Convention season is over!

After packing and unpacking for 4 different conventions, the season is now over! I have unpacked all my books and put my house back into a semblance of order. It has been interesting, as always, to meet new homeschoolers, to see who the next generation of homeschoolers are, help those who are confused, encourage those who are down, rejoice with those who have come back to give a hug because they had a good year (finally)! I love this job. As exhausting as it can be, I do love helping others homeschool their children.

Press on dear friends! Press on!

Time for HERI!

It is time for the Jacksonville HERI convention! If you have not registered, it's not too late! You can still register at the door! You can find out more about it by visiting HERI's website.

I am speaking on Friday at the very first time slot. It is #1 on the convention schedule. Come hear more about how Sonlight works (and learn some time-saving tips!) I will have a special drawing for workshop attendees.

If there is something specific you want to see, let me know! Send me an email and if I have it, I will bring it!

Summer school?

I am often asked if I school through the summer, or if I school year round. My answer to that is no, mamma needs a break too! But that doesn't mean I don't use a summer routine. I first learned about it from a book called Sanity in the Summertime. Here is what I do:



Make a list of what I want to accomplish this summer. This may be school-related (drill math facts), spiritual (memorize scripture) and fun (make pretzels). I start by making my list


Here is what is on my list this summer:

Kids:

· Scripture memory
· Science experiment: corn and beans
· Sustained Silent Reading
· Read-Aloud (RA books from SL)
· Music practice
· Read: Do Hard Things
· Go to IMAX movies
· Start girl’s club
· Camps? Possibilities: volleyball, soccer, sail, art, surf, church

Sheila:
· Read: Senior High: A Home Designed FormULa
· Look into Power Serve
· Look for requirements at universities
· Look up Bright Futures
· Set up record-keeping for HS
· Zone work: declutter/clean
· Look up CC’s transcript service
· Plan Essentials


After I make my list I then create a summer calendar on a sheet of foam core (my husband brings them home from work so I recycle them by using the other side.) Then I add in dates we'll be gone and fill in the days with the things we want to do. I have a weekly template that this year looks like this:


Monday-Stay home and work! (I'm heavily decluttering and deep-cleaning by zones. More on this later).

Tueday-Cooking day (where we make fun things like pretzels, donuts, ice cream sandwiches)

Wednesday-Beach day (we invite friends to join us so it's more fun)

Thursday-Field trip day (free movies, IMAX movies, parks, zoo, etc) This used to be craft day at my house but my kids are getting bigger and want to be on the go more.

Friday-Youth group activity day (I have 2 kids in youth group this year. They have activities planned such as rock climbing, baseball game, etc).

Here is what this year's calendar looks like. We keep adding to it as things come up. It helps the kids to know what is coming up in the upcoming weeks.


I am using Flylady's zones to focus my deep cleaning and decluttering. If you haven't met the Flylady (Marla) then you need to! We are trying to get the house on the market so I want to be able to make it shine and look less crowded.

The Nina and Santa Clara

We studied US History through 1850ish this year (Sonlight Core 3, CC Cycle 3) so when replicas of Columbus' ships came to the St. Augustine City Pier we had to visit them! I was expecting them to be quite big (ok, huge in my mind) but really they were astonishingly small! They crossed the Atlantic in THESE?!!?

Here you can see the two boats from bow to stern.


Preparing to board. See the square-rigged sails? We were told they were designed for downwind sailing only. Remember that Columbus didn't have an engine, so if he was relying on sailing when the wind was at your back, then no wonder it took so long to reach the new world!


The gal you see in the background is one of the crew. She has been on board for two years. This is the Nina. The Santa Clara, (on the right of the picture, port to this boat) which is also called the Pinta, had about 30 crew on board in Columbus' time. We were told the men lived on deck, and that the hold (down below) was for storing supplies, food and animals. THIS deck! Notice the lack of shelter... Columbus' quarters were behind the tender (small board stored on the deck). There was one hatch that went down below (the only ventilation) and only 4 ft headroom. I was surprised to see the large tiller beneath the poop deck. I always pictured them steering the boat with a big wheel ON the poop deck (think: pirate ship) but that was not the case with these two boats. The current crew is 7 onboard the Santa Clara and although it is a replica it does have cabins, an engine, radar, GPS, etc. So this crew isn't roughing it too badly. We chatted with one guy on the Santa Clara who had just boarded the ship in Sebastian. They are still looking for crew if anyone is interested...
Checking out the stern of the boat. See the size of those blocks? The boat is all block rigged so that no one has to climb up to let down the sails. That came later apparantly. This visit to the boats really made the book Pedro's Journal come to life!

