websites – Page 4 – Chicagoland Homeschool Network

Resources from Creation.com

If you are a Christian homeschooler you most likely sense the importance of teaching science from a Creationist perspective. Creation.com has some free resources available for homeschoolers.

You definitely do not want to miss their homeschool corner. Here is a sampling of what you can find on this site:

Free Ebooks:

A Classical Education
A Light Unto My Path
A New Beginning
Career Exploration
Creation Vs Evolution
Don’t Rush God
Fall Harvest
Homeschooling The Rebel 1
Intelligent Design
I Was Raised By Wolves
Lincoln Vs Darwin (with copywork)
Living In A Castle
Missing In Action
Time Flies

Articles in PDF format:

Even if you are not looking for information on teaching Creation, there is clearly a lot of information of benefit to homeschoolers.

Facebook fans and discussions

Are you already a fan on Facebook? If you are, then thank you! Glad to have you along.

If not, and you have a Facebook account you will find us there. To become a fan you can click the widget on the sidebar of this page.

Also, the Facebook page offers a place for discussions. A couple questions are already posted there, so hop on over and see if you can offer some help or opinions. And, maybe you have a question of your own.

Homeschooling can be a difficult journey to travel without other homeschoolers to come alongside us as we learn and grow and teach our children. So, please take a few minutes to check out the discussions, contribute an answer or start your own.

Thank you all for stopping in here and on Facebook, and I truly hope this site is a help and encouragement to each one of you.

Also, if you have any suggestions as to how this site could be more useful to you or changed for greater ease of use, I would love to hear your ideas.

~Erin

Encouragement from the Boyer Family

You may know the name Marilyn Boyer. A mother of 14, homeschooling veteran of 30 years (!), with a few more still ahead of her, a writer, and a speaker at homeschool conventions.

This past weekend I joined a couple hundred other women in Oak Brook to receive encouragement and vision from Marilyn. I took many notes and came away with lots of fresh ideas and enthusiasm for loving my children and taking full advantage of the relationship we build with them through homeschooling.

Even if you could not make it this weekend, she has a wonderful gift to share on her website.

Unfortunately, I cannot give you a simple link to get there, but I can give you some directions. Go to the Boyer website, The Learning Parent, and float over the “Categories” tab. From there click on “Boyer Products” or “Boyer Resources.” These should both take you to the same place. You will need to go to the second page of resources, looking for one entitled, “Educating for Eternity.”

You can purchase this resource on CD, or you can select the downloadable version for free. It does take a while to download, and as mine is currently downloading, I can’t yet tell you the wonderful information it contains. But, knowing Marilyn, this will be a great encouragement to listen to.

In this recording you will learn:

We all want our children to catch the vision for God and grow up to serve Him. But how do we begin? Rick and Marilyn Boyer, home education pioneers of thirty years, believe the Bible contains the best plan for the upbringing of wise and competent children. Seeking wisdom from God`s Word and applying it to their own lives, they have trained their fourteen sons and daughters, some of whom are now parents and passing on the vision to their own children.

In this session you will hear Rick and Marilyn- with five of their adult children- explain the scriptural method for passing on a vision of powerful Christian living from generation to generation through family discipleship!

She has such a wonderful heart and shares so sincerely about her journey as a homeschooling mom. I would encourage you to take the time to download this resource, and to check out some of the other resources they have available.

Some other resources that have caught my attention: For You The Signed (a new one that she mentioned this weekend, about the signers of the Declaration of Independence, you’ll find this on their home page), audio books by her husband “Uncle Rick,” and many other books and audio resources for the homeschooling family — Getting it all done, homeschooling with toddlers, etc.

Review: MathScore

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.

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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.

Homeschool Conferences

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.

Top 100 sites selected by Homeschool.com users

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:

Every year, Homeschool.com compiles a list of some of our favorite educational websites for you to enjoy in a convenient list you can keep handy. You can even share this list with your friends, family and support group. We asked our 8,500 Product Testers to send us a list of their favorite educational websites that they use most often. We had so many suggestions pour in that we’ve included over 100 sites this year. Many sites that made it on last year’s list are mentioned again this year. The top five sites for 2010 include:

The Top Sites
www.starfall.com
www.exploratorium.edu
www.enchantedlearning.com
www.brainpop.com
www.pbs.org

Note: Normally we would not include commercial sites on this list. However, so many people nominated a number of commercial websites, it seemed unfair to leave them off the list and they have been included.

So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and peruse through the list at your leisure. Click on a site and explore it for awhile, then come back to view even more great sites. A few new aspects of our list include the category of Music, as well as a variety of relevant and fun math and science sites.

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

TOS Crew Review — Worship Guitar

I have long had this fascination with playing guitar. In fact, for the past number of years I have owned a guitar. You can often find it under my bed, in its dust covered case.

For some reason, that image of guitar accompanied songs around the campfire has not pressed me to learn it very well. I do pull it out and sing with my kids now and then, but I wouldn’t ask for much more of an audience than that.

