Discovery Education Free Educational Videos

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/homeworkhelp/homework_help_home.html

I was unaware of this site until today, stumbled across it through the KET Encyclomedia info page here

http://www.ket.org/education/encyclomedia.htm

If you scroll down, there is contact information for private and homeschools. I sent my email today and will update the info I get back asap. Love those KET/PBS resources.
Enjoy!

Important Homeschool Information

from a yahoo webgroup posting

"Efforts are under way in Great Britain to change British homeschool law. The changes will require registration of homeschool families, force them to file annual reports, grant government officials the right to enter their homes, interview their children alone, and grant curriculum authority to the government.

"This Clampdown on Home Education Doesn't Help Children"
http://u.tv/News/This-clampdown-on-home-education-doesnt-help-children/3e975058-e3ca-4746-8746-adaedeacb968

The proposed changes are being justified by Articles 12 and 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Great Britain in 1991.

The White House is reviving efforts to have the US sign on to this initiative. In a recent visit to a New York School, UN Ambassador Susan Rice called the effort long overdue.

"Obama Administration Seeks to Join UN Rights of the Child Convention"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/23/obama-administration-seek_n_219511.html

I believe that if our nation ratifies the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it will be used to suppress homeschool freedom in the US, as it is now being used in the UK.

I plan to call the White House, my senators, and Ambassador Rice and let them know -

* As a citizen of the United States I have the freedom to choose the best way to educate my children.

* I want my freedom to homeschool to be protected, not restricted.

* The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child threatens homeschool freedom.

* It is currently being used to restrict homeschooling in the UK.

* I want Ambassador Rice to represent US interests in the United Nations. She should be working to protect our freedoms, not support efforts to weaken them.

* Homeschool students are admitted to and graduate from college at higher rates than their non-homeschooled counterparts. They hold higher rates of campus leadership positions They graduate in shorter time periods and have higher GPAs.

* Our nation should be seeking ways to encourage more families to homeschool, not create more barriers to entry.

There are powerful groups in our nation who are very unfriendly to homeschooling. I believe any policy that allows them to restrict homeschool freedom will eventually be used against us.

Please help maintain our homeschool freedoms. Urge the White House, your senators, and Ambassador Rice to oppose ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

* Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111. Fax 202-456-2461.

* Contact your senators - contact information
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

* Call Ambassador Rice at 212-415-4000. Press 6 to leave your message. You can also call the Public Diplomacy office at 212-415-4050.

* Please do not write letters. Their effectiveness is very limited because of the slow screening process instituted after the anthrax scare several years ago.

I believe the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.is a very dangerous initiative. Please urge the White House, your senators, and Ambassador Rice to oppose its ratification.

It will be a sad, sad day if families are prevented from homeschooling years from now because we failed to act today.

Please forward this to others who support homeschool freedom in our nation."

Another post regarding the homeschooling hurdles that we are ALL facing. I urge any homeschooling parents, supporters of homeschool, people that know homeschoolers; educate yourselves on what the heck our government is doing in regards to our rights and make your voices heard.
God Bless

Teaching Resources

fantastic resource filled site
http://teachers.net/

could happily browse this one for days :)
http://www.sitesforteachers.com/index.html

free timesavers, forms, links
http://www.timesaversforteachers.com/index_page0002.htm

resources specifically for homeschoolers; free catalog
http://rainbowresource.com/index.php

find the subject you need and it lists pages
http://www.42explore.com/index.htm

Off Topic WWJD

http://handmaidensjoy.com/

Although this is my homeschool blog, I am goind to take the liberty of sharing this with my readers. This blog will not be limited to one viewpoint, as I find that a wider range of information helps one locate the truth.

enjoy :)

Our Homeschool Forum

Come join our forum for more great links as well as other homeschool support

Testing?

these math and language arts placement tests could be helpful
https://eprcontent.k12.com/placement/placement/placement_math_2.html

printable crct practice tests
http://www.henry.k12.ga.us/uge/2006crctprint.htm

curriculum resources anyone?
http://www.kde.state.ky.us/KDE/Instructional+Resources/Curriculum+Documents+and+Resources/

Great Links Again :)

Need some help with math? Try this site!
http://homeschoolmath.blogspot.com/

Tons of good stuff here! Excellent Homeschool Section!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Classroom supplies aimed at larger classrooms, but good stuff!
http://www.reallygoodstuff.com/default.aspx