Care to visit? Here is the 2009 schedule. Check and see if they are somewhere near you!

DATES	PORT	LOCATION
Feb. 3 - Feb. 15	San Diego, Ca	Kona Kai Marina, Shelter Island
Mar. 12 - Mar 15	Republic of Panama	Flamingo Yacht Club
Apr. 15 - Apr. 21	Stuart, FL	Harborage Yacht Club & Marina
Apr. 24 - May 3	Daytona, FL	Inlet Harbor Marina
May 6- May 17	St. Augustine, Fl	City Marina
May 22 - May 25	Beaufort, N.C.	Maritime Museum
May 29 - May 31	Lewes, Delaware	City Docks
June 5 - June 7	Kingston, New York	Maritime Museum
June 19- June 21	Oswego, New York	West Pier adjacent to maritime museum
June 26 - June 28	Algonac, Mi	Clay Township Historical Society
July 2nd - July 5	Alpena, Mi	Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center
July 9 - July 12	Petosky, Mi	Petosky City Marina
July 16 - July 19	Muskegon, Mi	Heritage Landing
July 22 - July 26	Marinette, Wi	Nest Egg Marina
July 29 - Aug 2	Waukegan, Illinois	Waukegan Harbor
August 5 - Aug 9	South Haven, Mi	Maritime Museum
Aug 12- Aug 16	Chicago	Navy Pier

South Florida Convention Report

The South Florida Homeschool Convention was a success! Lots of people, both new homeschoolers as well as veterans, turned out to shop the vendor hall and to hear keynote speaker Andrew Pudewa. I had one woman come into my Sonlight booth after the keynote address and say, "After hearing Andrew Pudewa speak I am changing my whole approach to homeschooling! I used to use textbooks but I am going to read-aloud to my children!" And proceeded to ask about Sonlight! I don't know if Mr. Pudewa mentioned Sonlight by name or just highlight the benefits of reading aloud to your children, but I was happy to help her discover the pleasures of literature-based learning!

Here are some pictures of the event:Me and my helpers! (Lisa was also my assistant my she was not there at this point and I neglected getting her picture afterwards).

Samples of the different components.



IG rack, Reader samples, Core rack


My neighbor next to me (notice their catalog rack facing me!) Tommy hung out in front of it most of the time.


My ground crew/driver/babysitter/lunch deliverer (you can kinda see his scar just beneath the sunglasses).

South Florida Homeschool Convention

It's time for the Second Annual South Florida Homeschool Convention. Last year was a great first year...very well organized and lots of attendees! I am happy to attend as a vendor again this year. You may want to check out the website for it. If you page down a little to view the pictures from last year, take a look at the first one...you'll see yours truly!!

Let me know if you are going and stop by to say hi! I'm having a great raffle...drop your card in the basket for your chance at winning!

Hope to see you!

~Sheila

Want to win win A FREE YEAR'S WORTH OF CURRICULUM!!?

Enter Sonlight's Catalog Sweepstakes!

Sponsor:Sonlight Curriculum Ltd.
8042 S. Grant Way,
Littleton, CO. 81022
main@sonlight.com 303.730.6292

Official Rules:

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• Must be 18 or older to enter.
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• Two random drawings will take place and a total of 2 winners will be selected.
• The first drawing will occur on June 20, 2009 for entries made from April 1, 2009 through May 31, 2009.
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• The estimated odds of winning are one in ten-thousand (1:10,000).
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Public Speaking

Our children are involved in a homeschool group called Classical Conversations where every week each child is expected to give a 2-3 minute presentation in front of the class. This is our second year with CC so my children have thus far given approximately 45 presentations. They are getting quite comfortable speaking in front of a group.

This week their training was put to the test. They were asked to present a short skit in church. They did a great job! Here area a few shots:

Receiving some final instructions

I bet I'll be more nervous than they on Tuesday when we have to give our family presentations!

I have catalogs!!

I have the new Sonlight catalog! 10 boxes of them! Does anyone need one now? Let me know and for a small bag of dark choc...errr...well...if you really can't wait for yours to arrive in the mail, we can arrange for you to get a copy! Or if you have a friend who may like one, let me know! You can email me at: sdelcharco@sonlight.com.

Off to find a quiet spot....

~Sheila

Educational Philosophies--Charlotte Mason

When talking to first-time homeschoolers I often will advise them to develop a philosophy of education for their homeschool. It helps to know the different philosophies out there and deciding which one(s) you agree with.

