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HOW DOES A HOME SCHOOLER CHANGE A LIGHT BULB? I don't remember where I saw this, but I tucked it into the June 2000 edition of the Hope Chest.  Wow, it's fun reading stuff after a whole decade! Q: How does a home schooler change a light bulb? A: First, mom checks three books on electricity out of the library, then the kids make models of light bulbs, read a biography of Thomas Edison and do a skit based on his life. Next, everyone studies the history of lighting methods, wrapping up with dipping their own candles. Next, everyone takes a trip to the store where they compare types of light bulbs as well as prices and figure out how much change they'll get if they buy two bulbs for $1.99 and pay with a five dollar bill. On the way home, a discussion develops over the history of money and also Abraham Lincoln, as his picture is on the five dollar bill. Finally, after building a homemade ladder out of branches dragged from the woods, the light bulb is installed. And there is lig...

Summer peaks around the corner. For some people packing for vacation is first and foremost on the mind. For others, summer camps and mission trips demand last minute trips to variety stores to purchase last minute necessities. In the midst of preparing for what summer will bring to our families, some of us are also visiting local libraries and used book sales to gather summer reading materials. For those who have asked about summer reading possibilities, I write this blog. The titles have been compiled over the years and are printed in Appendix D of my book You HAVE to Read This One: Raising a Contagious Reader. "Parents choose reading materials for their children based upon several factors: • a student’s reading ability and maturity, • family’s values and worldview, and • whether a book is to be read aloud or read independently. All these factors, or a combination of these factors, will determine what titles are appropriate for your children. My list was complied for parents with...

Please click on the cartoon to enlarge it so you can read the words.  (Once it opens in a separate window you can click it again one more time to make it even bigger.)  Then read this blog post, too.  Holocaust Vocabulary and Concepts Virginia

THE MYSTERY OF MATH One thing that I like about math is that it is so orderly! If you stick with it, things compute. They stay constant and objective. At the same time, math is a marvelous mystery. There is always something new and thrilling to discover. The patterns can be awe inspiring and even beautiful. In so many ways, I can see the hand of a Master Designer (our Gracious Creator) in math. Who else could invent all of the intricacies of geometry or the sense of justice found in algebraic equations? I have had a load of fun computing the sums of digits in multiplication facts. I know this is a bit complicated, but stick with me for a minute. Take a piece of paper, and write the numbers 1 to 20 down the side. In the next column, write the sums of the digits of each number. For example, the digit sum of 11 is 2, the digit sum of 12 is 3, etc. If you get a sum over 9, add the two digits of that number. For example, the intermediate digit sum of 59 is 14, and adding 1 and 4, the final ...

[ Untitled ] A Poem by Mary Knowles I sigh. Poems are hard to write, and I have to write one. I am not exactly a poet, though people guess that I am,     the same people that think I must dance ballet     because my hair is in a bun. I want to be a writer in the future, a newsgirl, but not a poet. But I remind myself, any kind of writing is hard work,    like mentally breaking up earth, plowing fields    and sowing many sentence seeds. With the warm laptop on my lap, the washing machine oscillating    and the finish line in sight, I stare down another assignment. And I like the click of the keys, even when it’s mostly the backspace key,    the lightning of thought striking screen --    and occasionally, as Mark Twain would say,    the lightning strike of the perfect phrase. Someone once said, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure,”    and I say, when I write, I feel God’s pleasure,  ...

Dear friends, In my English class at our home school co-op, I have been teaching a series on the vocabulary and concepts of major world religions, including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Atheism, and Judaism.  We covered Judaism last week, but didn't have time to discuss the Holocaust so I told them we will do it tomorrow (April 12).  This is actually providential timing, since Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) is tomorrow.  Please note that this is not a full treatment of the Holocaust -- I am only introducing the terms and concepts.  I will bring along and introduce several books about the Holocaust -- some from the library and some that I own -- mainly focusing on fiction and biography.  I have included a short list of some of these after the vocabulary list.  I will also read a picture book, The Harmonica , by Tony Johnston.  I can never make it through this book without crying.  That is as it should ...

Dear friends, In my English class at co-op, I have been teaching a series on World Religions, explaining the vocabulary and concepts behind Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Atheism, and Judaism so far. This is the vocabulary word list for Judaism. The words with open bullets (o) were spelling words, too. My son-in-law Ryan, who is a Messianic Sephardic Jew, helped me with this list and loaned me a menorah, tallit, Torah scroll, matzah crackers, and other Judaica for my class presentation. I did not have time to discuss the Holocaust, so we are saving that for Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) on April 12. I have put the vocabulary list for that here:  http://continuewellhomeschool.blogspot.com/2010/04/holocaust-vocabulary-and-concepts.html I will try to upload my other world religion lists soon, too. Shalom, Virginia Judaism Vocabulary & Concepts The Bible & Beliefs: o Judaism: monotheistic religion whose adherents worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as d...