The Scottish home ed support service called 'Schoolhouse' is having a conference in September. On Friday the 12th of September there is a one day conference with great speakers like John Taylor Gatto, and it appears there is a weekend program as well.

   You can link over to the information on the Schoolhouse website here to get all the booking information. The conference is called 'Learning without limits' and the program looks really good! So if you live 'north of the border' than be sure to check it out!

   Oh. And just to let you all know that it coincides with 'International Freedom in Education Day 2008' which is held on the same day this year.

   TOS has produced a new homeschool planner and it is available in digital format so it means no shipping for us. It is also somewhat customisable so you can adjust some of the wording I think to make it a bit more UK friendly! Here are the details, and there is a free sample of pages so you can check some of them out a bit closer!

We are so excited to announce that our much-anticipated Schoolhouse Planner is READY!

The Schoolhouse Planner has so many wonderful features. You told us what you wanted in a planner, and we have delivered!

Some of the main features include:

• Calendars in various forms - yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily

• Planners for your homeschool - in various styles to meet your individual needs

• Household planning forms

• 12 "homeschool must-know" items, one for each month of the year

• 12 essays from some of our favorite authors in the homeschool community - you absolutely won't want to miss these!

• 24 easy main-dish recipes from some top homeschoolers around the nation

• and so much more!

 

PLUS, the Schoolhouse Planner is interactive! You can type right into the pdf! If you have Adobe Acrobat, you'll be able to save the changes you make. (Note: If you only have Adobe Reader, you can type in your planner information, print it, but will not be able to save these changes.)

Don't forget, monthly planner add-ons are available for purchase every month. We already have some great holiday related information ready for July's planner supplement!

We're there with you each month to make your home and school planning as easy and fun as possible throughout the year!

Have a friend who likes an organized home and school? Let them know about the Schoolhouse Planner.

________________

We want to say a very special "thank you" to those of you who pre-purchased the planner. 

 

If you pre-ordered the TOS Planner, you will receive download instructions within the next 48 hours. Watch your inbox! If you haven't ordered your Shoolhouse Planner, now is the time to order your copy. The new school year is quickly approaching!

ORDER HERE!

   There is a brand new website just for home educating families in the UK!! This is a place to network, share ideas, find out the latest news, and meet up with other home edders here on UK soil. It is called Home Education UK.

   We love our Home School Blogger, but I know that I have many readers here who love to come and read but are daunted by the idea of keeping up a blog themselves. This is a smaller commitment than a blog and a great thing to support something British run and operated.

   So for all of you who are looking for more support and encouragement, pop on over and check it out. Say hi to Shoshana who set it up and runs it and tell her how beautiful the new site looks! There is a link in the sidebar for it too, so be sure to check it out.

   This sale is good for two weeks though so plenty of time to grab a bargain! Here is the scoop.

You are invited to 2 weeks of summer fun and savings at CurrClick's Back to the Beach Sale! From June 16th through June 30th, you'll find a huge selection of discounted summertime titles to choose from. Discounts up to 75% OFF! From beaches to The Beatles to biomes, from novel studies to dream diaries, you'll get unbeatable discounts on books and audio, sure to entertain and educate all through the summer - whether you're at the beach or in your own back yard!

 As always could I ask you to consider using my affiliate links to go and make your purchases at Currclick please? It costs no more for you, and I will get a percentage of your sales to use in purchasing my own families curriculum. You can click on either the banner at the top of the page or the square box in the right sidebar. Thank you kindly!!

  This is an article about a student in Milton Keynes being named 'Student of the year' at his college. The really exciting thing is that this young man was home educated throughout his secondary school years!!!!!  He had experienced learning difficulties and bullying prior to being home educated. After being home educated he is now top of not only his class, but the whole college!!! Whoo hoo!

   I just thought this might be a real encouragement to some of the parents out there, especially those who are home educating secondary school age. And for those who are wondering whether to continue in secondary or not, let this be an encouragement to you too! You can do it!

   A good friend of mine in the states (Texas to be presise!) has developed a great homeschool planner that is available as as ebook. So NO SHIPPING!!!!! Always a good thing living across an ocean.

   She has it for sale at a bargain price at the moment and is running a contest to win one. (hence the fact I'm posting this here and telling you all about it since I want to win one! ) Here are the details complete with pictures!

   This article was in the Times last week. It actually has some very good examples of home education and how it is done well.

