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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Bob Books: Sight Words Kindergarten

Bob Books: Sight Words Kindergarten

I've taught three boys to read, with each one learning the skill in a different way. My youngest gravitated to easy readers, memorizing whole words while also learning phonetics. One of his favorite books to read was his set of Bob books. He read them daily, quickly committing to memory the simple sentences, which eventually led him and his brothers to develop their own Bob-Book knock-offs. Read more...

The Art of Argument: an Introduction to the Informal Fallacies

The Art of Argument: an Introduction to the Informal Fallacies

My son will be studying introductory logic this year (Sophomore) using this curriculum. I'm excited for him to learn the basics of logic, and it is my hope that when he completes this course he will understand fallacies, and thus learn how to recognize bad reasoning. I'm sure you'll agree that this is an important foundation we should give our teens as they are impressionable, and still forming their belief systems and worldviews. Read more...

Cabin on Trouble Creek

Cabin on Trouble Creek

Brothers Daniel and Will are thrilled to help their pa homestead in a lush Ohio forest. At 11 and 9 the boys find all the chores exciting – chopping logs, building the cabin, making a fireplace, and gathering wood. Then comes the day their dad must leave the boys behind to finish readying the cabin while he brings back their mom and siblings. With enough food to last the six weeks before his return, the boys foresee the time will go by fast as they prepare the cabin walls. Read more...

Greek Alphabet Code Cracker

Greek Alphabet Code Cracker

When teaching children, it's always nice to incorporate games or some type of fun into your lesson plans. In the Greek Alphabet Code Cracker, kids will have a great time as they play the role of detective, working to solve the case of the stolen Grecian Urn of Achilles. This novel approach certainly makes this sometimes intimidating subject non-threatening. My 9-year-old loves sleuthing and took a liking to this workbook immediately, and he needed only the littlest help from me. Read more...

Charles and Emma : The Darwins' Leap of Faith

Charles and Emma : The Darwins' Leap of Faith

Whether or not you agree with his theories or publications, you'll find out through this book that Charles Darwin was a family man who was committed to his 10 children and devoted to his Christian wife Emma. Ironically, his original life plan was to be a preacher, but then as he collected animal specimens and devoured natural history, he wrestled with the belief of creationism. Despite their conflicting religious views, Emma and Charles married. Read more...

Women of the Old Testament: 14 In-Depth Bible Studies for Teens

Women of the Old Testament: 14 In-Depth Bible Studies for Teens

Barbara Frank put a lot of work into this bible study for your teen girls, and the result is a dynamic, engaging, and comprehensive look at 14 wonderful woman of the Old Testament. This is not a book you will just hand to your daughter and correct later, rather it requires your input too in the section called "discussion starters for mothers and daughters. Read more...

Med Head: My Knock-down, Drag-out, Drugged-up Battle with My Brain

Med Head: My Knock-down, Drag-out, Drugged-up Battle with My Brain

I sailed through this book, practically reading the entire 200+ pages in one sitting. The story of Cory, a boy who has a severe form of Tourette's syndrome, OCD, and anxiety is both heartbreaking and uplifting. Though written by both Cory's dad and James Patterson, the voice is Cory's and it grabs you from the start and keeps you glued till the final page. Diagnosed at age 5, Cory was compelled to move his body in awkward and often painful ways. Read more...

We hear the Dead

We hear the Dead

Maggie and Kate Fox were mischievous children, known to play tricks on each other as well as their parents. Then one day their trickster nature goes extreme. Wanting to scare away their disliked niece, the girls pull the ultimate prank. They produce nighttime rapping noises and lead the niece and the rest of the family to believe the house is haunted and "spirits" are the source of the noise. Not only do they scare their family, but their neighbors too. Read more...

Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks

Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks

Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks is a quaint collection of stories arranged in a school year format geared toward your younger children. Originally compiled in 1894, Cardamom Publishers has reprinted it with a larger font and inserted numerous old-fashioned illustrations. These gentle stores will capture the attention of eager learners and the "talks" suggest ideas for hands on activities. Read more...

Picture the Dead

Picture the Dead

Jenny, orphaned and living with her unloving Aunt and Uncle first suffers the loss of her twin brother Tobias, and then her fiancé Will, both fallen soldiers of the civil war. Her relatives have little sympathy for her. As Will was their eldest son, they view their grief deeper and greater. Desperate to "glimpse" his son again, the uncle suggests they meet a man who claims to be one who can conjure images of the dead through photography. Read more...

Goddess Girls: Athena The Brain

Goddess Girls: Athena The Brain

12-year-old Athena gets a big surprise – a summons to report to Mount Olympus Academy. She learns she's a goddess and Zeus is her father. Previously she was living a normal pre-teen life at Triton Junior High. She is whisked off to her new school via Hermes Chariot and gets to see first hand what being a goddess is all about. With classes such as hero-ology, spellology and beautyology, she has a lot to learn. Read more...

The Chosen One

The Chosen One

I cannot imagine growing up with several mothers, twenty siblings, and a prophet who pronounces who I must marry. Kyra, a chosen one of a polygamist sect, lives this life. At a mere 13-years-old she is ready to be married and start having her own babies. She wouldn't object to being married so young, if it could be Joshua, a boy of similar age whom she has grown fond of. But the prophet decrees Kyra must marry her Uncle, who at sixty is plenty old enough to be her grandfather. Read more...

Sherlock McBiskit Shares His Secrets to Good Character and Respect

Sherlock McBiskit Shares His Secrets to Good Character and Respect

Sherlock McBiskit is an adorable West Highland Terrier and in his book he renders some wise advice to children on what it means to have good character and respect. Kids love dogs, and McBiskit radiates adorability as he shares his secrets to getting the most out of life. In rhyming verse, the text is catchy and accompanied by cute pictures of the loveable canine. Here's an excerpt: Here is the first secret that most people don't know. Life gives us lots of tests. I will tell you it's so. Read more...

Little Black Ant on Park Street

Little Black Ant on Park Street

It's easy to dismiss the role of a black ant. These small creatures are considered pests by most of us, but if you take an in depth look you'll find these little guys are really fascinating and have their own complex communities. Little Black Ant on Park Street, a Smithsonian Backyard title, is a nicely illustrated picture book that gives young readers a close-up look at the black ant's world. Read more...