Two swim classes coming up just for homeschoolers:

Norris Center Swim Club:

St. Charles, IL

*Ages 4 and below classes are 30 to 45 minutes + playtime

$72.00 for 8 week sessions

*Ages 5 and over classes are 45 minutes to 1 hour + playtime

$88.00 for 8 week sessions

Class time is Thursdays from 1:15 to 2:15, they can add classes as the program grows.

Starting March 4, 2010

Elk Grove Park District:

Beginning April 6th and 8th for 8 weeks.

The cost is $46 per child.

Tues April 6 – May 25
12:40 – 1:20pm #67949
1:30 – 2:10pm #67950

Thurs April 8 – May 27
1:00-1:40pm #67951
You can register by phone (847.437.9494) or in person at the Pavilion (1000 Wellington Ave. Elk Grove, IL 60007)

Check out the following information from Hands of a Child co-owner Katie Kubesh:

Lapbooking LIVE on February 23rd!

With Katie Kubesh

Co-Owner of In the Hands of a Child

In Conjunction with Heart of the Matter Online

As a co-owner and writer/researcher for In the Hands of a Child, the Premier Provider of Ready-to-Assemble Lapbooks, I am asked a lot of questions about lapbooking. Many people have heard the term “lapbooking” but have no idea what it is or are overwhelmed by the entire concept of hands-on activities and unit studies. Since lapbooks are such a great way to include hands-on activities in your student’s curriculum, I will be answering the top questions asked about lapbooking and explaining the following concepts:

1. What is a lapbook?
2. How are lapbooks made?
3. What supplies are needed to lapbook?
4. I have all the supplies, now what?
5. How do I find information and activities to complete lapbook?
6. How does my student complete a lapbook?
7. How do you fold the file folder to make a lapbook?
8. How do I incorporate lapbooking into my existing curriculum?
9. What are the benefits of lapbooking?

Please join me,  LIVE… at the Heart of the Matter Annual Online Conference this year!

Have you ever wondered what a lapbook really is? Or maybe you have heard of it, but the mere thought of unit studies and hands-on activities makes you want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over your head. Don’t let your lack of understanding scare you away from this great way of enhancing your child’s curriculum! In fact, you can bring your questions to a bona fide lapbooking expert… LIVE, y’all! Katie Kubesh will be speaking LIVE and will host a Q&A session Tuesday, February 23rd at 10:00 CST.

Click here to purchase tickets and read the post in its entirety.

Katie Kubesh is co-owner and writer/researcher for In the Hands of a Child.  Recognizing that hands-on projects are essential to the learning experience, In the Hands of a Child has created Project Packs that go beyond the hands-on aspect.   They have taken the preparation time out of the parent/teacher job description with Complete Ready to Assemble Lapbook-style units that are available in Ebook, Printed Book, and CD formats. Please visit their website at www.handsofachild.com.

©2010 Katie Kubesh

Also, for those that miss out on the great deals at conventions, they have put together a deal available now:

Through our online poll we’ve learned that many of you do not attend a homeschool convention. That is why we’re declaring Feb 15^th-Feb 28^th as

In YOUR Childs Hands Season!

What does this mean for you?

Savings of course!

We want all of you to have access to our great products and we know that right now times are tough!

So, every day during In YOUR Childs Hands Season

we will post AT LEAST one unit up for discount.

Discounts only apply for that particular product (or products) for that particular day.

So be sure to check back each and every day!

This will be an excellent way to add some great

Lapbook Project Packs to your school shelves!

REMEMBER!!!  Check back each day at this link:

In YOUR Child’s Hands Season

Here you will see the unit(s) on special and find the daily coupon code.  You will also find a list of units that will be featured during this special so you can make your

wish list and plan accordingly!

Sale ends February 28, 2010

Cannot be combined with any other offer,
special, discount, coupon or sale.
Tax & Shipping not included in calculating discount price.
Not valid toward prior purchases.
No rainchecks.

The following information is from the Chicago Ridge Public Library, Youth Services:

Homeschoolers and their parents are invited to join the Homeschool Happenings group that meets on the second Friday of each month from September through June at 1:00 p.m. It is a great way to meet other homeschool families and attend interesting programs. Contact the library for more information on the events or to register by phone.

Their next meeting is February 12. They will be making rubber-stamped Valentine items.

