Reviews « NutBugs

Heart of Dakota: Bigger week 32

By KristinN, on June 9th, 2012

Uuggh! Hard week this week. We were so out and about this week I felt as if we never had time for anything and that we were pushing all week to finish school early! Oh well, that is OK. We got it done and that is what matters. This week we finished the Wright Brothers

Continue reading Heart of Dakota: Bigger week 32

Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 31

By KristinN, on June 2nd, 2012

Well, we are still reading about the Wright Brother's and their sister. Once again, we are really enjoying that book! I have to admit these last couple weeks we have put off doing our story-time, bad Mama. The book we are suppose to be doing is Esperanza Rising. So my plan is to start reading

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger week 30

By KristinN, on May 25th, 2012

OMGosh! There is only 4 weeks left of school. I am not sure if I am happy or sad. I love teaching the kids so much, but I am ready for a little break.

Well, anyway, this week was a good week. We got all our stuff done plus we had time to do a

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger week 29

By KristinN, on May 18th, 2012

Well week 29 is over and we start if all off with our continued reading about the Wright Brothers. They really were very interesting people. Both the kids and myself have really enjoyed learning about all their activities and how they were so happy inventing things.

Our geography lesson this week was to learn about

Continue reading Heart of Dakota: Bigger week 29

Heart of Dakota: Bigger week 28

By KristinN, on May 12th, 2012

Oh my, I think I have short timers’ syndrome. There is only 5 more weeks left of school and even though I enjoy school so much I am so ready for summer. I am sure there are several of you out there like that too. Well, anyway, Unit 28 was just as good

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In the News

Soybeans; What’s New and Beneficial About Soybeans

By KristinN, on May 7th, 2012

With my recent studies on a healthy lifestyle and eating for optimal health, I have had a transition to become a Ovo-Lacto vegetarian. I have been doing tons of research about protein, vegetarianism, soybeans, eating of God's bountiful earth pre-flood etc. And when I came across this article about soybeans I figured it would be a

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 27

By KristinN, on May 5th, 2012

There is only a few weeks left of school. I still cannot believe we are on week 27. This week we learned about John Muir. OK, I say this every once in a while, I had no idea who he was. He was kind of like Audubon, but he did not kill the animals to

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California Homeschool Convention in Long Beach

By KristinN, on May 3rd, 2012

Just a reminder of the upcoming Homeschool Convention coming this month. There is also the CHEA convention in July which I post on that in a few short weeks. Meanwhile, here is another opportunity to learn more about homeschooling or to just get geared up for fall or even to just take a break

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 26

By KristinN, on April 28th, 2012

This week we finally were able to learn about one of most beloved Presidents, Abraham Lincoln. I happen to have a few books at home specifically about him so I had my son read these out loud to us. He was really a very incredible President and Man!

Anyhow, this week was as good as

Continue reading Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 26

Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 25

By KristinN, on April 23rd, 2012

OK, I know you all are asking why I got this post out so late! I just got real lazy this weekend and did not feel like typing or anything. Truth is, as most of my longtime readers know, I have migraines and this week was just a real bad week for them. I had

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger week 24

By KristinN, on April 6th, 2012

Well, it was nice to have a break for Easter. I hemmed and Hawed over taking a break since we just had a week off due to illness. But I decided "I" needed the break. Anyway, this week was a great week learning about several different people

Our first journey was geography. Hey this activity

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Webcast – Spreading The Homeschool Message

By KristinN, on April 4th, 2012

I just got this email this morning, so I thought I would post it right away. Hopefully some of you will be able to take advantage of thiswebcast TODAY!

Like to share homeschooling with others? Join Melanie Hexter for "Spreading the Home School Message." Here is a friendly

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Mandatory Kindergarten (CA) Bill Delayed

By KristinN, on April 3rd, 2012

Mandatory Kindergarten??

Please be prepared to take action against AB 2203. HSLDA President Mike Smith has been an advocate of homeschooling for more than 30 years. Read more >>

From: Roy Hanson—Family Protection Ministries and Mike Smith—HSLDA

Bill: AB 2203 (as introduced 2/23/12)—5-Year-Old Compulsory Education

Author:

Continue reading Mandatory Kindergarten (CA) Bill Delayed

Bible

God and doG

By KristinN, on April 2nd, 2012

I just saw the greatest video. You know our dogs love us unconditionally. They are patient with us, forgive us when we are unkind, wait for us to come home and most of all can make us happy when we are down. Hmmmm, sounds like God!

