It's that time of year! Most kids are out of school for the summer, but we can still encourage them to read by participating in summer reading programs. Here are a few to get you started!

1. Borders Summer Reading Challenge
   Borders offers children a chance to earn a free book by keeping a record of books they read. Once your child has read any 10 books of his or her choice, they can choose a free book from a specific list of titles. Open to children aged 12 and under.
2. 2011 About.com Summer Reading Program
   Register your kids for About.com's reading program. The only cost is postage of $1.71; once your children reach 500 pages, send in the forms along with the stamp for $1.71, and your child will receive a certificate of completion and a prize! They even have a list of recommended books for children to browse if they run out of ideas.
3. Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program
   Encourage your child to read by joining B&N's reading program! Children will earn a free book (chosen from a provided list) by reading 8 books of their choice. What better way to encourage a love of reading than to allow them to earn free books?
4. HEBuddy Summer Reading Club
   If you live in Texas, make sure you enroll your children in the HEBuddy reading club! Keep track of 10 books that you read, mail it in, and you'll get prizes!
5. iVillage Reading Challenge
   iVillage is having a challenge for kids to help them learn to enjoy reading. Sign up for the free 6 week program and receive daily challenges, tips from other parents and more!
6. Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge
   This is a great challenge for kids! Log your hours, try to meet weekly goals, and enter weekly sweepstakes! Kids can register to track their own time, educators can register to track their students and parents can get tips from experts and summer reading lists.
   

Do you know of any others? Have you participated in any of these summer reading challenges in the past? Let us know in the comments below. Share your experiences!

Some kids love to read, while others you may have to fight tooth and nail to get them to read. I have both in my family. My son fooled us into thinking he couldn't read for a long time! All because he hates to read. As a result, I've had to come up with ways to make reading more exciting.

One thing I have noticed about kids is that they love hearing about themselves...or at least mine do! They like looking at themselves in the mirror, they like hearing stories about themselves and they love telling others about their favorite subject as well.

Knowing this, I decided that it was time to try a more personalized approach to make reading fun for him. Personalized books are a great way to get him interested in reading because the story is all about him! I highly recommend that parents get their children a personalized book or 2...or 3 or 4! LOL

Not only do they help make reading fun, but they also make a child feel special. A personalized book makes a great gift, and a treasured keepsake as a personalized new baby gift.

My kids need typing lessons...and we don't always want to spend money on typing software. There are some great ones out there, but it can be difficult to choose what type of typing instructors are best. But, why spend money when you don't have to?

We've found a great free online typing tutor that is perfect for homeschooling! Power Typing has typing lessons for both QWERTY & DVORAK (didn't even know these were still around???) keyboards. They offer lessons, reviews, quizzes and typing games.

This is a great site for teaching our kids to type! Have you used Power Typing? Do you know of any other typing resources that have worked for you? Share your experiences in the comments below!

Textbooks can be expensive! But if you're looking for a free high school algebra textbook, I've found one! It's online, and you can print chapters as you need them.

Click the link to access: free algebra textbook

Enjoy!

Field trips are great, aren't they? But sometimes it's just not possible for us to travel to certain locations. Now, through the magic of technology, we can take our kids on educational field trips without leaving home (or school).

Virtual field trips allow us to take our children on a fun journey without leaving the comfort of our own homes. Some of the trips they offer include:

• Deserts
• Dinosaurs
• Endangered Species
• Hurricanes
• Oceans
• Rainforests
• Volcanoes

This isn't a complete list; you'll have to check the website for more information! The site provides vocabulary words, concept questions that kids will learn the answers to and more!

How do you do field trips with your kids?

I have a new site that we have been using with our kids a lot. It's called learner.org, and it has a LOT of awesome things for your kids to do! Our favorite to put the kids on is their interactives page. Here's a short summary of everything this section of the site offers.

Math Resources

There are a few different categories of math interactives; 2 of these sections are for grades 6-8, and 2 sections are for grades 9-12.

