Memo Monday – My Favorites

Hello there! Welcome to Memo Monday. As busy homeschool moms, we have to choose what we will do with our time to best accomplish what we can in a day. When I get online, I have to watch the clock and make sure I am not on all day! If I don’t, I could meander through blog after blog or read whatever pops up or curriculum sites all day long. I am a resource junkie! You know how that can go – this link leads to that link, and pretty soon it’s time to make dinner!

Speaking of fun resources, have you been to a Blog Carnival yet? I’m sure many of you have. Blog Carnivals are a great way to find a lot of links to posts on a particular topic, like homeschooling, all in one place each week. It is a fun resource for everyone. If you are just looking into homeschooling or have been homeschooling for years, you will find many posts in a carnival to choose from. And, there are so many Blog Carnivals to choose from! There is the Carnival of Space, the Carnival of Education, The Carnival of Family Life… man, you could just get plum carnival-ed out!

My Favorite Carnivals
Ok, just so you don’t get carnival-ed out, I am going to tell you a little about my favorites. I am a little biased to my first choice. The Homesteading Carnival, showcased this week at Amusing Reflections of A Country Girl (our own sweet Jocelyn), was started by my two brilliant daughters and has a lot of great homestead-y posts linked each week.

The Carnival of Homeschooling has so many posts linked that I challenge you to get to them all. It is hosted this week at The Thinking Mother.

The Carnival of Principled Government by Dana of Principled Discovery airs in blogworld every 2 weeks, so the current one, Columbus Day, is here at Life Nurturing Education.

There is also a new carnival, The Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival by Jacci, of The Educational Life. The current issue is at Homeschool Diva, and this week, it travels to The Heart of Harmony. From the looks of it, it is going to be a great hit.

Now, onto some other Favorites…

Homeschool Resources: Heart of Wisdom

If you read my blog for any amount of time you will learn 3 things about my curriculum choices: 1) I love Heart of Wisdom resources, and 2) I love history, and 3) I think everyday life is the best classroom.What can I tell you about HOW resources? The first is that the HOW Teaching Approach is one of the best manuals I have ever read. My choice for our homeschool is Bible First, and Robin Sampson has created a book that includes so many of the most-beloved homeschooling methods. The Unit studies Robin has available are top-notch. Her website has many resources available to the homeschool teacher, and Robin’s blog is so transparent and encouraging. If you have not had a chance to take a look at her website, you will not be disappointed.

Homeschool Curriculum site: Homeschool Estore.

I want to second what Sheri said last week about the HomeschoolEstore. I love it. It is a new-found favorite. Unit studies are such a versatile way to homeschool. You can include children of any age and tailor it to their learning interests and affinities. There are so many different producers of Unit Study materials! I like to make my own, but I have found several to get me started here. Homeschool Estore is a great resource for freebies, too. They have a different one every week or 2 and it’s easy to register. They also have an affiliate program so you can get credit for referrals. I like that!

Homechool Curriculum: Homeschool in the Woods

I have just discovered Homeschool in the Woods. Well, re-discovered it. I received a sampling of the Author study in a benefit, and I love their products. If you do not have experience with Unit studies, you can go to their site and look at the free ones they have available online.

Homeschool Resource: Magazines

Another GREAT resource for the Homeschool Family is a favorite homeschool magazine. I have several.

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is for homeschooling families everywhere. They claim that “Our magazine is like a convention in a journal”, and you definitely won’t be disappointed with that opinion! It doesn’t stereotype homeschooling families or even homeschooling itself. Whether you have one child or ten, whether you are just at the beginning of your journey or are nearing the finish line, you’ll find something in our magazine that encourages you!

Ok, I have a few others, but if I tell you all of them , I won’t have anything to tell you next time! I blogged about a few Prayer Requests I know of on Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths. We are a needy people, but we serve a faithful God.

I hope you have some time this week to visit some of these fantastic resources. Have a great week!

-Jacque