Homeschooling From The Trenches

We Have Moved!!

2008-08-19T20:20:00.004-06:00

We have officially moved to our new domain. I hope you will visit us and share in the homeschooling journey!

You can find us at Homeschooling From The Trenches: This week we have been learning and focusing on lapbooking. Don't miss out!

We're Moving!!

2008-08-18T23:12:00.003-06:00

Homeschooling From the Trenches is moving to its own domain. The new site will be full of fresh content, ideas and even some great contests! Watch here for the link to the new site soon. I've got a great giveaway that needs to be completed in the next 2 weeks, so we will be up and running soon.

Thanks for your understanding and patience.

Rosetta Stone

2008-03-26T12:35:00.004-06:00

This is just a heads up to all of my homeschooling friends who may be looking for a foreign language program for their homeschools. Rosetta Stone is widely acclaimed and it would be a great addition to your school. The new program has everything you need. It is SO nice when companies listen to the feedback they receive and then do something about it!

Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.
This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.

To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/
and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!

Let’s Have a Class Party

2008-02-18T12:24:00.001-07:00

One of the things my son misses the most about not attending public schools, is missing the class parties. He loves schooling at home and wants to continue to do so, but there is a longing for the parties that once were. Since I picked up on this, I decided to surprise him this past Valentine’s Day and have a class party.

It was fun to sneak around behind his back and make the preparations. I baked cupcakes for him to decorate. I purchased a few small party favors and made sure that I had a valentine for him from his teacher. I collected supplies for a special craft and thought of a fun game that we could play. I also gathered a few decorations together and waited for my opportune moment to surprise him with his party.

I sent him off on an errand with his dad and while they were gone, I sprung into action. I quickly decorated our school room. I got all of the activities together and into place. And then I waited.

The look on his face was priceless. He was gleeful. I got a huge hug and he had an experience to remember. It was worth the effort and I will be planning future class parties. After all, learning can be fun as well as educational.

Stop My Insanity!

2007-10-16T23:06:00.000-06:00

Today was a rough day. It was one of those days when you wonder who in their right mind would purposely choose to homeschool their child. I even wondered about admitting myself into the nearest mental health facility. I was sure I deserved the break and I was getting close to going over the edge. My darling son didn’t believe me that there was a hospital for when you went crazy. I assured him there was and even asked my spouse to take me there at one point. He respectfully declined my plea.

When you have a rough day and nothing seems to be going your way, what do you do? I really felt that everything I said went in one ear and out the other. Things that normally wouldn’t be that difficult were suddenly part of the great and awesome mysteries of the universe, never to be solved. Pounding my head into the concrete would have been possibly less painful in the long run. But hey…my son decided to make it up to me. His room got cleaned spic and span. I even heard a vacuum cleaner running at one point this afternoon, downstairs. There is always tomorrow and hopefully it will be one of those great days when you catch a small glimpse of the potential that a child holds. Those are the days that make days like today worth it.

Playing Hooky

2007-10-13T11:49:00.000-06:00

Shhh….We played hooky from school yesterday. Oh, my son still did a little bit of school-work. He finished reading a library book he picked up two days ago. He is supposed to read everyday for at least 30 minutes. He just did that in the car.

My husband needed to go out of town for some business. We decided to tag along. Hey, we were getting a free lunch and we needed the break! It was glorious and we felt free and lighthearted. We enjoyed seeing the autumn colors on the trees. We enjoyed the crisp air. We enjoyed the classroom that Mother Nature has provided and not the one in our home.

Oh, we still have a spelling and vocabulary test to do. We’ll do those sometime today and leave the rest for next week. Sometimes the best learning that you can do is to simply walk away and come back to it a little later. It is refreshing for the mind and soul. I’m glad we homeschool and can do that!