Heart of Dakota: Bigger week 23

By KristinN, on March 30th, 2012

Well, I have to say this week was not the most fun week. I guess because I was coming off of being very sick last week and having to push our Easter break back a couple weeks. And to top it all off, I did not prepare for this week. You see I usually on

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Oppose Expansion of Government Control over Education

By KristinN, on March 21st, 2012

Oppose Expansion of Government Control over Education

Act now to oppose AB 2203. HSLDA President Mike Smith has been an advocate of homeschooling for more than 30 years. Read more >> From: Roy Hanson’s Family Protection Ministries and Mike Smith’s HSLDA Bill: AB 2203 (as

Continue reading Oppose Expansion of Government Control over Education

Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 22

By KristinN, on March 16th, 2012

Boy this week went fast. It seemed like I woke up and it was Friday. This week seemed that it was an easier week for school. Hmmm, well, easier may not be the right word. More like a simple than normal week. Our week started with learning more information about John Audubon. Most of

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TV Series Mocks Christians, Undermines Liberty

By KristinN, on March 13th, 2012

ABC-TV has decided that it can take direct aim at Christians with what amounts to hate speech. This is the premise of its new program GCB (which stands for Good Christian B*****es). We need to fight back.

This program ridicules Christians, Christianity, the Bible, and Christian symbols in ways that would be unthinkable if aimed

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 21

By KristinN, on March 10th, 2012

OK, you all know what my first words are going to be. This was a great week as usual. We started off learning about our 7th President, Andrew Jackson. So one of the things I did was to do flash cards for the first 5 Presidents. I happen to have had these for some years

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 20

By KristinN, on March 2nd, 2012

This week was cut a bit short. Yesterday afternoon both my kids and the entire household came down with fevers. So needless to say we only completed 4 days of the 5 days for week 20. That is OK, we will just do Friday on Monday and then combine unit

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Heart of Dakota:Bigger Week 19

By KristinN, on February 24th, 2012

OK, OK, here are those famous words once again. We had a great week. Actually it was short. I actually combined Friday's material to Thursday so I could have Friday off. You see my son's is turning 10 tomorrow (2-25) and I wanted to have Friday to get everything ready for his little party at

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Art

FREE Curriculm and FREE Resources

By KristinN, on February 12th, 2012

I want to make very sure that it is well known that not all of these sites I have posted are Christian, so please visit them first to make sure you approve of them before you send your children there. I have not seen anything myself that was completely wrong or offensive or even

Continue reading FREE Curriculm and FREE Resources

Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 18 Update

By KristinN, on February 10th, 2012

So I say it every week, another good week. I think it is about time to come up with a new opening line to my HOD updates. But it really is true. This week was not only good in school, but my voice is back so I was able to sing while I was teaching

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Homeschooler Buyers Co-op

By KristinN, on February 9th, 2012

So I realized there are many homeschoolers who have not heard of Homeschool Buyers Co-op. Just in my small Park Day group only a couple of us have ever heard of this web site. So I figured I have thousands of readers and there has to be many of you who have not heard of it

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HSLDA High School Teacher Training Programs

By KristinN, on February 8th, 2012

This post is really only for those living in the Virginia area or who really want to travel to Virginia. It is also for those who have or are approaching High School time. HSLDA (which you should all be a member of) is having a live seminar for those approaching the high school days of

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Blackline Maps and the 50 States

By KristinN, on February 6th, 2012

I love using maps in my homeschooling. I know I am using Heart of Dakota and they pretty much have everything outlined for me in geography, but I still like to add in map skills whenever I can. I found a couple of sites that has some really great black-line maps for FREE and they print

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 17 Update

By KristinN, on February 3rd, 2012

Daniel Boone! What a man! I do not think I could do half of what he did or expected his family to do! This week learning about how this Frontiers-man crossed over form Pennsylvania to North Carolina to Tennessee then on to Kentucky was amazing. We even mapped it for Geography. See the picture below!

