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:

• NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER.
• Must be 18 or older to enter.
• Limit of 1 entry per household.
• Contest for US residents only (AK and HI are included)
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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.
• The second drawing will occur on September 30, 2009 for entries made from June 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009. You will be contacted within 15 days if you are selected as a winner.
• The estimated odds of winning are one in ten-thousand (1:10,000).
• Each winner will receive a Sonlight Newcomer Package or equivalent (for upper levels 6 and above) for 1 child with a retail value between $261.90 and $1028.94.
• Each winner will also receive all Club Benefits for one year so that they can truly experience being a Sonlighter. The Club Benefits include, but are not limited to, Free Membership on the Sonlighter Club Forums, Free Subscription to the "Beam of Sonlight" Newsletter, 10% Discount on all future orders for a year, and an Ancient Roman "Widow's Mite" Coin Pendant.
• Sonlight will not share a participant's personal information, including address and phone number, with any third party.
• Employees and outside contractors, along with their immediate families (parents, brothers, sisters and children), of the Sponsor, Sonlight Curriculum Ltd. are not eligible to win.

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.