Bright Ideas Press - 7 Highly Effective Habits of Happy Homeschool Moms
Kris, author of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers - Adding Spark to Your Homeschool with Hands-on Learning
Katie Kubesh, co-founder of In the Hands of a Child - Beginning Lapbooking
Diane Lockman, author of Trivium Mastery and The Classical Scholar - Reading Aloud: The Key to Language Development
Carolyn Morrison & Jennifer Leonhard, authors of Guilt Free Homeschooling - Taking the Mystery Out of Learning Styles
Jim Mueller, founder of Bite Sized Physics - Bite-Size Physics
Dari Mullins, co-author of Galloping the Globe and Cantering the Country - I'm Homeschooling, but I'm NOT HAPPY
Jay Ryan, author of Classical Astronomy and Signs and Seasons - Topic TBA
Natalie Wickham, author of Pajama School - Everything Your Child Needs to Know and How to Teach it to Them
Carol Barnier, author of The Big WHAT NOW Book of Learning Styles, who will be speaking on What Are You Thinking? Learning Style and Beyond
Tim N. Scoggins, Founder & CEO, the National College Counseling Center, who will be speaking on Harnessing Higher Education Resources
Angela Parsley, founder of Refresh My Soul Ministries, who will be speaking on Homeschooling Obstacles and the Support you Need
What you can expect:
Live sessions, entirely online, with some of the educational community's most popular speakers and authors.
Free access to download and save the MP3's from all the sessions, as well as all the handouts, chat logs, and presentations.
Participation in real-time question and answer sessions with all your favorite speakers.
The opportunity to make some new life-long friends and experience some fun and fellowship. Read what attendees are saying about previous Heart of the Matter online conference.
Tickets are going super fast, so if you want to attend, you'll need to hurry and get your ticket. Due to the size of webinar conference room, we can only sell a certain number of tickets.
Purchase a ticket for only $12.95
An online audio conference uses the Internet as a conference venue. What this means to you is that you will be able to access the conference from anywhere in the world using standard browser software which we provide. This software is compatible with all computers including Macs and it is provided by us, to you, with the cost of admission. All you need is a computer, internet connection, and speakers!
The conference will happen in real time but it will be recorded so if you can't be there then you can still download the sessions to listen to at your convenience.
Saturday 13 February 2010
Wednesday 10 February 2010
Free Online Magazine from PA Homeschoolers
Sent in by Jen C.
Pennsylvania Homeschoolers has now begun the transition to a fully online and interactive magazine publication at www.pahomeschoolers.com which will replace our print magazine. We have our first week of articles up online now, and we think you’ll really enjoy reading and browsing. All articles are archived in easy to use categories, so you’ll always be able to find postings of special interest to you—so if you have a high schooler and you’re primarily interested in our AP Online classes or other topics related to teens, such as college admissions or scholarships, you’ll be able to quickly find that information. And if you have younger kids, or want ideas for different curricular areas or general encouragement or family organization ideas, you’ll be able to find those pieces, too.
And for this two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, we’re also have a ‘special’ of an additional series of articles to inspire you to help keep the sparks alive in your primary relationship with your spouse—something that can be a real challenge for busy homeschooling parents!
So far we have the following articles posted:
· An intro on why we are moving to an online format
· Writing clubs for homeschoolers—why to start one, and a sample assignment
· ‘The Great Paper Chase’ from Cassandra Frear, on a great way to tame the ‘paper monster’ in your home
· A parent’s view of PA Homeschoolers AP (Advanced Placement) Online classes
· How to sign up for AP exams for your homeschoolers—one mom’s saga
· New research from Dr. Gary Welton on homeschoolers and socialization
You can also now subscribe via RSS feed – and of course the whole website magazine is free. There will be at least one new piece posted each week day. And you can also respond to any articles posted, at any time, sharing your thoughts and experiences—you’ll be a part of the learning and sharing here, and we look forward to hearing your voice, too!
We’d also really appreciate it if you could let any email groups for homeschoolers that you belong to know about our new format and our website link—we especially hope to reach out to those who might never have subscribed to our print publication, such as families involved in our AP classes who live outside PA. And of course we’ll still have a full range of topics related specifically to homeschoolers within PA, too—and all our regular features (support groups in PA, info on the PA homeschool law, our very active public message board, info on our achievement testing services, expanded list of PA evaluators, sample articles from past print newsletters and many links to other homeschooling sites… ) are still there ready for your learning.
Welcome, and do let us know your ideas for possible future articles—and let us know, too, if *you* might like to write one!
Susan and Howard Richman www.pahomeschoolers.com
Pennsylvania Homeschoolers has now begun the transition to a fully online and interactive magazine publication at www.pahomeschoolers.com which will replace our print magazine. We have our first week of articles up online now, and we think you’ll really enjoy reading and browsing. All articles are archived in easy to use categories, so you’ll always be able to find postings of special interest to you—so if you have a high schooler and you’re primarily interested in our AP Online classes or other topics related to teens, such as college admissions or scholarships, you’ll be able to quickly find that information. And if you have younger kids, or want ideas for different curricular areas or general encouragement or family organization ideas, you’ll be able to find those pieces, too.