• Geometry 3D Shapes - This section teaches kids a variety of things about geometrical shapes, including how to calculate surface area, volume, and other facts about each shape. Designed for grades 6-8.
•  Measurement - This section, also for 6-8 graders, focuses on teaching students the metric system. Because we use a variety of different measuring units here in the United States, it's important for students to be able to switch back and forth and convert the different measurements.
• Daily Math Skills - This section is aimed at high school children. Teach your teens everyday math skills, such as playing games, cooking and making financial decisions.
• Statistics - This section, also aimed at high school students, teaches statistics through news reports and a fictitious election polling system.

Language Interactives

Learning the many aspects of the English language is vital in school. The interactive and fun activities offered by Learner.org make it fun and easy to learn them all.

• Story Elements - Help your 2-5 grader learn about the different aspects of a story through this fun and entertaining interactive. Your child will be told a story, then asked questions based on the story. The narrative explains the details of all story elements, to make them better writers.
• Historical Investigations - This is a fun activity for high school students. Through context clues and investigation, students will attempt to determine when and where historical events took place.
• Literature - High school students can make literature come alive through this interactive! Read some literature and solve the mystery.
• Spelling Bee - In this fun activity, students of all grades can participate in a good old-fashioned spelling bee! Depending on the grade level, students will be read words in context, then asked to spell them. Some grades can also get a definition of the word to help for contextual clues.

History & Social Studies

Many children find history a boring subject...these interactives can make it more fun than simply reading a text book and writing papers. Make it come alive, thereby helping them remember facts better!

• US History & Geography - Kids get to participate in a fun and challenging activity that will help them learn the geography of our nation, and the history as well. This section is directed at kids in grades 5-8.
• Civilizations - High school students can explore the fall of many historic civilizations in this fun activity.
• Middle Ages - Make the real middle ages fun through this enthralling interactive. Aimed at high school students.
• The Renaissance - High school students will learn about how Europe came out of the Middle Ages. (See if your high schooler can SPELL "renaissance"...I got it wrong!)

Science Interactives

Science can be a fun, hands-on part of homeschooling. These interactives offered by Learner.org make it easy AND fun!

• Our Earth - Learn all about what our planet is actually made of! Aimed at kids in grades 7-9.
• Rocks - Once students learn all about what our planet is made from, they can learn about the different types of rocks. Designed for children in grades 7-9.
• Amusement Park Physics - Turn that trip to Six Flags into an educational field trip! High schoolers will learn about how roller coasters and other rides are designed using Physics to ensure passenger's safety.
• DNA - This is another set of interactive lessons aimed at high school students. Kids will learn about DNA and genetics.
• Ecology - In this lab setting, students will create their own ecosystem, and learn how each part interacts with each other. Great way for high school kids to learn about the environment.
• Garbage - With so many people going green, it's important to learn about garbage, and how we currently deal with it. This is a great way to teach high schoolers how & why to protect the environment.
• Periodic Table - Chemistry is an important part of a high school curriculum. The periodic table can be challenging to learn; make it fun by using this fun interactive activity!
• Volcanoes - High school students get the opportunity to glance into how and if volcanic eruptions can be predicted!
• Weather - Another fun activity for high schoolers. In this one, your students will learn about the different types of weather.

This site has proven to be a great resource for our students. Have you used it? If you do use it, let us know what you think in the comments below!

Teaching a foreign language may be the hardest thing for home schoolers. Especially if you don't speak any foreign languages! I've had a hard time finding resources for teaching my children foreign languages. However, I found a site that has some great resources for all grades!

Finding free resources for high school students is even harder...not only for foreign languages, but for EVERYTHING. However, they do have foreign language resources for high school students on Learner.org! 

They have other grades as well, on learner.org, but many of them are simply teacher workshops, to teach you HOW to teach the foreign languages.

All children need to learn about United States history. But many of the textbooks are quite expensive. However, here at Loving Learning in the Home, we have found a great FREE resource for American History.

American Journeys is a website that has thousands of eye witness accounts of American History. From 1000 AD to 1806, you'll find information on explorers and important facts about US History. They have documents, images, lesson plans and more! And the best part is that use of the site is FREE!!!

This website is perfect for teaching children about the original explorations of North America.

