Homeschool Search
Thursday, October 23, 2008

Much Improved Blog Buzz Widget

 

Much Improved Blog Buzz Widget


Those of you brave enough to try the beta Homeschool Blog Buzz widget had a few issues. I now improved the widget.
  • Does not require javascript on your site (Wordpress and Typepad!)
  • Will not slow your site down
  • Widget appearance is now more consistent across sites.


Copy the code below and add it to your website today.

UPDATE: How to add the widget to Wordpress


If you have an up-to-date installation of wordpress, this should work.
  • Go to your wp-admin dashboard and click on the Design tab, then click on Widgets.

  • In the list of widgets, scroll down to the Text widget and click Add.

  • On the right column, you should see a Text widget appear. Click on Edit and paste the code above in the box.

  • Click Change to save the widget and Save Changes to update your blog template.

That's it! Visit your blog to see the change.

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Sunday, September 28, 2008

Get the Blog Buzz Widget (beta)

 

Get the Homeschool Blog Buzz Widget (beta)


Since we added Homeschool Blog Buzz to Homeschoolbuzz.com back in 2006, it's become one of the most visited areas on our site. We hope it's helped introduce new visitors to the many contributing blogs and further the "buzz" about homeschooling.
Some have asked me to provide a graphic for links but more recently Jocelyn suggested a widget. Although I've been unable to find the motivation to create a graphic, the widget was the kind of challenge I enjoy. So here is a cool widget anyone can put on their blog. It displays the most recent 10 headlines from Homeschool Blog Buzz.
I don't have a suite of 40 computers to test this on various operating systems and browsers so we'll call this a beta and I'd appreciate it if you tell me if you run into any problems. I know it works for Mac OSX with Firefox 2.0 and 3.0, Safari. Windows XP with IE6 and Google Chrome.

UPDATE: Sorry about the hiccup. It seems to work now.


Simply copy and paste the code below into your blog template html.

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Sunday, July 06, 2008

Homeschool Blog Buzz grows to 135

 

Homeschool Blog Buzz grows to 135

It's been too long since we added any new blogs to Homeschool Blog Buzz. So tonight I finally got around to adding all these: Bona Vita, Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom, Frugal Homeschooling, Homeschooled twins, homeschoolingcoach.com, Learning to Amble..., Loves School, Song of My Heart, Thinking Out Loud and Tree of Life Musings.
That brings the total blogs roll to 135. Your blog can be part of the fun too if it's mostly about homeschooling and somewhat interesting. (Yes, sometimes it takes months for me to answer and you might have to ask twice.) Visit homeschool blog buzz...

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Friday, June 20, 2008

Facebook welcomes homeschoolers

 

Facebook welcomes homeschoolers


Way back in February I posted a story about how Facebook inadvertently discriminates against homeschoolers. Now they finally changed their account creation process to allow minors join without listing a school affiliation.
From the facebook blog:
We've been working on ways to solve this—we want minors to use Facebook safely above all. Today, we're happy to announce that we've recently come up with a way for homeschoolers to join. We've created a new verification system—one that doesn't depend on being in a high school, but still provides the level of security we believe is required. So welcome, everyone, to Facebook. Read more...

Hat tip to Spunky for first posting about this yesterday.

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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Carnival of homeschooling: Visions of the future

 

Carnival of homeschooling: Visions of the future

Welcome to the April 29, 2008 edition of carnival of homeschooling.

Where's my flying car?

When I was a kid, the future was promised to bring us flying cars. I suppose we have only ourselves to blame. After all, we were the kids who grew up and created the present day world. Despite the mundane transportation, there are quite a few cool innovations since we were kids. Your kids will grow to create the next future. Some of us may live to see the era of flying cars. Until then we can only teach our children well.

There are plenty of bloggers this week with advice on teaching, family and othe realated topics. Enjoy this week's carnival of homeschooling.