   The funniest thing is that after giving a glowing report of how well home educator's are doing it then has a laughable 'Do's and don'ts' section at the bottom. In this part they say that we should all follow the national curriculum (and of course we all know just how well that works for giving children a balanced education!) and to not even consider it after 11+ years of age! (because of course that is when they are starting to think independantly and we can't have young people in this country who can actually think for themselves now can we?)

   I think it is a funny old article over all. It couldn't find 'bad' information about home education and yet it had to come to a negative conclusion all the same!

   Home education works! Full stop. It works. And if you have done it or are considering it and you have an 11+ child, don't be put off because there are plenty of examples of home ed kids getting into top universities without attending 'school'. In the states they are now seeking out home educated pupils for their places in university because they are better educated, know how to work independantly, are serious students and arent' there to party all the time!

   While it is great to see home ed getting news time in major publications, it would be nice to see someone who doesn't feel they have to find a way to put it down all the time! Sigh!

   How cool is that? An entire site just to give away free homeschool things every day!!!!  Of course you all know by now that my favourite word is *FREE*, so this is simply wonderful news!

   This site offers one free resource every day. It is only on offer for one day and then it is gone. So basically you need to pop over and check it every day to see if there is something you could use, because tomorrow it will be gone!

   You don't need to join anything, sign up to anything. I just got a free booklet and didn't give my name to anyone, so I know it works. Be sure to check it out!

   I know that the news of Khyra Ishaq's tragic death hit the headlines several days ago, but I was waiting to see something concrete regarding home education linked with it before mentioning it on here.

   This article from the Times online has both slammed the Social Services system and had a go at home education and the need for tighter monitoring of those who choose to.

   I've made no secret of the fact that I would welcome a mandatory registration of all home educating families in this country. However, legislation on the back of a tragedy is usually bad legislation! Things being done in a panic are usually not done well.

   We need to make our voice heard and also watch that home education doesn't get the blame for this precious child's death. She was only pulled out of school for ten weeks, so the problem was going on loooong before she was home educated. Let's make sure that the authorities don't loose perspective in this situation and make home educating the 'fall guy' as it were.

   If you have a chance, respond to the article or write to your MP and let them know your views.

   I know this is an article about the school system, but I thought it was something you could fall back on when you need to feel your not doing too bad of a job. Also helpful to have some statistics for those helpful friends and family who like to tell you that the local school could do a better job than you can!

   According to this article from the BBC this week "Ofsted chief Christine Gilbert says it is "unacceptable that 20% of pupils go from primary to secondary not fully functional in literacy and numeracy".

   20%??????? That is one in five kids who are not up to a 'functional' standard by age 11!!!! So if your kids are 'functional' in literacy and numeracy than be assured you are doing a better job than the majority of schools in this country are!

   I realise this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you are homeschooling in the Classical persuasion this is too cool!!!

   In the Classical method, amongst other things, you teach Latin, Greek or both. Well........here is a website that has 146 language books to download for free in Latin and Greek! I can see everything from primers, to textbooks, to classical liturature in the original languages. There are books there for the beginner or the scholar.

   The website is called Textkit : Greek and Latin Learning Tools and is simply packed with great free stuff if you are teaching these languages! So go and check it out. You may even want to get the odd beginner Latin course book just to help with understanding English since so many of our root words go back to the Latin. So in that way it could be of use to lots of us!

   This is a really cool list from an email I get regularly from Homeschool.com. If you have never visited their site you are missing out! And their newsletters often come up with real gems like this one!

   This is a list. (exciting huh?) Well, it isnt' just an ordinary list! No! This is a list of all the weeks of the summer holidays (or summer vacation as it is known on the other side of the pond). They have school closed for three whole months as opposed to our measly six weeks!

   So for each week of those three months (June, July and August) they have set a theme for the week and then listed a ton of links to activities and information on that theme! So have fun!

Welcome to Homeschool.com's bi-weekly E-zine, developed specifically to help you with your homeschooling. Please feel free to forward this issue to friends, family and associates!

