I have posted the links for the All About Spelling Workbox listing charts on my other blog

I have finally been able to get these posted without them moving all over the place. You can use these charts to help you fill the workboxes with the very items and supplies you need for each Step. Sometimes, not all the goodies are listed in the top section, and so I found I was hunting for the specific tiles and such-more than I was teaching. Hopefully, these will help reduce that for you as well.

Links to the Scribd pages

Old Timey Activity for modern needs

For a part of a review project, we had to make our own laundry detergent.

So with instructions in hand, an empty 1 gallon water jug, a pan, spoon , a funnel and some H2O-we were all set to give this a whirl.

It took only a few minutes to make the goo, and then all we were required to do, was to give it a good swirl as it cooled (every 20 minutes or so) and we were done! It was a fun activity for all of us, and especially the boy!

The Laundry Kit (trial size) from Virginia Soaps and Scents, made about a half gallon of liquid detergent. I found that I have to shake it up a bit before using-so the water jug with a lid-is a very good storage unit for this. I have used up at least 1/2 of it so far, and am pleased with the results. You can read the whole review, over on my TOS Review blog.

Oh, I just got mine today-I say this is a great and helpful book

So I got this announcement thru homeschool.com about the book Homeschooling and Loving It! 

For the cost of shipping you can order this book-and I am already 1/2 way thru it and finding some real gems inside.  It has taught this old dog some new tricks!  I am glad I spent the 6 bucks to get it.  They still have them available-so if you are looking for some new ideas to help you homeschool better-I suggest buying one for yourself!

This also includes info about Laurel Springs School-and hey-even tho I cannot afford to sign my kid for their online classes, I sure can go thru the catty and glean some great ideas for my kids. The forward is by the gal who started Laurel Springs.  The author-Rebecca Kochenderfer runs the Homeschool.com site-the largest site for homeschoolers!!  This book is really good-and I don't say that too often. She covers not only learning styles, but how to build a plan that is unique to each child. I need this-yes, even after 16 years of doing this!  I
am finding the info quite easy to digest-I am excited to try out some of the curriculum customizing ideas.

Lauren Springs Homepage

Be sure to type in the code: LSS (you can order up to 5) shipping has a charge. I think I paid $5.95 or something like that.

 Homeschool.com
great site to visit and find even more resources and help

Oh, Carol Topp responded to my to eBook or Not to eBook post

So very happy she (Carol) took the time to read my post-I am honored. I pulled her post comment up here for all to see another side to this crazy debate:

Sheri, You did cover the pros and cons very well. As an author, I have gone back and forth on ebooks, too. My first book, Homeschool Co-ops, is in print and I plan to offer it in ebook format now that it is about a year old.

I'm working on another book, Micro Business for Teens, that will start as an ebook and then after a year or so I'll offer it in print also. The reason I am doing this is cost. I hope to make enough from the ebook version of Micro Business, that I can pay to set up the print version (minimum of $500). I also hope that the younger generation is more willing to buy an ebook. We'll see how my plans turn out.

Just thought you might want to hear from the author/seller side. Consider this: there are some books that you would never see if the author only had the printed option because of the cost. So ebooks are opening up an entire new world to authors and their readers.


I agree-you posted a [great] different view to this issue.  The cost of printing is pretty prohibitive to many authors...and I totally get that.  I also understand that one can make a bigger profit by selling eBooks, which can help sustain smaller businesses, and provide avenues for the author to afford running print versions,  too. I still need to do my second part to this-one in which I was/am going to highlight the very things Carol pointed out. :0)

It is a love/hate relationship with me.  I guess it is hard to convince a print loving gal to switch sides-LOL. 

Well, hopefully, once I have a handle on the rest of this month's reviews, I will be able to focus my brain and come up with the second section for this debate.

Oh, and if you don't know who Carol Topp is-well, she is such a blessing to the homeschool community. She has a great book on how to set-up and keep your co-op running and it looks like some other great ones coming out!

You can visit her site:Homeschool CPA for more info.

Thanks Carol for taking the time to read and respond to my blog-

This is what happens when you give a boy a magnifying glass

If you give a boy a magnifying glass you will seethat melting chocolate simply cannot be
enough to quench the desire to test burn it all.

So if you give a boy a magnifying glass-
and there are things laying quietly in the grass,
expect em be fried if in his path they befall.

Seriously here-this was a part of the Apologia Astronomy experiment listed in the section on the sun. We were to melt 3 pieces of chocolate with the magnifying glass to demonstrate the way our eye funnels the sunlight, which can cause eye damage or blindness-if you look directly at it. And they also mentioned (that with your parents permission) that one can burn holes into leaves using a magnifying glass. We allowed the excited child to do a few.