Regardless of my poor guitar’s neglect, I did pull it out with some gusto as a package arrived that helped me do what I really longed to do with the guitar . . . Worship!

Product: Jean Welles Worship Guitar Vol. 1
Details: A DVD and lesson book for beginner or advanced beginners. Includes introduction, 7 lessons and practice sessions, and Spanish subtitles if desired.
Price: $29.95 for DVD and book set.

What we loved . . .

Easy to pop in and use. You can come with no knowledge, or have been playing guitar for years, like myself (ahem). This DVD gives you a basic introduction to the instrument, tuning, and how to read chord charts and then jumps right into learning some well known praise choruses.
Jean has a wonderful presence. Calm and professional, and with a constant reminder of our goal — to worship our Creator — Jean does a wonderful job leading these lessons and keeping you in a worshipful frame of mind.
Worship focused. She is clearly not helping you learn guitar for pure entertainment or to advance your music knowledge. The purpose of these lessons is to worship God in your quiet times or in small groups. I never thought guitar lessons could be such a spiritual experience.
Includes various strumming patterns. I love the sound of broken chords, but had never learned how to actually do it. I could kind of figure it out on my own, but Jean walks you through it step by step.
Slow practice sessions. In addition to the lessons on the DVD you can also go through the practice sessions that have the same songs, but redone much more slowly which is helpful when you are learning and trying to switch fingers and learn strumming at the same time.
Help in learning to hear and sing on pitch. She didn’t spend a lot of time on this as it was obviously not the purpose of the course, but she gave me some hope for some of my “tonally challenged” children.
Free online sample. If you want to get an idea of what the course is like, feel free to jump on their website and see for yourself what Jean Welles has to offer.

Some considerations . . .

This is not a music class. This course was designed to teach you to play worship songs, a few basic chords, and some fingerings. It doesn’t get into pitch, identifying keys, or other techniques that might come in regular guitar lessons, or music classes.
You won’t learn a lot of different chords. After the first volume you will not be able to just pick up any book and accompany yourself or a group in singing. You might want to jump into Volume 2, or work on learning other chords, transitions and fingerings so your new knowledge is more applicable.
This is not for young kids. My 12 year old was able to follow along fairly well, but if you are looking for a course for younger kids, you would want to check out their course for kids 6-9.

When you compare this cost to private guitar lessons, you are obviously getting a deal. It’s still not a teacher that can look at exactly what you are doing and address your individual needs, so that’s not quite a fair comparison. However, it is still a good course to get you started. If you have a guitar just gathering dust under your bed and you would like to put it to better use, you would likely enjoy this class.

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

Disclaimer: This DVD and book set was provided to me free of charge from Jean Welles Worship Guitar 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.

TOS Crew Review — Mathletics

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Product: Mathletics
Details: An online subscription to a site featuring math competitions and teaching.
Price: Right now this is $59 per year per child. And, knowing the Human Calculator’s favorite number is 9 should get you an additional discount.

While I didn’t know that we really needed another math product floating around the house, I quickly learned that Mathletics was not just another math product.

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This became a common site on our computer screens, as my kids raced against kids from around the world in real time. But, the real competition was against their previous scores. The rewards poured in as my kids’ math abilities continued to thrive in this lightly competitive and highly rewarding environment.

In addition to the speed drill type races against other kids they also boosted their math skills. Mathletics offers nine levels of math teaching and practice, from kindergarten through eighth grade. Students learn about various topics and again receive recognition for increasing their math knowledge.

I was surprised to see my kids highly motivated by the characters they chose and getting to “buy” new hairstyles, backgrounds, etc. as they completed more problems correctly.

What we loved . . .

Friendly competition. While the drills take place against other students, you really compete against your own best times. You receive rewards as you improve your personal score.
International involvement. My kids loved seeing what countries popped up in the races. New Zealand, UK, Canada, Australia, Puerto Rico, UAE, etc.
Many levels of material. Topics cover mathematical concepts from kindergarten through eighth grade. It is not just speed drill material. A couple times now, in our “regular” math time, my daughter has said, “Oh yeah, I learned that already on the computer.” It is definitely more than just playing games, but the kids don’t need to know that.
Lots of recognition of achievement. Students receive points for topics mastered and improved skills, and printable certificates are available as well.
Easy to change levels. If you feel your child is struggling or having too easy of a time, you can easily change their level to one more appropriate

Things to consider . . .

Not a complete curriculum. While Mathletics offers a great supplement to math and definitely presents the material in an interesting and engaging format, it does not offer a thorough math teaching for each level. They seem to present it as a curriculum, but I do not feel it is as thorough as most texts we have used.
A little pricey if you have multiple children. While in general the price is reasonable, it adds up quickly with many school aged children.
Parents should check in on their student now and then. You will want to take some time now and then to see what they have worked on, how much time they spend on various topics and activities and check up on them. While the student can easily work independently, you will want to stay involved to make sure they make the most of the time online.

Mathletics is another great math resource. It definitely kept my kids’ interest throughout the time that we had the subscription and they were sorry to see it end. It offers entertainment and motivation for a student to learn and practice their math skills even outside of the regular school day.