The Teacher's section includes topic ideas, lesson plans, information on geography and more. If you're looking for primary sources to teach your students early American History, we definitely recommend American Journeys.

Have you used this site before? Tell us about it! Share your experiences in the comments below.

Is it time to teach your kids about human anatomy? That link will take you to a site that offers nice diagrams of many different systems of the human body. You'll find interactive diagrams for the skeletal system, digestive system, muscular system, lymphatic system, endocrine system, nervous system, cardiovascular system, both male and female reproductive systems and the urinary system.

Each diagram includes a picture of the entire system. You can click on the magnifying glass next to the name of the body part for more information.

Many high school aged children read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in high school. If you're looking for a free novel study so your high schooler can study themes in this Mark Twain classic, check out the following sites!

Book Rags -  Book rags has chapter summaries, discussion on 3 different themes throughout the book - conformity, humanity and picaresque - and information on the plot, characters and author. There are some discussion questions, but they're pulled from Yahoo answers, which you could do on your own.

SCORE - I like this site a little better, simply because they have a variety of different assignments to choose from. Combined with the summaries from Book Rags, this could be a good resource for a study guide.

Glencoe - Glencoe offers a PDF file complete with vocabulary, discussion questions organized by groups of chapter. I like the fact that there are questions and assignments for every few chapters, but I do think that they are at a somewhat lower level than we should expect from high schoolers. The questions, IMHO, are aimed at a much lower audience, and let's face it, younger kids are not going to be reading about Huck Finn!

Spark Notes - I have left the best for last (but of course you should check out each one, in case your preferences are different than mine!). Why do I like this site so much? Well, they have chapter summaries, discussion questions AND essay topics. They also cover the plot and character analysis, explanations for several quotes from the book, and a list of key facts about the book. I definitely recommend this resource!

http://lessonopoly.orgI have found a great new site for free lesson plans! Lessonopoly.org allows you to set up a free account as a teacher, parent or a student. Create plans, browse their library of lesson plans, participate in groups and more.

The best part is that you can create a schedule for your classroom. Choose lesson plans (your own, or pick one from their library) and add them to specific dates. It's a great way to keep all your plans in one online calendar. :-)


The site has free lesson plans for all grade levels, and a variety of subjects including:

• Arts
• Language Arts
• Foreign Languages
• Math
• Science
• Technical Career Exploration
• History & Social Sciences
• Physical Education & Health

Grade levels range from Pre-K all the way up to 12th grade. Check them out today!

Is your child great in math? Home schooled students aren't eligible to join the National Math Honor Society Mu Alpha Theta, but they ARE eligible to join Mu Eta Sigma. Mu Eta Sigma is a math honor society strictly for homeschooled students.

Mu Eta Sigma Eligibility

Requirements for entry into the Mu Eta Sigma Math Honor Society are fairly straight forward:

• Grades 9-12
• Must be homeschooled
• SAT Math test score of 580 or above
• ACT Math test score of 24 or above
• PSAT Math score of 58 or above

Why Join A Math Honor Society?

Joining Mu Eta Sigma looks great on college applications; really, any honor society your child can qualify for helps when applying to colleges. Upon acceptance, your student receives a certificate of membership, and the Honor Society keeps a National Registry of different community service projects done by each member. These can also be listed on high school transcripts that are sent to colleges.

If your child is gifted in math, this is an excellent opportunity! He or she will receive national recognition as well as a multitude of community service opportunities. Both look great on college applications.

If you're looking for some free homeschooling textbooks, I've found some great ones for math and science.

These math and science textbooks are available for grades K-5.

Specifically, the math texts are for first grade through fifth grade. There are also online math activities suitable for Kindergarten through fifth grade. Kids love to play games online (or at least mine do)and the ones available on this site are fun and engaging.

For older kids, there are Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry Books. I wish I had known about this last year when my oldest was learning Geometry!!

There are also science textbooks for first through fifth grade, and science fun for Kindergarten through fifth grade.