Continue reading Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 17 Update

Contests

Composer Study Contest

By KristinN, on January 30th, 2012

You know ,Composer studies have been one of the areas I have not done well in over the last 5 years of homeschooling. So when I was directed to take a look at World's Greatest Composer Volume #1 for a well rounded composer study that includes Notebooking as well as Lapbooking, I figured I

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger week 16

By KristinN, on January 27th, 2012

Back to school this week. As you all know I had to take off last week because I did not have a voice to teach with. I still can not sing a lyc, but at least I can teach. So this week was very interesting. We had a lot to learn about the new Government

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History/Geography

California History

By KristinN, on January 24th, 2012

Fourth Grade California History Education Program Dear Irvine Park Railroad Friends,

We are now accepting reservations for Irvine Park Railroad's Fourth Grade California History Education Program! Call today to reserve your spot for one of these days:

Public Day: Saturday, February 11, 2012 10:00 am and 1:00 pm

Continue reading California History

Blackline Maps for FREE

By KristinN, on January 20th, 2012

I am a firm believer in using map as much as you possibly can. As a child growing up I remember that maps were only used in geography and even then it was minimal. Therefore as an adult I really had a hard time knowing where things were when people would talk about world events.

Continue reading Blackline Maps for FREE

Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 15

By KristinN, on January 13th, 2012

We had an exceptionally fantastic week this week. You see my daughter took a huge step in school this week. Usually she can sometimes be disruptive during the readings and when I ask her to retell, of course after I read and after my son retells, her answer, most of the time, is I don't

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Free Study Guide To The U.S. Constitution

By KristinN, on January 12th, 2012

I saw the other day, Charles Vincent from the "Official Wire" online paper saw that The People's Guide to the US Constitution American Handbook Publishing has just released a free Educator’s, Homeschool and Self-Study guides to the United States Constitution which is available at www.constitutionguide.com. These accessory texts (you still have to buy the book) to

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 14

By KristinN, on January 6th, 2012

My poor little girl was very sick for the first three days of school this week. I have to admit, as bad as it may sound, that it was actually really nice to only school one child. You see, my daughter is, well, the child who always makes the teacher have to stop class to

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 13 update

By KristinN, on December 23rd, 2011

This was a lazy week for us. We did not do much of the academic things, but we kept up on our history, science, Bible study and math.

We enjoyed the History Activity on day 1 with the water, but Mom forgot the camera that day. Oh Well. Now both my children understand water flow

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Contests

Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 12

By KristinN, on December 17th, 2011

This is a hard time of year for me to stay focused on school. With all the performances either that I am in or I am directing and parties and shopping and cleaning and preparing. Uugghh, it can over-take my mind and life. I think that is why I am very thankful that I am using

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 11 update

By KristinN, on December 9th, 2011

It was interesting on Day one of Unit 11 how it talked about finding out where we came from. My son went right to the map and touch Poland, Austria, Czech and Germany. We really did not get a chance to call anyone, but we talked to Grandma for a few minutes about her parents

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 10 update

By KristinN, on December 3rd, 2011

What a great week. Well, I have to be honest, it was HARD at first. You see we had two weeks of vacation. One week away from home and then a week at home. So Monday was not easy to get back into the swing of things, but once we got the week going, by

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Let’s Play

By KristinN, on November 29th, 2011

I am sure that most of my readers read the article put out by CurrClick about Play. I thought it was such a great article, that I wanted to re-post it for those who may have not received their email. I have seen and heard that sometimes as homeschooler we can get caught up

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Does Nagging Work?

By KristinN, on November 25th, 2011

I was many years into parenting before I realized that the most powerful tool in my toolbox, masterful nagging, did not work.

I would remind, leave notes, cajole, tease, nag and harangue. Guess what? It didn't matter a bit.

In fact, they acquired an uncanny ability to tune me out. The more animated

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Teaching Writing in a Text-Message World

By KristinN, on November 20th, 2011

Writing is not going away.

In fact, writing is on the uptick!

A case can be made that writing is becoming our culture's dominant form of communication. Email, text messages, tweets, and blog entries are all done in writing. Even on our electronic phones we do more texting than talking.

Continue reading Teaching Writing in a Text-Message World

Eisenhower Park

By KristinN, on November 18th, 2011

One of my favorite things to do is to go on hikes, have the kids wade in streams and look for all sorts of different type of animals, draw in their nature journal and just have some good old fashion fun without all the play equipment. However, here in Orange County, California, most of the

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Encouraging Kids Along the Path to Learning

By KristinN, on November 15th, 2011

The words path to learning offer us a great word picture. Word pictures (metaphors) can help us visualize and grab hold of a big concept and a deep meaning.