Here are two more books that deal with homeschooling. They both address the Charlotte Mason educational philosophy. I was attracted to this philosophy because of the emphasis on living books. I devoured these books early on in my homeschooling years and they gave me a good foundation on which to build my own philosophy of education. I specifically like that she believes that children should have something or someone to love, something to do and something to think about and that "education is a science of relations." From the first book I gleaned the idea of narration and the importance of copywork. I have incorporated both of these ideas into our homeschool.

A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola is a great introduction to Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education. She was an 1800’s educator who believed that children are “real persons.” She stresses using real books, “living books” as opposed to textbooks. She also encourages narration – telling a story back to you in his own words and short lessons which helps a student to “retain their inborn curiosity.” And finally, she believes that a child doesn’t need homework but rather free afternoons to be able to pursue interests such as music, handicrafts, gardening, or playing. Karen Andreola shares her own journey of homeschooling the Charlotte Mason way with humor and touching accounts.

Pocketful of Pinecones is another book by Karen Andreola, this time emphasizing nature study. It is written as a fictitious story but is full of ideas for ways to incorporate nature study in your school day. I found it sweet and it inspired me to look for teachable moments throughout my day.

Books About Homeschooling

Are you new to homeschooling or maybe are contemplating it? If you are at all like me you might like to do a little research and read up on the subject. I thought about some of my favorite homeschooling books and they can be divided into two categories: inspirational stories and “how-to.” Let me share some of my favorites. Now I realize that this list of books might date me. Remember, I’ve been homeschooling for 9 years now and many of these I read 9+ years ago so they may seem old-fashioned or fuddy-duddy to some of you. But in looking online I see that the only one that seems to be out of print is the Susan Richman book. Most of the other books have been updated. A disclaimer: many of these I read for fun-to-read-not-necessarily- how-I’d-do-it although all of them have left their mark on my educational philosophy.

Hard Times in Paradise by David and Micki Colfax is an incredible story of one family's adventure back when homeschooling was unheard of and still illegal. When I think I'm having a bad homeschool day I just think back to the Colfaxes and what they went through. It makes my day look like a pretty spring morning. Inspiring. Head-shaking good. Not the way I do things, by a long shot, but it helps me to relax when I start getting uptight about the curriculum.

The 3 R’s at Home by Howard and Susan Richman is in some ways similar to the Colfaxes book. It is also the story of one family's homeschooling experience when it was illegal to homeschool. This mother has a very relaxed approach to homeschooling, which like the Colfaxes book, helps me to lighten up when I start getting obsessive about my box-checking. Also not the way I do it, but still inspiring to read.

Now, The Three R's by Dr. Ruth Beechick is more of a how-to book. It does not recount a family's story, but rather it gives a parent advice for teaching reading, writing and arithmetic in the early grades in a very natural way. The reading section explains phonics and comprehension skills. The language section teaches writing skills in a similar way children learn spoken language. Finally, the arithmetic section focuses on understanding math concepts, not just rote memorization. I consider this a "must-have" on my reference shelf and have referred to it time and time again. My copies (it used to be sold as 3 small booklets) are highlighted and a little battered, but still quite valuable.

That's all for now. I do have more favorites but I'll save them for another rainy day. Hope you find some good reading ideas here!

Come visit me at the following homeschooling conventions:

South East Homeschool Convention
March 20-22, 2014
Greenville, SC

North Carolinians for Home Education Book Fair
May 22-24, 2014
Winston-Salem, NC

Georgia Home Education Association Conference and Curriculum Fair
June 5-7, 2014
Atlanta, GA

Begin Your Adventure!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” --Mark Twain

I remember my fears when I first considered embarking on this adventure. Can I really do this? Will I be able to teach math? Will my kids get into college? Will I be too weird? Will my kids turn out weird? Am I going to ruin them? What about me? Will *I* have a life?... Perhaps you have similar fears.

That first year we had kindergartner, a 2-year-old and a baby. We discovered Sonlight Curriculum and enjoyed reading interesting books and learning new things together. We solidified our relationships by being together. I kept thinking how grateful I was that I didn't have to wake my son up early, pack his lunch and send him off to school. He was able to play with his siblings and be under my watchful eye so that I could continue to instruct and mold long after we had "finished school!"

One year followed the next, with siblings joining us as they were able. Twelve years have gone by and our lives are so rich from this experience. No, it hasn't always been easy, but parenting isn't either and I love that job as well! Oh, and for the record, I don't think we're weird!

If you would like some help in choosing curriculum or just someone to share your fears with, I'd be happy to help! It is my passion to help parents cast off their bowlines and head out into new waters. I happy to share my experience with you!

Ready to begin the adventure? Let's go!

Send me a FREE catalog!