Have you ever wanted to go to a homeschool convention, but that was the ONLY weekend of the year that you could not attend. Maybe you didn’t have the funds to buy the big ticket, hotel room, babysitter, and incidentals? Have I got a deal for you.
It's back to homeschool time and registration is open for the online Schoolhouse Expo, October 4-8. It's five days of top homeschool speakers, fellowship, and fun door prizes … in your home!! That’s right, you can go in your pajamas and the kids can tear the house apart while you attend!
Save $5 per ticket! Register between August 16 and midnight August 22, and you'll pay only $19.99. Plus you'll receive over $200 in free E-Books.
You'll be inspired by speakers including: Zan Tyler, Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright,Carol Barnier, Diana Waring, Todd Wilson, Davis Carman, Kim Kautzer, Lee Binz, and many more!
A special teen track is planned--the entire family will definitely want to listen to these special sessions. They’ve also planned a special focus on a topic that touches every homeschool--writing. Plus, an array of other topics that will inform and inspire you throughout your homeschooling years. Take a look at the Speaker webpage and you’ll see that these topics are great for public school families too!
Is it hard to concentrate on the speakers while the kids are destroying the world around you? Fear not -- MP3 copies of each session come with your LIVE event ticket.
Two special pre-conference shows on August 24 and September 21 with Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright, and Kim Kautzer!
The theme this fall is "Celebrate Homeschooling!" We're going to celebrate the unique blessings of homeschooling, the beginning of another school year, our families, and the freedom to tailor our children's education to best meet their needs.
If you cannot make the Live event, then the October Expo To Go is just your ticket! You'll reserve MP3s from all of the workshops. This weekend only, pay just $14.95!
Remember, you have to register by midnight August 22 to get the special pricing!
Click here to get more information and register today.
I'm linking to Works for Me Wednesday.
Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I will receive a copy of the Expo To Go in exchange for sharing this information with you.
The grass is green. It’s good to be
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The Queen has a very special opportunity and would like to invite you to share in the experience. The Old Schoolhouse (TOS) magazine is selecting reviewer bloggers for the TOS Homeschool Crew. As part of the selection process, I was given 2 download products to review and blog about. I begin with my first blog today and hope you will give me your feedback. That way, I can continue to improve my reviews and get you the information you need to make informed decisions about products to use in your educational journey.
As a relatively new homeschooler, the Queen opted for a boxed curriculum and has not used unit studies as a stand-alone week of learning. The Queen couldn’t see how it would fit into our regular schedule and really never looked into getting one. One particular Monday, the Queen and the prince were having a hard time getting into the groove of the homeschool day. Exasperated, the Queen sent the prince to his bed until he was “ready” for school. In a moment of clarity, the Queen decided to ditch the plan of the day and go to Australia. It is roughly half-way around the world, but we went and stayed for a week. We were pleasantly surprised at what we learned.
Title: Expedition Australia
Author/Publisher: Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC
Target Audience: K-4th grade
Format: Download from The Old Schoolhouse Store (phone 1-888-718-HOME)
Price: $7.95, with a money-back guarantee
In this 5-day unit, we studied:
Where on Earth is Australia?
Some of the Special Places in Australia
A Bit of Australian History
Cool Things to Know About Australia
Fun and Games in Australia
Each daily lesson included:
Video links related to the daily lessons
Geography – definitions, mapping, continents, oceans
Vocabulary – Australian words and their American equivalents, other words related to the lesson
Science – animals, habitats, food, astrology (on day 4)
Math –Animal size, counting, time, temperature, distance, currency
Art – drawing and coloring
Poetry – each daily section starts with a poem about Australia and there is one poem to complete on Day 3
(Day 5) Music – national anthems
As part of the unit materials, there was a reading list and links to other resources. We were actually able to find some of the suggested books at our library (shocker!) and found them delightful. There were also fun family ideas to further the learning experience. At the end of the unit, the student had a notebook and a lapbook about Australia, and received a completion certificate.
The Queen’s Overall Assessment:
We really enjoyed this unit study. It was a great break from our “everyday” and gave us a chance to explore a different country and a different learning method. Our current boxed curriculum is more of a desk-work type program. To move our “classroom” to the computer was quite an experience. For a 6-year-old little boy, that provided for a lot of opportunity to rattle the Queen’s nerves. The Queen learned not to let the prince have the swivel chair and to disable all drawers. (Top this off with a slower-than-normal computer, and the Queen was shaken.) The video links that started each unit were enticing enough to get the prince to begin his schoolwork. This was his favorite part!
The unit is directed towards grade levels K-4. This could be altered depending on the student. There seemed to be a lot of writing for a first grader and some of the writing was in small spaces. At times, the Queen did the writing. For example, we used the vocabulary lessons as a time for the prince to practice alphabetizing by looking up the word in the dictionary. The Queen would read the definition and write it in the appropriate place. As we read about the animals, we would stick to the facts asked in the notebook pages unless they spurred more interest. More research on the animals and places in Australia could be easily added for an older student.
This unit study is well worth the price of $7.95. The Queen is already looking forward to the Expedition Ireland due out this month. She is planning to take a virtual trip to Ireland when the royal grandparents make the real journey.
G’day Mates.
Disclaimer: This was a review of my experience with the product described. I tried to give a complete and honest assessment without divulging too much information of a copyrighted product. In order to review the product I received a free download version with no additional compensation. This in no way influenced my review of the product. The opinions expressed are my own and were not affected or reviewed by anyone prior to publishing.
I'm linking up to Works for Me Wednesday. To see things that work for others, check out the list at We Are That Family.