The word "education" is not a word picture. While the word "education" has plenty of meaning, it's hard to picture. And the word itself may

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger, Week 9 Update

By KristinN, on November 13th, 2011

So I know most of you who may have gotten this post a few days ago are saying where is the actual blog post? Well, I am on vacation and so far until this very moment I have not had a chance to sit down and write. So I thought I will just post the

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger, Week 8 Update

By KristinN, on November 5th, 2011

So am I a bad Mom? This week was just off. Every night starting Sunday night we went to bed no earlier then 10:30pm. Ok, now my kids go to be by 8:30 maybe 9:00 if I read or we are running late at night. So going to bed 2 hours after bedtime was not

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger, Week 7 Update

By KristinN, on October 28th, 2011

OMGosh, we forgot to play Jeopardy this week. Our week started out pretty slow. This week with HOD I felt was a little slower and not quite as much to do as normal, but let me make darn sure you realize that this is NOT a complaint. It was actually nice, since towards the end

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger, Week 6 Update

By KristinN, on October 21st, 2011

We have a very unusual schedule. We typically do school for 5 weeks and then take a week off of course during the holiday season it gets a bit tricky. Well, for those of you who follow my blog closely, you probably noticed that I did not have a week 6 update last week. Yup,

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Biblical

HSLDA sponsoring One Nation Under God event

By KristinN, on October 19th, 2011

Our nation was founded on Biblical principles, but we have lost sight of this in today�s culture. That is why we are calling all Christians to join together on November 12, 2011 to host the One Nation Under God Event in homes and churches across America.

Continue reading HSLDA sponsoring One Nation Under God event

How to Keep a Strong Voice for Homeschooling in Sacramento

By KristinN, on October 14th, 2011

Most of you are probably saying where is NutBugs Heart of Dakota Weekly Update this week. Well, Our schedule is that we school for 5 weeks on and then we take a week off. This allows us MANY breaks through out the year, especially since we school (for the most part) year round. So instead

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Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 5 update

By KristinN, on October 8th, 2011

Ok, I realized I need to purchase a thesaurus for the phrase" We had a great week" I keep saying that each week and I am sure my readers are getting tired of that same line. Anyway, I have realized that the Early American History that I learned as a child was very watered down as

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California Homeschoolers

By KristinN, on October 6th, 2011

I am not sure if all of you have seen this from HSLDA or not, so I thought I would re-post it here. This is from the President HSLDA, Michael Smith.

____________________________

Great News In California!

AB 717 is a huge step toward restoring constitutional principles.

From: Family Protection Ministries and

Continue reading California Homeschoolers

Affidavit Time

By KristinN, on October 4th, 2011

It's time once again to file the Private School Affidavit (PSA) online between October 1-15 for us California Homeschoolers. The private school affidavit is now available online for filing at the CHEA web site.

I want to mention here that there are two new questions (41 & 42) on the form which ask questions in regards

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In the News

Cheap Theater Tickets

By KristinN, on October 2nd, 2011

Ok, so how many of you like to go see a musical or a play or some sort of concert, raise your hand. Yea, me too. But how many of you do not go at all or as often as you like because of the price? My hand is up too!

I was told about

Continue reading Cheap Theater Tickets

Continue reading Educating Children with Dyslexia

Educating Children with Dyslexia

By KristinN, on October 1st, 2011

I know a lot of my readers have struggling children with Dyslexia. I have a friend who just found out why she has been struggling with her child in homeschooling him. She is currently struggling in this area too with her son. As most of you know I am fond of most of Rod

Art

Heart of Dakota Week 4 update

By KristinN, on September 29th, 2011

Ok, so this week was not as exciting and good as last week, BUT, it had nothing to do with our curriculum. We were just having an off week. Everyday seemed to start later then we wanted. I was having a hard time sleeping at night all week, I could not pull my behind out

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Seashore Videos For Bigger Hearts

By KristinN, on September 26th, 2011

I had several people write to me saying they live in an area where they are not even close to a beach and they are also are using the Heart of Dakota Bigger Hearts. So I had put some great links to some videos in one of the comments section, but I figured there were

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Heart of Dakota Week 3 Update

By KristinN, on September 23rd, 2011

Well, this week was pretty good. Our hick up was Math for my son. You see my son hates math. Probably somehow my fault in the earlier years, but none the less, he hates it and therefore is about 6 months behind his "grade" or "age".