Great resources here, unit studies and the likes!
http://homeschoolingonashoestring.com/blog/

Petition to Support Homeschoolers in England

http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/support-homeschoolers-in-england.html

Please read the page before you sign the petition so that you fully understand what the government is trying to do here. In the USA, our government is also running along the same lines; hence the parentalrights.org and childrightscampaign.org and treaties, ammendments and ratification, etc, etc. I have been posting info about this topic and similar ones for a little while now and I will continue to do so. I have legitimate concerns that our rights to homeschool in America are in jeopardy. Being Americans, we are free to make choices, speak freely, and homeschool our children for a multitude of reasons (religious, philisophical or otherwise); but if we don't pay attention, they could sweep the rug right out from under us. Inform yourself and inform others. The government in this country is FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE
Blessings to All

Free Educational Videos

http://kids.learnoutloud.com/Kids-Free-Stuff

Free podcasts, videos, ebooks, etc

all educational

(free site registration, lots of free resources for adults and kids)

Teaching with Movies and Books

http://www.youthfilmproject.org/programs.htm

"What is FILM?
FILM stands for Finding Inspiration in Literature & Movies, it is curriculua for facilitators to use with youth that uses movies to promote reading, learing and service. Each curriculum has reading components, discussion prompts, activities and service project ideas"

Free curriculum for each title listed; this one looks great! I am adding this to our curriculum this fall!

Homeschool Supplies

http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/home/hmain.asp?h=0

Found this store through one of my many yahoo groups; looks like they have some great resources on here. One in particular is the "Meet the Great Composers book w/CD". Check it out! There is Book two as well :)

http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/book/bsingle.asp?i=2695

Drawing Board Merchandise and Who We Are To You

My husband and I have recently started our own business; now why would I tell my blog readers about this? Well, first have a look at our website

http://drawingboardmerchandise.com/

Now, your first question is probably "What makes you different, why should I choose your company?" Well, my best answer to that would be: our small business is run by us. We are a homeschooling family, living in a small town in Kentucky. One of our main goals is to offer fundraising opportunities for homeschoolers that need funding for trips or groups activities.

I am a homeschooling mom; I am not looking to make millions from this new business venture. I am however, looking to help others (in whatever way I can) by means of advertising their small business, blogs, etc. and by getting them set up with fundraising if interested.

To end, let me say that some changes need to be made in this world. Many, many changes. People need to lift each other up, help one another, create strong and healthy, self sustaining communities. We need to find ways to help our local farmers, small businesses, etc. The only way to help strengthen the economy is to start on a community level.

(and just a little side note here, we put the website together ourselves, so please forgive any spelling or grammer mistakes we have made; we are only human and will correct anything as soon as we catch it)

A Long Time

Been a while since updating the blog but I am back and hope that we can help you with links, discussions, and fundraisers to help support your homeschool needs. Below is a link to our webpage...click it to learn about fundraising:

http://drawingboardmerchandise.com/

(edit: we also offer a homeschool forum here, feel free to join in)

Summer is gone already!?

Another homeschool year is upon us; I can't believe how quickly the summer went by. Going into our first full year of homeschooling is extrememly awesome. The kids love being able to sleep in, go to the park whenever they want, and helping choose some of the things they learn about. I am still following a solid curriculum so that they both stay on track, but unit studies on things they enjoy, really keeps them interested. We are also doing the Book It program this year which they are really excited about. I found it very amusing though, to see their recommmendations for first grade reading goals. It was all in minute increments; so the total reading time for a week would be around 2 hours. My son reads 2 hours a day, easy. So we have decided to set our own reading goals, Molly and Jake will both start at 30 books per month. This goal is extremely low as they get about 30 books a week from each library (we are going to two now). We are also going to find a group to join this year, keep your fingers crossed for us on finding a good one :) I have so much planned for this year I couldn't fit it all in here, so I'll just end here and blog another day :) have a good one :)

Great Links

These are some websites that have some great information and resources, and the links should all work.

http://homeschoolmath.blogspot.com/ a fellow blogger who knows math

http://donnayoung.org/ love this site, tons of resources, many different subjects

http://www.ourlosbanos.com/homeschool/index.html great homeschool resources

http://www.math-drills.com/ timed math drills are like a game, who knew ?!

http://42explore.com/index.htm just use the top part to start exploring, great for unit studies

http://oldfashionededucation.com/ lots of good stuff here