USS - a portfolio of probabilities _05 syd mead Hypertrophied Disney-Galaxy USS - a portfolio of probabilities _11 Syd Mead's USS - a portfolio of probabilities _10 VEX Thermal venting. Living in the Eco-Torus

Dawn Adams presents Another Day, Another Homeschooling Critic

Summer presents How To Hate On Homeschoolers Properly "A sarcastic how-to for writing the perfect anti-homeschooling rant."

Alasandra presents Increase the educational choices for all Instead of trying to limit educational choices we should all be working to increase the educational choices for all.

Heather Johnson presents 2008 eLearning Symposium

Dana presents Homeschooling cuts children off from oversight

Cristina Payne presents Home Spun comic strip #216 Distractions we face in homeschooling, and why they may not be a bad thing.

Elena LaVictoire presents Ben Stein's Expelled My review of Ben' Stein's movie, Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed and how I think it connects to education. I think this is a must see for homeschool parents and high school students.

Amanda Dixon presents A Homeschool Senior?s Favorite Resources The favorite resources of a homeschool senior.

education

Maria presents A review of a high school geometry course with Geometry: A Guided Inquiry with Geometer's Sketchpad and a Home Study Companion.

Rose presents Trendy, green, frugal, and homeschooling

Eric Koshinsky presents How to Teach Speaking

Overwhelmed Mom presents How can you find anything in this mess? This post discusses different learning styles and how they are perceived.

Sheri presents The Ocean

Debbie Phillips presents Henty I only started my blog on Sunday the 20th. So far on my blog there is an article on G.A. Henty, links and info about the UHSE, photos of flowers, and a video of a ballet that is great.

Jacque Dixon presents Gardening 101 - You *Can* Teach Your Children!! Gardening is one of the easiest ways to homeschool, especially throughout the summer!

Henry Cate presents a Book review: Bootstrapping Your Business saying: Do you have a budding entrepreneur? Teaching your children to manage money and start a business is just as important as academics

Mrs. C presents Homeschooling With Lotsa Kids Yes, you *can* homeschool if you have younger children as well. It just takes time!

Barbara says I Should Have Known saying An urban agrarian family with a popular web site reveals its homeschooling past.

Bettina Colona Essert presents Homeschooling in North Carolina Bettina explains how to homeschool in North Carolina.

The Tinker Box suggests Putting aside broken mechanical and electronic devices for kids to take apart later.

Rebecca presents The Orioles Are Coming! Bird watching can be a fun homeschooling activity. Here's how to attract Orioles and how to track their migration north with your kids.

Ramona presents No Screen, No Fun.

Book of Life My son has been devouring biographies lately, and he wanted to recommend a few of his favorites.

Who Is This Kid? My workbook-hating son astounds me by suddenly deciding to do ten Singapore Math 1a lessons in one sitting, with his own special boyish twist.

Hands On = Brain Off? Sebastian at Percival Blakeney Academy reacts to a report that math manipulatives may not improve learning.

Renae presents How to Add Art to Your Blog

Orlandrea Wilson presents Help For The Frazzled Homeschooler

Nancy Sathre-Vogel presents Roadschooling My husband and I will be taking off soon to ride our bikes from Alaska to Argentina with our 10-year-old twin boys. In this post, I talk about how we deal with the boys' education on the road.

christinemoers presents Those unschoolers are smart little cookies Take a bite out of some unschooling. It's quite delish!

Tim Power presents Classical Education, Logical Fallacies, and Mushrooms I recently came across a critique of Classical Education (specifically, the Trivium model), and take a stab at debunking it. In the process I wind up enmeshed in a debate with an Objectivist about Religion, Objectivism, Faith, Reason, and the nature of reality.

Melissa presents Books: Using Your Resources

Denise presents Non-metric measurements, and poetry Two great ways to teach non-metric volumes (read the comments for #2!), and math poems in honor of National Poetry Month.

