A Return Home

I just had to take this opportunity to tell you all about a great contest that I discovered this morning.  When you enter, you have a chance to win your choice of some fabulous prizes for your kitchen.  What kind of prizes?  Well, let me tell you!

You will have your choice of either a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, a Cuisinart Food Processor, or a Kitchenaid Immersion Blender.  No, I am not kidding!  I currently have the Kitchenaid Stand Mixer and it is one of my most favorite tools in my kitchen. I also have a Kitchenaid Food Processor that I love, so I am interested in obtaining an immersion blender for my own kitchen.  These are great tools to have!

So here is what you need to do to enter to win one of these great prizes:

Simply click on the link below and follow the directions.  That is it!  Entries are fairly simple too.  Contest ends November 23, 2008.  Good Luck!!

Stand Mixer, Immersion Blender, Food Processor OH MY! (giveaway)

This week has been a busy one n our homeschool. We have been testing out several new products that we have received to review for the TOS Homeschool Crew. We have been putting the products through the paces and will be ready to report on some of them soon. So you can watch for that this next week.

We have also been busy with our NanoWriMo novels. It has been a fun adventure. My son has really taken to adding to his story each day. He wears a smile most of the time. It is nice to see the change in him as he was becoming such a reluctant writer prior to this experience. He has even asked if he can do this every month. We will see if his enthusiasm continues as I upped his original word count goal from 8,000 to 12,000 words. I felt that I needed to do this as he has already completed 4,248 as of today. Since this is only the first week, I imagine he just may surpass his new goal.

I am behind on my NanoWriMo novel. I need to focus on it. I have spent too much time working and making sure that things flow smoothly around here. So if you will excuse me for now, I need to go pound out a few thousand words. Hope you have a great weekend!

If you are a fan of the Terrestria Chronicles books or are interested in reading them, have I got a contest for you!  First let me say that Ed Dunlop has just released his first book in the new Tales from Terrestria series.  It is titled The Quest for Thunder Mountain.  This is the story of a young minstrel whose life is shattered when his career comes to an abrupt end.  You can see a review of the Terrestria Chronicles at www.TalesOfCastles.com.  

Now for the contest…

There will be 15 winners for this contest. Each of the winners will receive a copy of The Quest for Thunder Mountain.

To enter this contest you must be at least 18 years of age and live in the U.S. You can read full contest rules HERE.

This contest will end on November 9th.

To enter, follow the directions found at the hosting blog:  On The Company Porch

Good luck!  Let me know if you are one of the lucky winners!

So last night while watching the election results, I got into a bit of a yelling match with my mother. No, it wasn’t about the election or even the candidates. It was about my choice to homeschool my child and work at home.

I thought we had made progress in this area, but apparently I was wrong. She doesn’t understand that I am doing all of this for the betterment of my family. She doesn’t understand that the local schools can’t truly help my son with Asperger’s. In her mind, I need to get my priorities straight and send him to public school and get a real job. She thinks that I would have more time then.

I’m not quite sure how that is supposed to work, since I was always more stressed when we did just those things. I spent all of my time after work helping my son with his homework and taking him to therapy and taking care of the house, etc. And I hated my job. I like working for myself. I don’t think I could go back to having a boss other than myself.

I don’t have a problem meeting my income needs. But my work is invalid in her eyes because it isn’t traditional.

I let her know that things won’t be changing around here. She will just have to get used to it. Stuff happens.

Photo by (c) vierdrie, www.sxc.hu

Help Me 2 Teach is an Internet directory of websites that can be used for educational purposes. Here is the information from the Help Me 2 Teach website:

• Over 2300 Safe, Educational Links for Children, Parents and Teachers
• Updated Daily
• Pre-K through High School
• Use as a Complete Curriculum or to find Supplemental Material

One-month, three-month, trial, and annual memberships are available. The payment plans are as follows:

1 year@ $29.95

3 mos. for $15.95

1 mo. for $9.95

3 days for $4.95

Price includes Quarterly Newsletters and FREE research for anyone with a paid one year subscription or longer.

So What Do I Think?

At first I was a little on the skeptical side as I wondered why I would need to subscribe to a basic internet directory of sites when I was proficient with finding my own. However, I do have to say that I am impressed. The site is done very well and the owner is constantly adding new content each and every day.

While it may not be as valuable for a veteran homeschooler or someone who can research sites quickly, it is a definite timesaver. I also like how the directory is a safe place. I can let my son research on his own on this site and I do not have to worry about questionable content. That alone makes the price worth it.

They are running a special through the end of December. When you purchase a 1 year subscription, you will get one free. That is a savings of $29.95! So that is a great deal, in my opinion.

All in all, I would have to give this product a score of 3 ½ out of 5, with 5 being you just can’t live without it. If you decided to try this product, let me know what you think about it. Keep in mind that there are resources being added daily.