March 12^th Constance VanSwol will be presenting a program on libraries, librarianship, and the Dewey Decimal System.

April 9th – topic yet to be determined

May 14^th will be the last one of the spring will include a presentation about the upcoming Summer Reading program.

All programs are at 1 p.m.  Please contact the library to register if interested.

Contact:

Constance VanSwol

Head of Youth Services

Chicago Ridge Public Library

10400 S. Oxford Avenue

Chicago Ridge IL 60415

Ph 708.423.7753

At various times in my homeschooling career, I have discussed with my kids what most kids experience on a daily basis as they leave home for six or more hours to receive their education in the more “traditional” way.

It turns out they felt cheated in some pretty small ways, but I could see their point. For example, we didn’t take sick days or snow days, we schooled through the summer, we didn’t have classroom parties, and we didn’t have recess. You know, all the important stuff.

They did not miss the bus rides, paper bag lunches, lining up to go everywhere, having to do all their schoolwork at a desk, trying to avoid the school bully, sitting through a complete math lesson after they “got” it in the first five minutes, etc. They know they have it good, but they did have a few requests.

So, we talked about expectations and state requirements, and all that good stuff. And then, we came to the conclusion that we could easily allow for a snow day here and there.

Today, we incorporated another non-homeschool activity that we borrowed from the traditional school setting — celebrating our 100th day of school this school year. We had a fairly normal morning, and then in the afternoon we broke out some sweets (for some reason marshmallows caught their eyes) and a board game and spent some time celebrating getting 5/9 of the way through our official school year.

We still school through the summer, but on a lighter schedule, allowing for extra fun while the weather is beautiful. And, we still generally do not take sick days, but will again lighten or alter the schedule when someone needs a little rest. We do take some holidays off and sometimes get together with other families to have our own holiday party to celebrate. We even work in a recess here and there. Taking time to celebrate the small things has only enhanced our homeschool experience and has definitely worked for us.

How about you?

Do you take snow days?

Do you allow yourself Teacher Institute Days (read about another homeschool mom’s thoughts on that topic)?

Do you celebrate some of those smaller holidays (Columbus Day, Ground Hog Day, etc.)?

What fun traditions have you worked into your homeschooling plans?

We’d love to hear!

Math cannot progress well if we do not have a hold of the basic math functions of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. However, the drill or repetition required to master these is rarely exciting. Until now.

Facts First offers an affordable, entertaining way for your kids to learn, master, improve, and excel at their basic facts. They want your child to have fun developing an instant recall of these facts, and based on our experience with this program over the last month, they definitely succeed at this goal.

Product: Facts First
Details: A web based math program that was created by Skills Tutor, a sister company to Saxon, and is being distributed by Saxon Homeschool.
Price: $49.95 per year, this includes a one year household license for up to four users.

What we loved . . .

• Fun, fun, fun– Although entertainment is obviously not my chief goal during math lessons, my kids definitely ALL enjoyed this program. And, since it focuses on building their mastery and speed in basic facts, I don’t mind a little fun in the process. Or, even a lot of fun.
• Limited game time – While it does reward the hardworking child with games, it limits these to 5 minutes at a time, and even the games often help reinforce their math facts.
  
• Tracking progress — You can easily log on and see how each child is doing. These easy to read charts show which facts they have mastered, and gives you an idea of how close they are to mastering other facts they have been working on.
• Adjustable expectations — I clearly expect my seventh grade to know his facts more quickly than my kindergartner, and Facts First allows for that. You can go into the controls and change the standard for mastery. This alters how fast the program expects an answer, any where from 1/4 of a second to 60 seconds, or even untimed if that works best to motivate your child.
• Audio! — Even my kindergartner can use this program fairly independently. A voice reads everything that she needs to know in order to continue to improve in her basic math facts
• Instruction and drill — The program doesn’t just drill the facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), but it also introduces a new fact before drilling it and then adding it to the list of facts they might see in their quizzes.
• Great graphics — Just take a glance around their site, and you can’t help but enjoying what you see. Colorful, eye-catching, this site is fun to use and fun to explore.

Some considerations . . .