And for this two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, we’re also have a ‘special’ of an additional series of articles to inspire you to help keep the sparks alive in your primary relationship with your spouse—something that can be a real challenge for busy homeschooling parents!
So far we have the following articles posted:
· An intro on why we are moving to an online format
· Writing clubs for homeschoolers—why to start one, and a sample assignment
· ‘The Great Paper Chase’ from Cassandra Frear, on a great way to tame the ‘paper monster’ in your home
· A parent’s view of PA Homeschoolers AP (Advanced Placement) Online classes
· How to sign up for AP exams for your homeschoolers—one mom’s saga
· New research from Dr. Gary Welton on homeschoolers and socialization
You can also now subscribe via RSS feed – and of course the whole website magazine is free. There will be at least one new piece posted each week day. And you can also respond to any articles posted, at any time, sharing your thoughts and experiences—you’ll be a part of the learning and sharing here, and we look forward to hearing your voice, too!
We’d also really appreciate it if you could let any email groups for homeschoolers that you belong to know about our new format and our website link—we especially hope to reach out to those who might never have subscribed to our print publication, such as families involved in our AP classes who live outside PA. And of course we’ll still have a full range of topics related specifically to homeschoolers within PA, too—and all our regular features (support groups in PA, info on the PA homeschool law, our very active public message board, info on our achievement testing services, expanded list of PA evaluators, sample articles from past print newsletters and many links to other homeschooling sites… ) are still there ready for your learning.
Welcome, and do let us know your ideas for possible future articles—and let us know, too, if *you* might like to write one!
Susan and Howard Richman www.pahomeschoolers.com
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Winter Blah's Busters Including Special Events and Holidays in Your School Day: Olympics, Valentines Day, Chinese New Year, Presidents Day
When my kids were little I built much of my school year, especially in the winter, around various holiday's and special occasions. We still do that today, though to a lesser degree, and find that it really helps put some fun into our normal routine while still providing some learning.
February (especially this year) holds lots of Possibilities:
For all these holidays (and other great resources) for crafts and worksheets I would suggest becoming a member of Enchanted Learning enchantedlearning.com I have found it to be a valuable resource for the grade school years.
Also lots of good stuff for many holidays at http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/index.htm which is a free site.
Feb 2nd Groundhogs Day:
Learn about groundhogs, hibernation, shadows and how they are formed. Find a book at the library about the actual animal and also look for fun picture books about groundhogs we found a few at our library!.
Here are two sites about the most famous groundhog and official predictor who lives right here in PA.
http://www.groundhog.org/
http://www.punxsutawneyphil.com/
February 5th: Constitution Day:
Learn a little about the US constitution, read some of it, study one of the signers, go to center city and visit the Constitution Center or Independence Hall http://constitutioncenter.org/
February 12th Start of Winter Olympics:
Learn about the host country and the games themselves http://www.vancouver2010.com/
Watch the opening ceremony and find countries on a map or globe; pick a couple of countries, other then the US to root for, follow how they do, learn about these countries and make copies of of their flags.
Lots of fun stuff here http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/winter_olympics.htm
Make your own medals and laurel wreaths to wear when your team wins an event you are watching.
learn about the various sports and their rules, talk about sportsmanship and how to be a good winner or looser.
Here is a great site that teaches some of the science behind some of the Olympic events:
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/olympics/
Learn about the ancient Olympics and how they differ from the modern ones, and how the modern ones started.
Feb 14th: Valentines Day:
Learn about St. Valentine, Find out how Valentines Day got started, make some valentines for friends or for people who need to be encouraged, surprise your mail man, librarian or the lady who always rings up your order at the grocery store with one, or give one to an older member at Church.
Fun crafts to choose from here http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/valentines_day.htm
February 14th Start of Chinese New Year:
Learn a bit about China
Lots of fun stuff to do and info here to keep you busy!! Love this site!
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese_new_year.htm
Go to Philadelphia's China Town for a meal, or dim sum (though this week it might very crowded but you could go later and give foods you read about now a try Joy Tsin Lau is our favorite http://maps.google.com/maps/place?sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=joy+tsin+lau+restaurant&fb=1&gl=us&hq=joy+tsin+lau+restaurant&hnear=Philadelphia,+PA&cid=5246055854701499710)
A great resource is the book "Moonbeams, Dumplings, and Dragon Boats" by Nina Simonds et al.
Also check your library for Chinese storys and fairy tales, books by authors Grace Lin and Demi are also good for this.
The University Of Pennsylvania http://www.penn.museum/ normally does a fun Chinese New Years event though I couldn't find mention of this years date.
Feb 15th Presidents Day:
Pick a president and read something about him.
This site from the White House has info. on the Presidents Mansions, Portraits of all the Presidents and other fun info. Check it out and don't worry about "learning" just enjoy looking at the things that interest you or seeing what all the presidents looked like, it is all groundwork for later study.