Enjoy! :-)

This is the ninth in my Getting Started Homeschooling Series. Check out the rest of the articles in this series:

1. Getting Started
2. Why Should I Homeschool?
3. What Do I Do First?
4. Homeschooling Laws
5. The Different Homeschooling Methods
6. What is Deschooling?
7. What is Unschooling?
8. What is the Charlotte Mason Method?
9. Homeschool Distance Learning
10. Choosing Homeschool Curriculum
11. Sonlight Homeschool Curriculum
12. Abeka Homeschool Curriculum
13. Creating Your Own Curriculum
14. Homeschool Planning
15. Homeschool Support
16. Homeschool Socialization

Some parents enjoy teaching their children. It’s hands on, and you get to spend time with them as they learn. The challenge comes as they get older; it can be harder to determine exactly what they should be learning, and if you don’t know the material, it can be hard to teach. This is when distance learning may be an excellent option. There are many different types of distance learning options available.

1. Software based curriculum. Software based curriculum, such as Switched on Schoolhouse, offers curriculum based on a textbook and software for your computer. Make sure you check the computer requirements prior to purchasing; what a disappointment it would be if you purchased the software, but were unable to use it!
2. Online courses. So many online courses exist for homeschooolers; many states offer free online schooling. Texas offers a program for people wishing to educate at home and will even provide a free computer and other supplies. The only drawback to such programs is that students must still follow public school schedules. However, there are online programs available exclusively for homeschoolers.
3. Correspondence Classes. Correspondence courses are usually completed by mail, but with new technology, some may be available over the Internet. Alpha Omega and Cambridge Academy are a couple of places offering correspondence classes.
4. Cyber Schools. Another form of homeschooling distance learning is cyber schools. These are schools that exist entirely online; most do not have a physical location at all. Time4Learning is one example.

This is the eighth in my Getting Started Homeschooling Series. Check out the rest of the articles in this series:

1. Getting Started
2. Why Should I Homeschool?
3. What Do I Do First?
4. Homeschooling Laws
5. The Different Homeschooling Methods
6. What is Deschooling?
7. What is Unschooling?
8. What is the Charlotte Mason Method?
9. Homeschool Distance Learning
10. Choosing Homeschool Curriculum
11. Sonlight Homeschool Curriculum
12. Abeka Homeschool Curriculum
13. Creating Your Own Curriculum
14. Homeschool Planning
15. Homeschool Support
16. Homeschool Socialization

You may have heard a lot about the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling. But what is it? Is it expensive? What does it entail? Where can I find more information? What materials do I need? I’m sure you have these questions and many more, so read on…

What is the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling?

First of all, we have to cover what the Charlotte Mason method is. Basically, it’s an education through literature, hands-on activities and good life habits. Charlotte Mason was a British teacher who believed that education was not merely about passing a test; it’s an experience to help us get ready for life. It was her belief that children should be taught by living and reading, and that education is a way of life rather than just a series of boring and tedious textbooks.

Bible Study is an integral part of this philosophy; Charlotte Mason believed that it was the most important part of an education. Many homeschoolers who employ this method are Christian; but even if you’re looking for secular curriculum the Charlotte Mason method can be beneficial.

There are somewhat specific methods of teaching specific subjects: history is taught using biographies, documents and history books. Literature can be matched with the history lessons by reading books either written in the same time frame or books that are set in that time.

English skills are taught by reading out loud, copying passages from favorite books and dictation. Science begins with the smaller child learning by observation about the world around her. What a great way to get children excited about learning! This also teaches younger children HOW to learn…observe, ask questions and seek the answers.

What materials do I need?

Books, the outdoors, pencils, paper, and a good library! LOL There are many books out there that can help you with the process, especially if it’s new to you.

Ambleside has a wide range of information on the Charlotte Mason method of education. Newbies will L-O-V-E Ambleside…they even have a free curriculum plan for you to use! Then all you need to do is get the books, either buy them or get them from your local library, and do fun activities with your kids!