(Just FYI, I figured out how to do a

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Homeschool Toolbar

By KristinN, on September 19th, 2011

Have some of you ever wondered what other homeschool blogs are out there that are about homeschooling? Have you done a search on Google or whatever other search engine you use and have come up with blogs that are just not what you are looking for? I found a great add on for your internet bar.

Continue reading Homeschool Toolbar

Heart Of Dakota Week 2 Update

By KristinN, on September 16th, 2011

As suspected, we had another wonderful week. Currently we are learning about things on the sea shores and I finally thought to myself on Monday after school. "Self,' I said, "You live in Sunny Southern California, why the heck are you sitting in the house to learn about the sea shore. Take the book, a

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Trying a New Curriculum: Heart of Dakota Week 1

By KristinN, on September 9th, 2011

This year I am trying a whole new curriculum for History, Geography, Timeline, Notebooking, Poetry, Bible and Science etc. Heart of Dakota. A friend showed me this curriculum at the beginning of last year and after a ton of research and the fact I LOVE the Charlotte Mason approach, I fell in love

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Book/E-Book

Homeschooling Library

By KristinN, on September 3rd, 2011

BOOKS ARE EXPENSIVE! I'd love to add a ton of educational literature to my homeschool library, but purchasing them can be extremely expensive. Well I found a place to go to build my library without spending hundreds of dollars. Homeschool Library. Two Moms got together and decided to provide homeschoolers and non homeschoolers alike with

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Am I Sheltering My Child Too Much?

By KristinN, on August 28th, 2011

Did you all see the article by Gena Suarez that Old School House sent out a few weeks ago. I loved it and thought I would post it here for those who did not get it.

Do you "shelter" your children? We're finding that's a bad word in some circles. Something is creeping

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English

All About Spelling

By KristinN, on August 22nd, 2011

I did it! I found the best spelling program ever! The program name is All About Spelling. The program is so versatile. It can start at preschool aged children (my daughter) all the way to High School level (Level 6) because they are not specified to grade levels but they are arranged by concepts

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Art

Art Class

By KristinN, on August 20th, 2011

From October 2010 to June 2011 We were involved in an Art class with our homeschooling group. We had so much fun with this class. How this got started was one of the ladies had purchased the Atlier Art DVD's and she figured it would be fun to have her daughter have a few friends

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History/Geography

Timeline in a Box

By KristinN, on August 18th, 2011

You know timelines can be a very useful thing in homeschooling, but there are some of us homeschoolers that just have no idea how to go about making one. Here is a great idea from Debra Anderson . I think I might give this one a try myself.

Timeline in a box:

When we were

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Response to Alarming Recommendations by Miami-Dade County Grand Jury

By KristinN, on August 10th, 2011

I just received an email from HSLDA in regards to this. I know that this does not affect me now, but in the future this could affect thosse of us in California too. And to my friends and readers who live in Florida, I am sure you are well aware of what is going on.

Continue reading Response to Alarming Recommendations by Miami-Dade County Grand Jury

A New School Year

By KristinN, on July 29th, 2011

Well it is that time of year once more. Are you all diving into purchasing your new school year curriculum and supplies? Yea, I got mine purchased about a month ago. Well at least the major part of it. Just picking up little supplies here and there. New erasers, you know the fun ones, paper

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Dream-Driven Kids…Why They Succeed

By KristinN, on July 5th, 2011

When you were young, did you tell your parents (or anyone) your dreams?

Maybe you yearned to be the fastest runner in the world? Or write books? Be a rock star? An artist? Olympic skater? A mom?

We tend to protect our dreams, so we don't always say them out loud. We don't

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The Importance of Good Pencil Posture

By KristinN, on June 30th, 2011

Learning and reading involve many skills. As children move beyond the pre-school years, parents wonder if there are clues to look for regarding whether a child may have a learning issue. Did you know that how a child holds a pencil can actually be a clue that a child may have a vision-related learning

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HSLDA Members and Friends:

By KristinN, on June 25th, 2011

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

You know that HSLDA’s free e-lert service brings the latest news to your inbox.

But when you want in-depth analysis of issues that affect your family’s freedom to homeschool, HSLDA’s bimonthly magazine, The Home School Court Report, is the place to turn.