ChristineMM presents I've Been Learning About Convergence Insufficiency (an Eye Tracking Problem) ChristineMM shares some information she has learned about an eye tracking problem after one of her children was recently diagnosed with convergence insufficiency.

family

Janice Campbell presents TV Turnoff Week: Fast, Cheap, & Easy Life Enhancement! posted at Janice Campbell- Taking Time for Things That Matter, saying, "TV Turnoff Week is a holiday that ought to be celebrated for much longer than just a week. Doing and being, rather sitting and staring is a quick, easy way to enhance life. Extend the holiday, and just do it!"

Malia Russell presents The Easily Distracted Child » Homemaking 911

Melitsa presents Tip: Sound communication

Jennifer in OR presents A Strawberry Tea Party Hosting a fun tea party, including a bit of the history of tea.

Elisheva Levin presents We Found It on Chupadera Mesa...! A weekend get-away leads us to a four-year plan for sustainable living.

Jocelyn @ A Pondering Heart presents Homeschool Boutique

Activities Coordinator presents New Horizons .

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using our carnival submission form. The next carnival of homeschooling will be hosted by Melissa's Idea Garden.

 

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

New Blog Buzz Contributors

 

New Blog Buzz Contributors


We've added a couple new blogs to Homeschoolbuzz Blog Buzz.

Visit Blog Buzz...

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The Famous Cates

 

The Famous Cates


I just noticed a picture of Janine Cate (and girls) of whyhomeschool blog in an article on the Pueblo Chieftain. It turns out this interview (and sometimes picture) have been showing up repeatedly both in the Cate's local paper, AOL and USAToday. Henry posted about it on their blog a week ago.

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Sunday, March 02, 2008

Notebooking Blog

 

Notebooking Blog


I just added yet another new blog to Homeschool Blog Buzz: Notebook Learning They have notebooking pages every day, as well as other homeschool related posts.

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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Blog Buzz grows again

 

Blog Buzz grows again


I just added a bunch of new blogs to Homeschoolbuzz Blog Buzz. I get a few requests a week and I really should add them weekly. They are all cool and some very unique. I wish I had the time to describe each one.
Topsy-Techie, TheNotebookingCorner, Supercharged Science, Homeschool Insider, MamaBugs, My Quivers Full, The Daily Planet, Lesser Road Academy, The Sojourner, Homeschooling Hints,
A Woman On Purpose, Homeschool Savings Blog & Homeschool Help Web - Homeschool

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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

10 Geeky websites

 

10 Geeky websites


GeekParenting has this list of 10 websites for geeky kids. (HT: Wired: GeekDad)
Though my kids have yet to do anything with my computer other than rip off the shift keys, I do try to keep my eye out for coolhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif sites for children. I actually write for a few, so I make a mental note whenever I see something interesting.
Mind you, this list is far from exhaustive and I urge you to suggest more below, but these are my picks for the top 10 Websites for geeky kids. Read more...

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Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Still More Blogs to Buzz

 

Still More Blogs to Buzz


Yes, we've been at it again. Blog Buzz now has two more blogs in the mix. Homeschool Help Web and Gifted HomeSchool. Visit Homeschool Blog Buzz...

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Sunday, January 06, 2008

More Blogs to Buzz

 

More Blogs to Buzz


I just added 3 new blogs to our Blog Buzz page. An Organized Mess, Choidahye's Homeschool - Learning Freedom and Life Nurturing Education.
It's like a big party for homeschool bloggers - and it helps introduce new readers to those sites. I'm always looking for more, so if you have a great homeschooling blog let me know.
UPDATE: I also just added Spotty Banana.
Visit Blog Buzz...

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Saturday, December 15, 2007

New Homeschool flavored search engine

 

New Homeschool flavored search engine


HomeschoolBuzz.com is launching a Homeschool flavored, Google custom search engine. What is homeschool flavor? Some say it tastes like chicken but it's actually a Google custom search limited to only homeschooling related sites and pages. You can search hundreds of homeschool sites, blogs, articles, vendors and resources to get search results with a homeschool focus.