Need help homeschooling your high school student? Check out the following resources:

Homeschooling The High School Student - Video 1: Presentation by Linda Stehnker, Video 2: Parent Panel Discussion

If you are looking for a great FREE United States History resource for your home school, you have got to check this one out: FREE United States History ebook

This is a great resource for homeschoolers!! It’s a downloadable ebook, with information on each of the 50 states: things they are famous for, events in history, important people that lived there, when they joined the United States, state mottos and more!

Get the free book here: FREE United States History Resource

Y’all, I just found this awesome event!!! It’s too late to buy tickets for this year, but hopefully they will be doing this again in the future…a Texas based Disney travel agency owned by a homeschooling family is partnering with Disney to offer a homeschooling high school graduation ceremony at Walt Disney World!!!

This home school high school graduation event is open to all homeschoolers, no matter where you live or what type of homeschooler you are! If you haven’t noticed, I’m very excited about this…I would love to have my oldest (who will graduate in 2 or 3 years) go to Walt Disney World for her high school graduation ceremony.

I give high kudos to the homeschooling family who came up with this wonderful idea for a home school high school graduation ceremony!

The price includes all of the following (taken directly from The Ultimate Field Trip):

Disney Resort Accommodations – We’ll help you choose the best resort for your family, whether your priority is the Deepest Disney Discount we can find or that once in a lifetime splurge, we'll help you each step of the way. To participate fully, you can stay as few as 2 nights and up to as many as you would like. This is a weekend event with the option of extending your stay. Once we receive your ticket order, you will be contacted with available options for your family by one of the 3D Travel Team.
Cap and Gown for each graduate - you will pick up your cap and gown during the designated rehearsal, time and place to be announced at a later time.
Commemorative Program for each graduate's family.
Baccalaureate Breakfast – You’ll enjoy a traditional Baccalaureate with the added luxury of a full breakfast. Immediately following breakfast, we will be escorted to one of the attractions to enjoy it as a group for the first run of the day. This will occur on the morning of the graduation which means your family and friends have the option of coming in for two nights and one full day and participating fully in this special event. Breakfast will be served in Epcot's World Showcase and can be attended by everyone, even those who do not opt to purchase tickets, but those who opt to enjoy the attraction without a park ticket will incur a $15 fee, paid directly to Disney.

Graduation Gala – We’ll have a private area right outside the back door of Epcot’s World Showcase reserved just for our event in a beautiful building called Atlantic Dance Hall. Our event will open with a traditional march to Pomp & Circumstance followed by a brief but lovely ceremony acknowledging each graduate in turn onstage. The ceremony will be followed by a casual dinner, during which everyone will enjoy various video and photo montages as a tribute to our graduates. Each family will have the opportunity to make this a special moment for their child by working with us ahead of time to honor them. After dinner, it's time for the caps and gowns to come off as our graduates, their siblings and friends dance in celebration of all they have achieved.

Optional Park tickets - We've secured tickets at a significant discount for this event. You will have the opportunity to purchase discount tickets for everyone attending with you.

Optional Graduate Accoutrements - From keepsake tassels to invitations, we'll have everything available to make this a full event for your graduate and family. We'll send updates to registered participants when they first become available.

We are SO going to start saving our pennies so we can take part in this Walt Disney World homeschooling high school graduation!!!

A great alternative to traditional homeschooling curriculum is online homeschooling. Make use of the Internet to enroll your children in online homeschooling courses.

Benefits of Online Homeschooling

Online homeschooling offers so many benefits it's hard to know where to start...first of all, by enrolling your child in some online classes, it takes a lot of the pressure of you. For those of us who have a few children we are homeschooling, it can be hard planning enough activities and assignments. Online schooling takes the pressure off, but still allows us to monitor what our children are learning.

Which brings us to our next benefit of online homeschooling: the ability to monitor and decide what and how our children are learning. Unlike sending our children to public school, with online homeschooling classes we are able to view what activities the instructor is having our children do. We can also control what classes our children participate in, and plan extra activities for topics our children are interested in.

Online homeschooling provides structure that is hard to provide (especially in my hectic family life!) One of the problems I face is planning...it's hard to sit down and plan any long-term lessons and activities for my 5 kids. Online homeschooling would remove that obstacle.