Here, you’ll find:

Feature stories on key homeschooling

Continue reading HSLDA Members and Friends:

Biblical

Knights of the Angel Realm

By KristinN, on June 15th, 2011

I just finished reading a good easy read and a very expressive book titled, “Knights of the Angel Realm”. This is a book written by an up and coming writer named Gretchen Rhue.

Knights of the Angel Realm, I think can be a great read for High

Continue reading Knights of the Angel Realm

K12 curriculum

By KristinN, on June 11th, 2011

I have been seeing the commercials on TV for the K-12 homeschool curriculum lately. There is this part of me that says…YEA…they are advertising to homeschool kids. What a fantastic opportunity for all of us who homeschool. TV says it OK! LOL! But there is that part of me that thinks, well maybe this is

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Who Is Your Child?

By KristinN, on June 7th, 2011

By Virginia Vagt

Children are all so different. We're with our children a lot. So we think we know them. And we do know a lot about them.

But the pace of our lives takes time away from our ability to make observations and reflect on the patterns we see. Don't we often

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CHEA Convention is Here

By KristinN, on June 3rd, 2011

OK, so you are thinking, Kristin, what is the big deal about going to a homeschool convention? Well, let me tell you, as a homeschool Mom, we need to re-evaluate what we are doing all the time. We need to make sure that we are using the right curriculum or Method. Remember that we can

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Local Mom Review

Lux Salon

By KristinN, on May 31st, 2011

I won a $50.00 gift certificate about a year ago from FISH FM and I have never used it. Tells you I need to take more time for me now and then. Well, with my birthday coming up on May 9th and a few re-vamps of my mind about so much needed Mommy time, I decided

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Gleaning Opportunity

By KristinN, on May 27th, 2011

Ok, so if you all live in the Orange County area of Southern California, then I have an opportunity for you and your family. Tanka Farms, down here by me, is making available gleaning opportunities for you and your family. This is a great way to teach our kids about doing for others as well

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Right to Reasonably Resist Unlawful Police Entry Struck Down

By KristinN, on May 25th, 2011

For those of you who do not have HSLDA, I had to re-post this article from HSLDA. This is the big "WHY" if you have not spent the $100 a year for this wonderful service this is the why you need to beg or borrow the $100 to get it. By the way, they are

Continue reading Right to Reasonably Resist Unlawful Police Entry Struck Down

’19 Free Gifts’

By KristinN, on May 22nd, 2011

Have you heard about the '19 Free Gifts' Promotion from our friends at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine?

Subscribe to TOS (or renew your two-year subscription) and in addition to a great magazine, you'll receive 19 free gifts, including…

> a Vocabulary Madness Puzzle Booklet from Shurley English > Building

Continue reading ’19 Free Gifts’

Crafts

Free Easter LapBook

By KristinN, on April 16th, 2011

I know some of you have no idea what a lapbook is and others of you just absolutely love the thought of lapbooks. So lets start with what is a Lapbook fr those of you who have no idea what I am talking about.

A lapbook, simply put, is an interesting way of notebooking with

Continue reading Free Easter LapBook

HSLDA Information Regarding the Election

By KristinN, on March 27th, 2011

Co-hosted by CHEA of California and HSLDA In cooperation with the Nevada Homeschool Network and Oregon Christian Home Education Association Network

Santa Clara, California April 7–9, 2011 Thursday through Saturday

Presidential forum and straw poll at the Pacific Homeschool SuperConference!

Dear Friends:

Would you like to impact the

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Project Play

By KristinN, on March 16th, 2011

Did you know?

Since 1980, the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for children ages 2 – 5 and more than tripled for children ages 6 – 11. Between 1981 and 1997, free playtime among 6 to 8 year olds dropped 25%

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Book/E-Book

Free Online Class

By KristinN, on March 13th, 2011

You all know CurrClick is one of my favorite e-book/e-curriculum sites I go to. They are always giving something away for free and they have a wonderful selection of curriculum you can choose from. All you have to do is download it and you have it right away to either print or read off the

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The Race

By KristinN, on March 11th, 2011

I didn’t have to go. He had already caught a ride with friends early in the morning while we slept. But I didn’t want my first-born child to think his mother never came to anything because she had so many little ones to tow along with her. So I loaded the car with his five

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6-Year-Old Hauled to Psych Ward Despite Parent’s Wishes

By KristinN, on February 22nd, 2011

Stock Photo According to this article at Today.com

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Outsourcing Life

By KristinN, on January 25th, 2011

When a builder builds a house, he subcontracts much of the work. The carpenter has a job; the plumber puts in the pipes. Together, they collaborate to create something useful and hopefully well-constructed.