Also some stuff here: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/presidents_day.htm
Feb 16th Shrove or Fat Tuesday end of Mardigras:
Info. and Crafts here: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/mardi_gras.htm
and here: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/pancake_day.htm
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/shrove-tuesday Has some info on these Traditions in the US.
Make Pancakes and Sausage for dinner, this is the day that all fat in the house was used up by indulging in these things before the fasting and restraint from indulging that came with Lent.
In the United Kingdom they often have pancake races on this day, this site http://www.sideburn.demon.co.uk/olney/pancake.html gives some info. on this funny tradition.
Feb. 17th Ash Wednesday
Here is some basic info. on this religious observance.
http://protestantism.suite101.com/article.cfm/ash_wednesday_meaning_and_purpose
How might you incorporate this into your understanding of what God is doing in your life and how he wants you to grow?
Feb 28th Chinese Lantern Festival:
some background info. here.
http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/lantern.htm
read some more of the story books you didn't get to for Chinese New Year
February (especially this year) holds lots of Possibilities:
For all these holidays (and other great resources) for crafts and worksheets I would suggest becoming a member of Enchanted Learning enchantedlearning.com I have found it to be a valuable resource for the grade school years.
Also lots of good stuff for many holidays at http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/index.htm which is a free site.
Feb 2nd Groundhogs Day:
Learn about groundhogs, hibernation, shadows and how they are formed. Find a book at the library about the actual animal and also look for fun picture books about groundhogs we found a few at our library!.
Here are two sites about the most famous groundhog and official predictor who lives right here in PA.
http://www.groundhog.org/
http://www.punxsutawneyphil.com/
February 5th: Constitution Day:
Learn a little about the US constitution, read some of it, study one of the signers, go to center city and visit the Constitution Center or Independence Hall http://constitutioncenter.org/
February 12th Start of Winter Olympics:
Learn about the host country and the games themselves http://www.vancouver2010.com/
Watch the opening ceremony and find countries on a map or globe; pick a couple of countries, other then the US to root for, follow how they do, learn about these countries and make copies of of their flags.
Lots of fun stuff here http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/winter_olympics.htm
Make your own medals and laurel wreaths to wear when your team wins an event you are watching.
learn about the various sports and their rules, talk about sportsmanship and how to be a good winner or looser.
Here is a great site that teaches some of the science behind some of the Olympic events:
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/olympics/
Learn about the ancient Olympics and how they differ from the modern ones, and how the modern ones started.
Feb 14th: Valentines Day:
Learn about St. Valentine, Find out how Valentines Day got started, make some valentines for friends or for people who need to be encouraged, surprise your mail man, librarian or the lady who always rings up your order at the grocery store with one, or give one to an older member at Church.
Fun crafts to choose from here http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/valentines_day.htm
February 14th Start of Chinese New Year:
Learn a bit about China
Lots of fun stuff to do and info here to keep you busy!! Love this site!
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese_new_year.htm
Go to Philadelphia's China Town for a meal, or dim sum (though this week it might very crowded but you could go later and give foods you read about now a try Joy Tsin Lau is our favorite http://maps.google.com/maps/place?sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=joy+tsin+lau+restaurant&fb=1&gl=us&hq=joy+tsin+lau+restaurant&hnear=Philadelphia,+PA&cid=5246055854701499710)
A great resource is the book "Moonbeams, Dumplings, and Dragon Boats" by Nina Simonds et al.
Also check your library for Chinese storys and fairy tales, books by authors Grace Lin and Demi are also good for this.
The University Of Pennsylvania http://www.penn.museum/ normally does a fun Chinese New Years event though I couldn't find mention of this years date.
Feb 15th Presidents Day:
Pick a president and read something about him.
This site from the White House has info. on the Presidents Mansions, Portraits of all the Presidents and other fun info. Check it out and don't worry about "learning" just enjoy looking at the things that interest you or seeing what all the presidents looked like, it is all groundwork for later study.
Also some stuff here: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/presidents_day.htm
Feb 16th Shrove or Fat Tuesday end of Mardigras:
Info. and Crafts here: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/mardi_gras.htm
and here: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/pancake_day.htm
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/shrove-tuesday Has some info on these Traditions in the US.
Make Pancakes and Sausage for dinner, this is the day that all fat in the house was used up by indulging in these things before the fasting and restraint from indulging that came with Lent.
In the United Kingdom they often have pancake races on this day, this site http://www.sideburn.demon.co.uk/olney/pancake.html gives some info. on this funny tradition.
Feb. 17th Ash Wednesday
Here is some basic info. on this religious observance.
http://protestantism.suite101.com/article.cfm/ash_wednesday_meaning_and_purpose
How might you incorporate this into your understanding of what God is doing in your life and how he wants you to grow?
Feb 28th Chinese Lantern Festival:
some background info. here.
http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/lantern.htm
read some more of the story books you didn't get to for Chinese New Year
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)