High school is hard when you're homeschooling. These last 4 years of school are so important; you need records kept for college and higher level skills in subjects we know next to nothing about! Online homeschooling is definitely a benefit in this case...you have a set schedule, and copies of work that your high schooled student has done.

Now that we've discussed all the benefits, it's time to discuss where you can find sites that offer online homeschooling.

Where to Find Online Homeschooling

If you're intrigued and want to check out the different online homeschooling options, here's a list to get you started:

Global Student Network Online Homeschooling - This site offers unlimited online classes, although they do limit it to 7 classes at once. Online homeschooling is available for grades 2-12. Tuition is $625 with $100 discounts for additional children in the same family.

Christian Online HomeschoolingThe Jubilee Academy offers online homeschooling courses for $895, but they have discounts available for advance enrollment. Unlike the Global Student Network, The Jubilee Academy doesn't have all its materials online; but they do send you all the materials.

K12 offers an interesting array of online homeschooling options. I know here in Texas, the public school portion of k12 is free; however, I personally didn't like the limitations, which is why I opted not to enroll my children. Part of the appeal of homeschooling is that you can work on your own schedule, not someone else's; the public school option that k12 offers has the same attendance requirements as the physical public school system. They also have a very expensive private school option, which leaves it open to only the rich portion of the population.

The last online homeschooling option I want to share with you is Keystone. Keystone offers online courses for grades 6-8, and is a great deal less expensive than k12.

For more information on online homeschooling, this book is an excellent resource:

I have had an epiphany!!

It's hard to meet other homeschooled kids...That's my kids' biggest problem. So I've just had an epiphany...I can create a parent-monitored website for homeschooled children! Here are the thoughts I've had so far:

A Homeschooling Social Site for Homeschooled Children

I have not seen very many homeschooling social sites...there are a few, don't get me wrong. BUT my idea is to create a homeschooling social site that is for both parents AND kids. A safe, moderated site so nothing is being posted that is inappropriate for children.

I DEFINITELY want your input, so please leave comments advising what you think, ideas, etc. etc.

Moderated Homeschooling Forum

I will have a forum for homeschooled kids, where they can get homework help, share ideas, or just talk to other homeschooled kids. I will also have a homeschooling forum for parents, where they can share homeschooling curriculum, discuss different resources...other topics can be suggested...

On either forum, any posts will have to be moderated; this will make sure the site remains a safe place for homeschooled children, even when Mom & Dad aren't looking over their shoulder.

Monitored Homeschooling Profiles

Kids & Parents will each be able to have profiles on the site, similar to Myspace or Facebook...but membership will be monitored, and need to be approved. Some may think this will be annoying, but the purpose is to make a safe environment for kids of all ages.

Profiles will include pictures, documents (to share assignments, poems, stories, that kind of thing, but this is just a concept, let me know what you think) groups, blogs, friends, etc...

Safe Homeschooling Chat

I can schedule chats for kids, monitored by an adult...this way no one is being lured into meetings by adults posing as kids, no sexual conversations are happening, and kids aren't sharing any personal information.

Another use of the safe homeschooling chat could be homework help sessions, or even some online classes...what do you think?

I'm really excited about this, as it will give my children a way to talk to other homeschoolers! But...how can we perhaps plan local get togethers?

Local Homeschooling Activities Planning

I would need to figure out a way to safely plan homeschooling activities; and somehow integrate this between parents and students...one way to do this is by actually reading posts and through the scheduled chats...I would like to have something set up regionally; after all, meeting other homeschooling kids is the whole point, right?

To successfully accomplish allowing homeschooling kids to get together locally, I would probably need to get a mom volunteer (or more, depending on the size of the location) that can moderate and coordinate local activities. The problem is, how do I compensate the moms for the time spent? Or do I just ask for other homeschooling moms to volunteer their time? What do y'all think?

Please, y'all, I think this homeschooling social site for kids is a really great idea, and I'm looking for input...what do you think of the idea? What do you think I should add? What do you, as a homeschooling parent, want to see on a social site for your kids? I want any ideas you can come up with...ANY ideas!

Thanks!!