I thought I would take this opportunity to announce that we are participating in the YW NanoWriMo program this year. So what is the YW NanoWriMo program? It is the Young Writers program for National Novel Writing Month, which is in November.

As a writer I participated in the adult program last year. I didn’t get too many words written. Only a couple hundred or so. So this year I planned on participating again and completing the 50,000 words in 30 days challenge. I wanted to be one of the winners. The best way I could accomplish this feat was to involve my son. If it was schoolwork, then I would have to be the good example and do my project.

When I signed him up for the Young Writers portion, I was able to set his word count to an age appropriate level. Since this is his first time, we negotiated the word count to 8,000 words. He is excited to try his hand at writing his own novel. We will work on editing his story in December. (And mine, of course!)

I’ll post updates on our progress throughout the month of November. It should be a fun project for both of us, albeit a challenging one.

So I thought I should jump on here and tell you of my good fortune and what it can do for you. I have been selected to be a member of the focus group for the TOS Homeschool Crew. What does this mean? It means that I will be receiving and then reviewing up to 50 different homeschool products. While I will put these products through the paces, you will be able to read about them and decide if they will work in your own homeschool program or not. I will give you my honest opinion about the products.

Sometimes it will be a glowing report, and other times it won’t be so good. I will always try to find a positive about each product, because we all know that what works for one kid doesn’t necessarily work for another. I will also explain why I feel the way that I do about each product. I am even taking into consideration the views and opinions of my son. He is going to be making small reports on each product that will tell me what he likes and doesn’t like about each one. (As his mom AND teacher, I can get away with this as part of his school work. LOL!)

I will mark each review with one of the logos that I have received as a member of the Crew. So keep you eyes open for my reviews! It will promise to be an amazing experience for all!

When we returned home to the place where my husband grew up, we undertook the responsibility and adventure of remodeling my grandmother’s home. This home is filled with many memories for me, all of which are happy ones. The funny thing is that although my husband grew up in this town, I have many memories of growing up at my grandparent’s home. I actually lived in this town for a couple of years from the end of 1^st grade to the end of 4^th grade.

Anyway, we moved back here to keep an eye on our parental units. Both sets live only about one block away from each other and are getting older. We felt that we should be close so that we could offer any assistance if it was needed. This has eased the minds of most of our siblings. And although it is a small town, it does have a homey feel to it.

We have been remodeling our home since June. It has been a long and drawn out process that has come with many challenges. Many of the challenges have come up while I have been trying to do my job and teach my son. I have literally been doing both of these between two separate residences. This week, I have finally made enough progress that we are able to school in our new home, even though we aren’t quite ready to sleep there yet. (We still need a shower or bath hooked up before that can happen. Soon…)

We are hoping to finally move into it this next week. I have been busy trying to organize things and clean things so that we can make the move out of my parent’s basement into our own home. It will be nice to be back in our own home. Building a home takes work. But being together as a family is what makes it a reality. How do you build your home? Leave me a comment and share.

I decided it was time to delve into the educational views of our Presidential candidates and see what they believe. I went to each of their official websites and to say the least, it was very educational to me as a parent and homeschooler. I had been under the impression prior to this exercise that both of the candidates held similar beliefs for education. Boy was I wrong!

While both candidates cited the need for changes, only John McCain cited the right for a parent to homeschool their child. He also discussed funds for more virtual schooling options. Barack Obama only discussed more government regulation, especially for charter schools.  Hmmm…sounds like someone is catering to the National Teachers Union who is less about education and teachers as it is about government regulation and lack of parental rights for choice in education.

I feel it is necessary for each person to form their own opinions, but I implore you to carefully consider each of the candidates view on education. I have provided the links to each of their official sites and their views on education. Check it out and let me know what you think.

John McCain’s Views on Education

Barack Obama’s Views on Education

This July, I purchased The Schoolhouse Planner for use in my homeschool. I immediately fell in love with my purchase and couldn’t believe what a great deal I had gotten. The planner sells for $39, but it is worth so much more! I can’t believe how much is packed into this e-book and its 247 pages!!

The planner is packed full of forms for use in your homeschool. These forms will help to keep you organized and save you a lot of time from making your own. There are lesson ideas for each month and every month there is an article from one of the most recognized homeschooling authors that is informative and inspiring. If that isn’t enough, there are also recipes scattered throughout the e-book to give you some great dinner options. And to top it all off, there are lots of great forms to use for your household.

So how do you get one of these great planners for FREE? Simply visit Homeschooling Through the Trenches and follow the directions in the blog post. This is a great giveaway with a value of $39. You are offered 3 different ways to enter the contest and you can do all three, so your chances are even better. The contest ends on September 12, 2008. Good luck and I hope you win! You will absolutely LOVE this e-book!