• Limited in scope. This program is just about basic math facts. These are extremely important to master, but don’t expect something else from this program. It drills and redrills, and encourages kids to improve in their basic math facts.
• One license for the house. My daughters didn’t like that my son could also look at their accounts and see their mastery grids. Simple solution, I just made other people’s information off limits, but as far as I am aware, there is no setting to prevent this.
• Still may have too much game time. While I generally felt this offered a good balance of games and instruction, 5 minutes of play for a few minutes of work is still quite a bit. Of course, the games do include further reinforcement.

Facts First has a limited scope, but one critical to your child’s success in math in the years ahead. Especially for multiple children, the cost is reasonable, and since the program is fun and able to be used independently, this is a great way for kids to work on their own and see their mastery grow without groans.

For more TOS Crew reviews on this product, check out the TOS Crew blog.

Disclaimer: This web based membership was provided to me free of charge from Facts First as part of my participation in The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I received no additional compensation and the opinions expressed here come from my personal experiences and sincere thoughts.

Excel Gymnastics has long served homeschoolers in the Fox Valley area with a homeschool gymnastics class at their Batavia facility. This class meets on Thursdays from 11:00-12:00 for kids ages 6 and up.  They also have preschool classes (3-4 years) and a Kindergym (5 year olds) at the same time (the preschool class is 45 minutes long).  The class is at Excel Gymnastics in Batavia (2301 Main St., Batavia).

They have offered to recreate this class at their St. Charles facility if they can gather enough interest.

Amy is spearheading this effort and any questions or interest should travel through her (see email below). She shared some of her thoughts on her children’s experience in Excel’s homeschool gymnastics class:

We love these classes and the coaches (at the Batavia location) are fabulous.  We have done gymnastics classes through the park district and other locations and our experience at Excel far surpasses these other classes.  This is a great opportunity for exercise and I have even seen boosts in my kids self esteem since starting these classes.  They offer classes for preschoolers at the same time, which is very nice for families with younger kids as well.

New Class Possibility:  Suggested time is Wednesdays from 11:00-12:00 at the St. Charles location  (3N800 Peck Road, St. Charles).  Coach Tony said that there would be a preschool class (45 minutes) at the same time and that they could also combine 4 & 5 year olds for a Kindergym class as well.  The homeschool gymnastics class would be for kids ages 6 and up.

The new session starts next week, but they said they could start the new homeschool class anytime in case families were not ready to start next week.  They need only 4 kids to start the class! And, they have great sibling discounts available right now (25% off the second child’s class!)

Please email Amy (asebas0900@sbcglobal.net) as soon as possible if you would be interested in this class for one or more of your kids. You will need to let her know how many kids you would like to enroll, their ages, and which location (Batavia or St. Charles).  If they hear from enough interested students to get a new class going she will contact Coach Tony at Excel and let him know so that they can move forward with making these arrangements.

Thanks to Kris Besic of Positive Connections Homeschoolers for passing along this information.

Math is one of those core subjects that all students need to study. It is also one of those subjects that often elicits groans from its prisoners, I mean students.

Fortunately, there are many great resources for helping your child through math while reducing their discomfort and maximizing their benefit in the process.

MathScore provides students a place to learn their math, enhance their skills, attack their weak points, and build their mastery of basic math, computation, and applications of these skills.

Product: MathScore.com
Details: A web based program that allows students to work on math skills online. The program awards them with points for building their math skills in both speed and mastery.
Price: $9.95 per month for first child (introductory rate, after two months this goes to $14.95), $5 for second, $3.95 for third. There are other discounts for ordering for multiple months.

What we loved . . .

• Flexibility – You can choose and switch levels as you desire. You can decide which topics to work on. The kids don’t have to be stuck on something frustrating, or stay on a topic that bores them. They can do a little and return later. Or, if they like to do one topic and complete it, that is possible as well.
• Tracking – I would receive a daily email automatically that would summarize the student’s work. This would let me know the topics they worked on, the level of mastery achieved, and how much time the worked (as well as how much time they spent idle in the program). I really like that I knew not just how much time they spent on it, but also how much time they spent engaged with the worksheets.
• They encourage rewards — They don’t have any built in rewards (games, characters, etc.), but they do encourage you to recognize your child’s achievement. When they reach that 100 level saying they have mastered a topic, don’t let their hard work go unnoticed. They do earn “trophies” that are displayed on a page that shows their progress.
• Variety of approaches — Your child can choose to either simply begin the “worksheet,” follow a mini-lesson, or try some sample problems depending on their level of comfort in a given topic.
• Free resources as well — Their website has free math worksheet generators and lessons available to everyone.
• Timed lessons — Some kids might not do well with these, although they start pretty generous, but for my daughter they really helped her stay on track and not let herself get distracted. If she ran out of time, she had to work on that level again.