If I left out some of your favorite sites, it was unintentional. I can only add a site if I know about it. I want them ALL! That's where you come in...
Leave a comment to tell me about the homeschool sites I missed. You can also send a list of sites yourself. I'm sure there are hundreds of them. The only requirement is that the site is homeschool focused or an educational resource that could be used by homeschoolers. The list is not limited by politics, religion or educational philosophy, only topic. (Search for the site's name to see if it's included.)

(NOTE: Earlier, I requested contributors but this is hard for me to manage so please comment to leave info about sites you want included. I usually add them quickly.)
Homeschool Search plug-in
I also implemented a search plug-in for Firefox or ie7.
Google provides a way you can put the search box on your blog or site or add it to your Google homepage (iGoogle).
Try it out. Tell me what you think.

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Teaching as Indoctrination

 

Teaching as Indoctrination


Philosopher Daniel Dennett wants to force all parents, even parents who home-school their offspring, to give up their children to educators like himself. For what purpose? To expose the children, Dennett argues, to "uncontroversial" facts about the world's religions. Listen to Dennett make his case in a short segment from our recent debate in Boston, and then you can hear my answer to him. Read more...

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

5 years of HomeschoolBuzz.com

 

5 years of HomeschoolBuzz.com


Happy Belated Birthday to Homeschoolbuzz. It's been five years since we started this blog on November 1, 2002. I just realized that, a few days late.

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Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Our Homeschool Reviews Now a Blog

 

Our Homeschool Reviews Now a Blog


Kathy, Wayne and Cynthia have been contributing reviews to Homeschoolbuzz for a long time. We have nearly 300 homeschool reviews of books websites and media on the blog. Until now, we have been creating static web pages for these reviews. I finally got around to adding comments, trackback and a Homeschool Reviews RSS feed to the pages, making them more blog-like. Search is coming soon. Check it out...

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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Carnival of Homeschooling Week 94: Octobers' Checkpoint

 

Carnival of Homeschooling Week 94: Octobers' Checkpoint


The carnival is hosted this week at The Thinking Mother blog.
Welcome to the 94th Carnival of Homeschooling: Octobers' Checkpoint!
I decided to not create a theme but instead to see what submissions rolled in to see what has been on everyone’s minds. This is mid-October, and with that it seems that most of what is on the minds of homeschooling parents is immersion in learning about various areas of study, enjoying the family life of the homeschooling lifestyle, and thoughts of how the new 'homeschool year' is going, taking breaks from formal lessons and so on. Read more...

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Thursday, October 11, 2007

Over 100 Homeschool Blogs on BlogBuzz

 

Over 100 Homeschool Blogs on BlogBuzz


I am resolved to stay on top of the many requests to add good homeschooling blogs to our blogbuzz. I just added 3 more which brings the total to 101!
Bow of Bronze, The Joyful Journey and Camp Creek Blog.
If you have a homeschool blog and want to reach more people, tell me about it! Read more homeschool blogs at blogbuzz...

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

 

Bigger Blog Buzz


We've added a few more blogs to Blog Buzz today. If you have a homeschool blog you want featured here, tell us here.
Life on the Road: Home Business, Homeschool, and Cats! A full-time RV family shares their experiences of the travelling life.
The Sound of Learning It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education - Albert Einstein. I homeschool, but I don't "do school" at home. I learn from life, which is the way people have always done it. Only now we have a name for it - "unschooling."
~*~Lothlorien, Realm of the Lady of Light~*~ "May it be a light to you in dark places when all other lights go out" -Galadriel, ROTK
Gentle Learning Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life. ~Charlotte Mason Read more...

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Wednesday, June 06, 2007

 

Blog Watch grows again


I just added four more contributing blogs to Blog Watch: Camp Homeschool, Life. On a Budget., Suncoast Homeschool, and Standing on Isaiah54:13. If you want your blog to be included, send me a note here. If you already asked, there's a chance I inadvertanly missed it so you can ask again. I try to keep an open mind as long as the blog is of interest to homeschoolers and kept up to date.
By the way, I never really liked the name "Blog Watch." (I came up with that name after hours of writing the code that makes it work.) Any suggestions for a new name?
UPDATE: I also added Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths.
Read more...