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

Disclaimer: This web membership was provided to me free of charge from Mathletics 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.

TOS Crew Review — Tektoma game tutorials for kids

Programming seems a difficult task for the untrained, and generally that holds true. However, Tektoma offers web based tutorials to help interested individuals get started in creating their very own computer games.

On the Tektoma website, the creators Tom Marx and Matilda O’Connor have built a place for budding video game designers. Using GameMaker software, a free download, they have put together a number of tutorials to help you understand this somewhat complex program.

GameMaker “allows you to make exciting computer games, without the need to write a single line of code. Using easy to learn drag-and-drop actions, you can create professional looking games within very little time.” They make it sound easy, but without the tutorials on Tektoma I could not begin to create a game on my own. I know nothing of rooms and sprites and sound effects. But, with Tektoma, you don’t need to know anything to get started.

Product: Tektoma Game Tutorials for Kids
Details: Web based tutorials geared for kids 7-17 (but fully appropriate for interested adults). Forums, FAQs, and technical help via email as needed
Price: Monthly membership is just $14.95 per month. Or, you can join for a whole year for $140. They have a free 14 day trial for a limited time that can help you see if Tektoma is really what you are looking for.

What we loved . . .

Easy to follow. Although my 12 year old son jumped into this easily, I was a little more uncertain. But, after a little time watching the videos, I realized that even I could use this program and have fun doing so.
Very well made. Clear visuals and sound. They really covered the bases. Step by step, everything you need to do shown clearly. They even have a video on how to use the videos. They do move a little fast at times, which is good when you kind of know what you are doing, and it is easy enough to pause or back up a bit if you missed something.
Great introduction to programming even if you have no knowledge.
The videos don’t just show you what to do, they explain what you are learning as well. With enough use and interest you could easily become independent of the tutorials, at least until you move on to the next type of game. They plan to continue to add to the website, so even if you made it through all of the tutorials that they have, you will likely find more on their site to continue to expand your knowledge and ability.
You can share your games with others. Once you have created your own game, you can post it to their site for others to see.
They help you create a variety of games. Racing games, memory games, and arcade games are geared specially toward beginners. Then you can move on to platform and fantasy or adventure games.

Always a downside . . .

You can easily get hooked and not realize that you have just spent two hours in front of the computer. (ahem . . . not me of course, but my son)
Make sure you check out the system requirements (Currently, the tutorials are for computers running Windows XP or Vista only. Macintosh versions coming in the future. Broadband internet connection also required).
I found the GameMaker software complicated, but that’s why they made the website. In one of the tutorials they say something to the effect of, “Even if this does not make sense to you now, just keep following along and doing exactly what I do and you will begin to understand.” VERY true. I had no idea what all the numbers and labels and tabs meant, but after mimicking his actions in the video, I began to understand what I was doing.

Although this says it is geared toward kids between seven and seventeen, adults would definitely enjoy this product as well if they have any desire to begin learning how to create computer games. I also think the prime audience would be 10-14 year olds who would be old enough to do it independently, but not ready to conquer real programming. My 12 year old son really enjoyed using this and created quite a few different types of games with it, with no help from me (not that I could have been any help at that point).

Of course, right now they have that 14 day free trial so you can give it a test drive and see what you think. This might make a great Christmas gift for a computer inclined pre-teen or teenager (or adult . . .) If you would like to find out more about subscribing to Tektoma you can follow this link.

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

Disclaimer: This web membership was provided to me free of charge from Tektoma 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.

Books, books, and more books

Got enough books to open a small library?

Finding you could probably do without a few?

Looking for a good home for some of your excess books?

The military is actually looking for a few good books.

Find out more about this program at the Books for Soldiers website.

As eager as you may be to pass along some great reads,

there are some guidelines (posted on their site as well) to keep in mind:

Try to keep your package the size of a shoe box or similar. When we send out a box, we use FLAT RATE BOXES that the US Postal Service offers. It is a very good deal – you can cram as much as you can in the box and shipping is a flat $8.10. Also, the boxes are FREE from the US Post Office.

Large packages over 25 pounds probably will not get through or be greatly delayed.

Include a note to the recipient. Tell them about your support of them and your hopes of a safe return. If you are sending to the unit in general, explain that these books are a gift to the whole unit and to give them to someone else once they are finished.

It is also good to send a small care package of useful items along with your book. Click here for a recommended list.

Include your return address. Packages with no valid return address will be considered a suspicious package and likely to be destroyed according to the Defense Department.

Any book is better than nothing, but if you have the choice, please send the paperback version because it is smaller, lighter, and easier to carry.

Obviously, they want mostly books geared toward adults, not children, but since most homeschoolers are bookaholics all around, you probably have your share of those to spare as well. There is a bit of a process to go through to actually send your books, but if you want to encourage a soldier this holiday season, a little effort on your part could go a long way.

June 3-5, 2010 Calvary Church Naperville,IL

June 3-5, 2010
Calvary Church
Naperville,IL