Homeschool.com's Great Projects for Summer 2008 Selected By: Homeschool.com Sponsored by: Ablaze Academy Online Learning Academy Now’s a good time to start planning for the summer vacation and the inevitable cries of “I’m bored” from children that really just need a few ideas to get them going.  With just a little focus and structure students can be productive and yet still have a lot of fun! Make sure you look through the list and the sites, either before or with your children, to find the projects and resources that will work best for you. The list could also be incorporated into a planned summer school program as well. Summer is a great time for students to try something new or to learn a new skill since they have more free time than during the school year.  And, the list is not just for children -- the whole family can work together on a project as well! By adding these projects to your summer activities everyone can have a boredom-free summer! May 8, 2008   Sign Me Up! for this e-zine Send to a Friend   Ablaze Academy is accredited with the Georgia Accrediting Commission (G.A.C.), which is the oldest accrediting commission in the nation for grades K-12.  Ablaze Academy is also accredited with SACS & CITA which are recognized in over 100 Foreign Countries.  To learn more about Ablaze Academy visit them on the Web at http://www.ablazeacademy.com or contact them via email: info@ablazeacademy.com or toll-free via phone: 1-877-899-9985. June 2 – 8, 2008 - Document Your Summer How to Digital Scrapbook http://www.digitalscrapbooking.com/learn_how BetterPhoto for Kids and Teens http://www.betterphoto.com/photography-for-kids.asp Keeping a Summer Journal http://kids-indoor-activities.suite101.com/article.cfm/keep_a_summer_journal Publishing for Kids http://www.asuen.com/faq.publish.kids.html Digital Movie Making for Kids http://www.adobe.com/education/digkids/intro_video/making_of_movie.html How to Use a Video Camera http://www.mediacollege.com/video/camera/tutorial/ Descriptive Writing http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/diary/index.htm June 9 – 15, 2008 - Become a Sports Enthusiast Sports Illustrated for Kids http://www.sikids.com/ Olympic 2008 Sports http://en.beijing2008.cn/cptvenues/sports/ Kids Sports Links http://northvalley.net/kids/sports.shtml How to Play Soccer http://www.ehow.com/PrintArticle.html?id=2044097 Major League Baseball Kids’ Dugout http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/kids/index.jsp U.S. Kids Golf http://www.uskidsgolf.com/index.cfm Propelled by Pedal http://library.thinkquest.org/J002670/ June 16 – 22, 2008 - Embrace Other Cultures Culture Quest http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/cquest/ Cultures for Kids http://www.exploreandmore.org/world/default.htm People and Places http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Places/ Lonely Planet Destination Guides http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/ Tour the World http://earth.google.com/tour.html Costumes Around the World http://www.kids-space.org/CTC/mycostume.html Ethnic and Folk Costumes http://www.costumepage.org/tcpinfo3.html#folk Say Hello to the World http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/hello/ Free Online Language Courses http://www.word2word.com/coursead.html Ethnic Recipes http://www.bhg.com/recipes/food-slide-shows/ethnic-food/ June 23 – 29, 2008 - Discover Animals A Library of the World’s Animals http://www.learnanimals.com/ Animals of the World http://www.kidscom.com/games/animal/animal.html Creature Features http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/ Animals A to Z Zoo http://animal.discovery.com/guides/atoz/atoz.html Endangered Animals http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/Endangered/species-exp-guide.html 4-H Virtual Farms http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/virtualfarm/main.html Live Animal cams http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/WebCams/ June 30 – July 6, 2008 - Appreciate Art Kids Art http://www.kidsart.com/topten.html SmARTKids http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/smartkids/index.html Destination Modern Art http://www.moma.org/destination/ Artist’s Tool Kit http://www.artsconnected.org/toolkit/ Free Art Lessons http://www.interactiveartschool.com/free-art-lessons.html Museums on the Web http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/it/projects/Museums/Teacher_Guide/Hotlist/ Learn About Art http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/art/ July 7 – 13, 2008 - Explore the Universe Star Child http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html The Nine Planets