Some considerations . . .

• Might be difficult to use as a complete math program. They do present that as an option, but I prefer to use it as a supplementary program or as a break from the regular math book.
• The scoring confused me a bit. To master a topic they must reach “100.” There were too many classifications of accomplishment for me to really grasp — rating, points, percents, etc. I wasn’t quite sure why they had so many different ways of presenting the same information. It was like reading a standardized test result.
• If you have a particular goal for your child in math, you might need to spend more time with them. Since they do have a fair amount of free reign once logged in (they could choose grade 1 material if they feel like it), you will need to guide them and make your expectations clear if you want to make the most of their time on the computer.
• No frills. This program does not come with a lot of extras. It gets the job done efficiently, but when my daughter first tried it out she said it was “boring.” Now, when I let her try it for a couple days in place of her regular math text it became “fun.” So, I guess it depends what you compare it to.

MathScore meets a definite need in developing a child’s mastery in mathematics. It makes it easy for the parent to track progress, and provides tools for helping a child learn and excel at a variety of levels. I think it is reasonably priced, especially for families with multiple children. This might be a great tool if you are looking for something to supplement your current math curriculum or to help students retain knowledge during those longer breaks from school.

For more TOS Crew reviews on this product, check out the TOS Crew blog.

Disclaimer: This web based program was provided to me free of charge from MathScore.com as part of my participation in The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I received no additional compensation and the opinions expressed here come from my personal experiences and sincere thoughts.

Did you know that we have four different homeschool conventions or conferences coming to the Chicagoland area this year?

The first one takes place in just a couple months. The InHome Conference (This is a non-religious based group):

March 18 – 20, 2010
Pheasant Run Resort and Spa
4051 East Main St.
St. Charles, Illinois

A little background on this conference taken from their website:

During the 90s, Illinois HOUSE planned and produced conferences for Illinois homeschooling families which grew in size and frequency until it made sense to incorporate them as a separate activity. In 1998, the Home Educators Conference Fund (HECF) was formed as an Illinois not-for-profit corporation and a section 501(c)3 tax-exempt charity. In both its volunteer base and its governance, HECF has drawn from a wide selection of committed and talented homeschoolers. Our presenters and volunteers are current or former homeschoolers from all over Illinois, and elsewhere in the US where homeschooling has flourished. HECF’s “InHome” event is a forum for grassroots insights; we enjoy sharing our experiences and recognizing the expertise within our own communities.

Then, in June, the Illinois Christian Home Educators have their annual convention:

June 3-5, 2010
Calvary Church
Naperville,IL

More details yet to come on this convention.

In August, the Chicago Homeschool Expo returns for a second year:

August 5-7, 2010
The Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center
1551 N. Thoreau Dr.
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173

From their website:

The Homeschool Expo is a “don’t miss” whole family two day event with hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of products where parents can review and purchase the latest curriculum, hear great speakers who give practical encouragement, and receive personalized help and answers to any question. Our workshops especially emphasize the practical aspects of working with children in ways that will promote their educational, social and emotional growth.

And, finally, Apologia Live is coming in October:

October 8-9, 2010, in Chicago, IL
Westin NW in Schaumburg, IL

Their website has this to say about this event:

These will be exciting, spiritually refreshing events specifically designed for homeschool moms and those thinking of homeschooling. We have planned these retreats with you in mind. Fellowship with like-minded women will encourage you and foster renewal. All of the speakers are veteran homeschool moms who know the pitfalls, the pressures, and the panicked-times of homeschooling. Yet they also know the joys, blessings, and eternal benefits of homeschooling. All of the messages will focus on different aspects of Standing Strong in Christ.

Plan now to attend one (or more) of these events to help keep your homeschool growing and meeting your family’s needs.

The following came in an email from Homeschool.com. They have compiled lots of popular and helpful links for homeschoolers and the cream of the crop come in their top 100 of the year:

For the other 95 sites, check out their article on the top 100 sites.