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Friday, May 25, 2007

 

Homeschoolbuzz Blog Watch Grows!


I just added about 23 more homeschooling blogs to Blog Watch for your serendipitous enjoyment. There are now 73 contributing blogs!
I had a few problems in getting more blogs on Blog Watch in recent months so this is the huge backlog. If you asked and didn't get added, ask again. There's a chance I messed up and lost a few good ones. Remember, your blog has to be mainly about homeschooling and interesting to people outside your family to be accepted.
The idea of Blog Watch is to expose more homeschool blogs to more homeschoolers. There is lots of great blogs out there and we want to help you find them.

Read more...

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

 

Winners of the homeschool blog awards


Congrats to all the winners. I should have mentioned this earlier. I knew about it but I have been traveling lately. Yes, we were nominted too and I still couldn't find a minute to mention it. Some of my favorites won and some new favorites were discovered.
Stop in and visit the winning sites! Leave them a note of congratulations....THANKS AGAIN FOR MAKING THE AWARDS FUN! I can’t wait until I have time to sit and just enjoy browsing the nominees’ and winners’ sites. Read more...

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Calamity Jack

Calamity Jack

Calamity Jack is the hero of this engaging graphic novel. Born to "scheme", Jack sets his sights on what he wants and will go for it no matter what the consequences. Unfortunately it seems bad luck follows him. Good intentions he may have, but the end result is not always "ideal". Just like another Jack we've heard about, Calamity Jack buys some magic beans that lead him straight to some cranky giants. Read more...

Twinkle: Star of the Week

Twinkle: Star of the Week

In this children's picture book, we meet Twinkle and her fellow star classmates. Yes, they are literal hot balls of gas and they have Ms. Sun as their teacher. When Ms. Sun announces to the class each of the stars will have a turn to be Star of the week, Twinkle had planned to share her favorite star song with the class. Wouldn't you know Blink had his turn before Twinkle and shared the exact same song! Now she has to go back to the drawing board and come up with something else to share. Read more...

The Periodic Table: Elements with Style

The Periodic Table: Elements with Style

Do you find chemistry boring? Do you think that the Periodic Table is a strange kind of dining-room furniture, or that Molybdenum is a meaningless word that the smart kids use to confuse you? If so, The Periodic Table: Elements with Style is a perfect book for you. The book features brief descriptions of 54 of the chemical elements. Read more...

The School Story

The School Story

Dream of writing a novel? 12-year-old Natalie does, and she goes beyond dreaming – she actually writes one. And, it's good. But the problem any new writer has is how to get it published? Her BFF Zoe and her English teacher Ms. Clayton team up with Natalie to help. Still, the biggest hill to cross is how to get the publisher to read it and not file it away in the "slush" pile. Natalie's mom works as an editor, so Natalie knows how the system works. Read more...

The Thing About Georgie

The Thing About Georgie

The thing about Georgie is it's a neat book that puts you in the shoes of Georgie, 10- year-old who's facing quite a few challenges at once. First, there are his physical challenges: he's a dwarf. Next, there is personal conflict. His best friend Andy is becoming buddies with another kid named Russ, and Georgie thinks he's sure to lose his friendship. There's also Jeanie Meanie, a girl who torments him with her sharp tongue and bully behaviors. And the biggest problem is his family. Read more...

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

It's the 1860's and Homer and his older brother Harold are orphans stuck with their mean guardian Squint, who neglects them by locking them in the barn and denying them proper nourishment. Then the old coot goes and illegally sells an underage Harold into the Union army. It's up to 12-year-old Homer to find Harold and rescue him from the war. On his journey many an adventure, some good, and some bad delay Homer. Read more...