http://www.nineplanets.org/ Auroras – Paintings in the Sky http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/ Starry Skies http://www.starryskies.com/ Eyes on the Sky Feet on the Ground http://hea-www.harvard.edu/ECT/the_book/index.html Earth & Sky: Sky Watching Center http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/ Virtual Tour of the Sun http://www.michielb.nl/sun/kaft.htm July 14 – 20, 2008 - Support A Cause Network for Good http://www.networkforgood.org/KidsGuideToGiving/ Kids Can Make a Difference http://www.kidscanmakeadifference.org/cando.htm 20 Ways to Help http://www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw/volunteer.htm Learn and Serve America http://www.servicelearning.org/ Kiwanis Youth Program http://www.kiwanisjunior.org/en/programs/yslp/ Environmental Kids Club http://www.epa.gov/kids/index.htm July 21 – 27, 2008 - Become Tech Savvy 4Kids http://www.4kids.org/ Free Tutorials for Microsoft Office http://www.baycongroup.com/tutorials.htm LearningElectric Tutorials http://www.learningelectric.com/ KidzOnline Tech Tutorials http://www.kidzonline.org/TechTraining/ Online Practice Modules http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm Software Tutorials and Online Courses http://www.actden.com/ Lissa Explains HTML for Kids http://www.lissaexplains.com/ How the Internet Works http://www.learnthenet.com/english/section/intbas.html July 28 – August 3, 2008 - Tune Into Nature Create a Nature Notebook http://www.homeschool.com/articles/NatureNotebook/ Summer Nature Activities http://www.naturepark.com/act.htm#summer Nature Awareness http://www.outdoor-nature-child.com/nature-awareness.html Listening to Nature http://www.museumca.org/naturalsounds/ Nature Games http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activities/nature-games.page-1.html Plants and Our Environment http://library.thinkquest.org/3715/ Undersea and Oversee http://www.fi.edu/oceans/index.html Tips on Getting Started with Bird Watching http://www.birdwatching.com/tips/kids_birding.html August 4 – 10, 2008 - Become an Author Literary Elements Map http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/lit-elements/ Book Cover Creator http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/bookcover/ Comic Creator http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/comic/ Fractured Fairytales http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/fairytales/ Writing with Writers http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/ Story Writing Tips http://www.coreygreen.com/storytips.html Kids on the Net Creative Writing http://www.kidsonthenet.com/create/index.cfm 30 Days of Poetry http://www.msrogers.com/English2/poetry/30_days_of_poetry.htm August 11 – 17, 2008 – Celebrate Music Intro to Reading Music http://datadragon.com/education/reading/ Notes on Songwriting http://www.robinfrederick.com/write.html Learn About Instruments http://datadragon.com/education/instruments/ Instruments of the Orchestra http://www.sfskids.org/templates/instorchframe.asp?pageid=3 Make Music! Start a Band http://www.mustcreate.org/kid_home/kids3_1.shtml Play Music http://www.playmusic.org/ Creating Music http://www.creatingmusic.com/ Kids Music Site http://www.kidsmusicweb.com/ August 18 – 24, 2008 - Learn to Cook Introductory Cooking Lessons http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/kids-cooking-lessons-cit-intro.html Kid-friendly Cooking Demos http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/lf_kids/article/0,1904,FOOD_16382_3103395,00.html Cooking Video Demonstrations http://www.cooking.com/techniques/vidtech_toc.asp Cooking Lessons Online http://www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/how-to/ Food Safety Facts http://www.agr.state.nc.us/cyber/kidswrld/foodsafe/index.htm Children’s Recipes http://www.childrensrecipes.com/ Theme Dinner Ideas http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/theme-dinner-ideas.html World Recipes for Kids http://www.lucyeats.com/world-recipe-for-kid.html August 25 – 31, 2008 - Organize for School Time Management Guide http://www.studenttools.info/study-tips-time-management-guide.html Creating a Calendar http://www.psychpage.com/tech/calendar/get-a-calendar.html Notetaker http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=722&title TaDa List Maker http://www.tadalist.com/ Schoolhouse2 Homework Organizer http://lifehacker.com/software/top/download-of-the-day--schoolhouse-2-mac-248705.php Students Lending Tools http://www.saystudent.com/sf/tool-set.html Software for Starving Students http://softwarefor.org/ Kids Internet Search Tools http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm

Wouldn’t it be nice if every day was Mother’s Day? We can’t make every day Mother’s Day, but we can offer savings you can enjoy the whole year through!

In appreciation for all you do CurrClick.com is pleased to announce our

3rd Annual Mother’s Day Freebie Event!

Spend Sunday with your wonderful family and then visit us on Monday, May 12th for an event that will give you a reason to keep celebrating Mother’s Day for the rest of the year:
From May 12th through May 14th, download up to 20 FREE Homeschool titles from our generous publishers, worth over $100.00 in value!

http://www.currclick.com/cclick_mothersday.php

Happy Extra-Long Mother’s Day to you, from CurrClick and it’s publishers: The CurrClick Mother’s Day giveaway event is our way of honoring the tremendous love, creativity and hard work you have dedicated to your children in their homeschools and in their lives.

Access to Thousands of FREE Resources During Teacher Appreciation Week

Get Books, Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and Other Activities We all owe much of our success in life to teachers everywhere. We at Learning A–Z want to thank educators the best way we know how—by opening up access to our websites. Last year during Teacher Appreciation Week, we held an Open House that provided FREE access to ALL of our educational websites. Response was so overwhelming that we are going to do it again, and for even longer! Explore Six Websites Bursting with Materials Each day during this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5–9, plus May 12, Learning A–Z will open one of its six password-protected websites. This will allow teachers to leisurely explore all of Learning A–Z’s resources, including our newest website for differentiated instruction, Science A–Z. We invite teachers everywhere to sample the Internet-delivered books, lessons, activities, and worksheets—for FREE. Enjoy Six Days of FREE Access The websites will be open on the days indicated below, from midnight to midnight Central time. May 5  Thousands of printable books, including leveled readers and supporting materials May 6  Interactive leveled reading library and online progress management system May 7  The most complete collection of elementary writing resources anywhere May 8  Custom vocabulary lessons and activities to match thousands of topics May 9  Skill-specific materials for students needing extra reading help May 12  Science units with multi-level books, lessons, experiments, and labs For more information, please contact support@learninga-z.com or call 866.889.3729. With our thanks, The Learning A–Z Staff

Please distribute this announcement freely. Visit all the Learning A–Z family of websites:

   If you live within driving distance of Bath than this one if for you! Even better is if you are a Home Service Member - this one is *FREE* for you!!!! Cool huh?

   Here is the booking form complete with the details of the day and Wendy Wilsher's contact details if you have any questions.

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Bath Conference

We're delighted to invite you to join us at St Bartholomew's Church, Bath on Saturday 31st May 2008.

We have a cracking programme of workshops and discussions on a whole range of home schooling topics. You'll be welcomed, encouraged, inspired and stimulated.

- Ask the panel

- Sharing the journey

- What About Exams?

- Discipline isssues

- Some input from Curriculum Suppliers

- And the rest

We hope you will join us. We start at 9:30am with coffee and end at 4:00pm and refreshments are provided. Please bring your own packed lunch.  We have some space for children but on a first come first serve basis.  Please book early.

Please complete and return the form with full payment (free to Home Service Members). Confirmation will be issued in advance of the event. The Home Service reserves the right to alter the arrangements as described due to unforeseen circumstances.

- St Bartholomew's Church, King Edwards Rd, Oldfield Pk, Bath BA2 3PB

- Saturday 31st May 2008

- 9:30 Coffee for 10.00 Start.

- Day ends at 4:00

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Be Inspired, Rejuvenated, Refreshed and Re-Charged. Listen, Share, Learn & Enjoy

name

children (ages)

tel

email

address

I am a member of The Home Service and require

adult places (@ No Charge)

I am not a member of The Home Service and require

adult places @£7.50 each

I am planning to bring

children of ages:

I enclose a cheque for (No. Places x £7.50) £__________

(cheque payable to Wendy Wilsher)

Please return to:

Wendy Coates, Manor Farm, Hardington, Frome, BA11 2RE        t 01373 834426,  or

Wendy Wilsher, Crossed Swords Cottage, Town Barton, Norton St Philip, Bath, BA2 7LN

t 01373 834 838         e wendy@wawilsher.fslife.co.uk

w www.home-service.org.uk

   If you can make it to this one then please pop over to the Math U See stall and say hi, since I will be there all day!!

   It was great fun meeting Mamasmurf and Littlesmurf and Papasmurf last week at the Stockport event!! Franbles made it there too (not that seeing her wasn't fun - I've just known her for ages! ), so we had a regular bloggers reunion!! What fun! So if we have a bunch of bloggers in the area, stop by and we can all meet up.

   You gotta love that word *FREE* don't ya'? Well these are really cool activity books on different countries of the world! They are from 'The Voice of the Martyrs' website and are called 'Kids of Courage'. There are five of them and they have great information about the history of the country, coloring and puzzle pages, projects to make, stories from the history of that land and stories of children living there today!

   We are currently learning about Egypt in school and I'm printing off the Egypt book to use today with the boys! There is tons of great info in there. They are all over 50 pages long too and in full colour. These are quality books, be sure to check them out!