Parents sometimes subcontract some of their jobs. We have the schools teach our children and the churches instill them with values.

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Simple New Year, Simple Fresh Start

By KristinN, on January 23rd, 2011

New Year and change go together. We make New Year resolutions to promise ourselves change. We want to insure that this year will be different, fresh, and more workable.

Homeschool families feel the same way. We want to insure that daily life will be different, fresh and more workable in the New Year. The

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CHEA Newsletter & Free Devotional

By KristinN, on January 21st, 2011

For those of you who live in Southern California like myself, you are probably very aware of CHEA and may even be a member. I get regular newsletter from them and I enjoy the articles. Sometimes that will even spur me to start a topic on my blog. However, yesterday at my homeschool park day one

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Computer

Lego Club

By KristinN, on January 15th, 2011

I am sure many of you have either gone onto CurrClick many times before or at least have heard of it. Well, they offer these free Lego Club classes where science is involved in it too. Hmm…Learning and having fun. LOVE IT! You know what is fantastic about these classes? They are Free. Oh, I am

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Following the Rules

By KristinN, on January 11th, 2011

I was going to write an article about how you have a new year upon us and how we should start the new year with preparedness in homeschooling by joining HSLDA. Then I came across this wonderful article by Homeschool Inc. and I decided to repost it here instead. I could have not written it

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Celebrate Cerebrodiversity!

By KristinN, on January 7th, 2011

Men are from _______ , Women are from _______ . That boy just can't sit _______. Are you _______ to me? Keep your _______ on the board, young lady.

Venus, Mars, still, listening, eyes. Each of these phrases represents a concept in education and brain research called cerebrodiversity. It's the recognition that each of our

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New Year – New Vision

By KristinN, on January 3rd, 2011

New Year's resolutions are fleeting things, leaving our minds with the next distraction. Rather than making resolutions, seek renewal. Renewal of yourself, physically, mentally and emotionally – and renewal of your approach and attitude.

Here are a few ideas to consider as we approach 2011:

1. Worry less. How many things we worry

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Getting a Break?

By KristinN, on December 24th, 2010

Do you dread the holidays? Just between you and me, I often do. But holidays and vacations matter. They matter to our minds. Why is that?

On the one hand, every mom on earth knows that holidays do not mean fewer tasks – just different ones. And holidays don't promise more sleep –

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Smart Kids Who Hate to Write

By KristinN, on December 2nd, 2010

My son absolutely HATES to write. I am an eclectic Charlotte Masoner, but all the writing that she has a child do just does not sit well with my son. You see he can re-tell a story almost word for word and he can make up a great 4+ sentence story too. BUT ask him

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Give While You Shop: Clicks for Homeschooling

By KristinN, on November 26th, 2010

Here’s a great way to help homeschoolers any time you shop online: purchase materials from a company that gives to the Home School Foundation. All you have to do is go to Clicks for Homeschooling and click on the link to the store of your choice. Then you shop just like normal, and the store

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Biblical

Advent Calendar

By KristinN, on November 22nd, 2010

You know I have each year for advent missed the first couple days and never really started our advent till the first of December. As well as I never really do much more then read Bible verses. Which is fine, but my son is 8 and my daughter is 5 and it is time for the

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HSLDA: A Time for Thanksgiving

By KristinN, on November 16th, 2010

HSLDA posting:

A Time for Thanksgiving

Vol. 101, Prg. 1-5 November 15-19, 2010

Whether your kids are 5 or 15, you can have fun learning more about the history of Thanksgiving with them. On this week’s Home School Heartbeat, Mike Smith shares ways to make the Pilgrim story come alive for

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Colleges Now Required to Determine “Validity” of High School Diplomas

By KristinN, on November 2nd, 2010

Colleges Now Required to Determine “Validity” of High School Diplomas FAFSA Form: Which Box to Check?

In the past, some parents were advised to choose “high school diploma” on the FAFSA form. However, due to the regulation change, making this selection could be problematic for homeschoolers whose schools do not appear on the

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