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science

Phineas Gage, a 19th century railroad construction foreman, survived an accident that blew a 13-pound 3 foot 7inch iron rod through his cheek and out the top of his skull. He should have been dead, but rather he was able to walk, talk, and account his accident to others. His recovery was not unremarkable though, after battling infection and suffering from delirious spells, his convalescence would last several months. Yes, he survived a catastrophic injury, but Phineas would never be the same. Read more...

Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys

Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys

As a mom to three active boys, I'm always eager to read what others have to say about raising boys to be men. What better people to take advice from than Hal and Melanie Young, parents to 6 boys (and 2 girls). In their book, Raising Real men, they discuss the intricacies of bringing up boys within a biblical worldview. They address numerous issues, such as boys needing heroes to look up to, leadership, competitiveness, stewardship, manners, and much more. Read more...

Blizzard!

Blizzard!

Having grown up in Upstate New York and now living in Western New York, I have grown accustomed to snow. Winters last sometimes 6 months here, and you learn to deal with it. But only a handful of times do I remember experiencing a true blizzard, the kind that closes shopping malls, grocery stores, and schools. In his riveting book, Blizzard, Jim Murphy tells of the infamous blizzard of 1888, where not only towns came to a standstill, but also 600+ people lost their lives. Read more...

When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me

Twelve-year-old Miranda is living in New York City with her mom, who has just learned she will be a contestant on the 20,000 Pyramid game show (book is set in the 70's). Excitement abounds and Miranda helps her mom prepare for the show with timed quizzes. Miranda is a latch key kid, and when she starts receiving some unusual notes from an unknown person she is intrigued, and a little spooked. Read more...

Frankie: The Walk 'n Roll Dog

Frankie: The Walk 'n Roll Dog

In this touching story we meet Frankie, an adorable dachshund who suffered rear leg paralysis after a spinal cord injury. You might think her quality of life would be compromised with such a handicap, but shortly after her injury she became fitted with a harness with wheels, and regains her mobility. Her uplifting and true story is told by her human mom Barb, but it is Frankie's voice. Read more...

Pajama School: Stories From the Life of a Homeschool Graduate

Pajama School: Stories From the Life of a Homeschool Graduate

As a homeschooling mom to three boys, Pajama School brought me both sighs of relief and smiles. The author's recollection of her homeschooling days gave me much needed encouragement. After all, don't we sometimes wonder if we are doing the right thing, educating our children at home? What about socialization, team sports, band, the "prom" and high school requirements? Are they missing out? Of course my answer to those questions is a big no, but every once in a while I wonder…. Read more...

Camp Club Girls and the Mystery at Discovery Lake

Camp Club Girls and the Mystery at Discovery Lake

In The Mystery at Discovery lake, summer camp cabin-mates turned friends Elizabeth, Alexis, Sydney, Mackenzie and Kate team up to investigate first some strange howlings, and then some strange diggings at the adjacent golf course. One of the girls brought with her some neat gadgets such as a robot spy-cam, which proves useful to the novice detectives. When they are not sleuthing around, they are doing regular camp activities such as crafts, horseback riding, and learning Bible memory verses. Read more...

The Make Today Matter Makeover

The Make Today Matter Makeover

I wish I were thinner. I need to get back to working out. I have a list of books I'd like to read. I want to break a bad habit. I must get more organized. Sound familiar? All of us have things in our life that we'd like to change. But where do we begin? How do we get from here to there? One resource that may help is the Make Today Matter Makeover: The 26 Best Ways to Recapture Daily Magic, Kick-start High-Energy Living, and Get the Most out of Life. Read more...

On the Edge with Coolhead Luke

On the Edge with Coolhead Luke

Do you enjoy poetry? Then you should like this book. Mother and son team, in which author Jennifer White produced the poems and artist Colin White provided the illustrations, came out with Coolhead Luke and Other Stories in 2007. Cynthia Clarke said this about it on Home School Buzz. “In the introduction the author, Jennifer White, explains that her son’s pictures ‘had a story to tell’ so she found the words and the book was born. Read more...