It seems this winter is dragging out as long as it can! I know its still February, but its almost March and that means its time for winter to hit the road! Being the lover of hot weather and sunshine that I am, I have house fever! Which is cabin fever except I don’t live in a cabin. But there are definitely plenty of things to keep me busy waiting for this winter to finish out!

Things like learning about different festivals and holidays…

NerdMom of the Nerd Family is learning about Purim.

Amy whose Hope Is the Word shares about what they did in their home/homeschool to celebrate and learn about the Chinese New Year.

Denise of Let’s Play Math! is participating in World Maths Day. Act quickly if you want your student to participate in the (free!) World Maths Day.

Or learning how to be better at finances…

Kristie who lives on This Side of Eternity shares about Frugal Homeschooling and how to give your children the best education with the Lord’s direction and avoid the pitfalls of comparing yourself to others. How to avoid falling into the curriculum trap. It is possible to give your children a great education without spending a fortune.

Audrey of Homeschooling Income is Putting my children to work and shares about how her children can also start to earn pocket money by working online with help from a parent.

Mrs. White at The Legacy of Home Teaches Home Economics through Apprenticeship.

We can be grateful for homeschooling…

DeputyHeadmistress who resides in The Common Room shares what a homeschooling week looked like with a kindergartner recently removed from public school in The Further School Tales of Blynken.

Alasandra’s Homeschool Blog gives us A Dim View of Public Schools.

Linda Dobson who is a PARENT AT THE HELM shares A Brief History of American Homeschooling.

At Why Homeschool, Henry points to some great posts Janine wrote four years ago: Homeschooling highlights from November 2005

We can take some time to look at why we do or don’t do things…

Monica at Educating Magpies wonders why some home schooling moms do not use support groups in their home schooling journey… its just The kind of mom who baffles me.

Tiffany who lives Life on the Road asks Is Co-Schooling an Option?.

Dana who lives at Roscommon Acres is wondering if its a Reading Breakthrough, or Victory of the Bribe…

Rayann presentsRayann @ The Nuthouse rants against asking for permission to make curriculum changes.

Mrs. C of Homeschool and Etc. shares about The Bad Homeschooler You Know. Does everyone know at least one “bad” homeschooling family? What are our responsibilities to the families with children in these situations?

We can take some time to help others…

Jane Doe of Count By Homeschoolers just kicked off a fun survey blog for homeschool graduates, and would love to join your party: Press Release: Coca-Cola Versus Pepsi.

Vikki Lawrence over at Vikki’s Verandah is doing some Book Research: Calling All Teens.Writing an adventure series for teens, starring a homeschooled 15 year old girl. Need help with researching! Go to: http://vikkisverandah.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-research-calling-all-teens.html

Denise who is Blogging 2 Learn helps by talking about Spam Comments. Spammers are tricky, and inexperienced bloggers can be easy to fool.

Robin who is seeking a Heart of Wisdom gives us Lapbook and Scrapbook Folder Differences

We can fellowship with other homeschool moms…

Barbara Frank Online knows that after many years of homeschooling can leave a mom with a much shorter attention span than she once had and then you have to get back to the point of Productivity.

ChristineMM who is The Thinking Mother story about teaching her seventh grade son about writing composition, cause Writing is Talking on Paper.

Jacque who is Walking Therein shares about Teaching the Littles the Scriptures.

Penny Raine shares some recent ponderings about parenthood.

And then we can just have some fun!

Rachel Lynette who has Minds in Bloom shares 3 More Games to Play While Waiting.

Michelle Dennis Evans has a great, easy French Toast recipe for young children.

Lara DeHaven, the Texas Homesteader shows some beautiful 4-H Photography Contest photos she got when the sun decided to come out for a bit!

Pamela of  Blah, Blah, Blog reminds us to remember the Little things.

Michelle of  Delightful Learning has some really neat Delight Directed “Science” Play and projects to do!

The HSBA Post has some Fun with Geography: Learning the Highest Peak on Each Continent

Finally…

Tiana Krenz of God Made, Home Grown shares The Most Important Thing, and that is truly the MOST IMPORTANT THING!

Hopefully doing these things will help keep my house fever low and will make the time go by just a little faster!

If you enjoyed this edition of the COH, would you mind sharing about it? You can easily grab the icon and put it on your site to announce this edition! Make sure to send in a submission for next week’s carnival hosted by HomeschoolBuzz.com.

©AmandaDixon2010

Tags: apprenticeship, Barbara Franks, blog, book, cabin fever, Carnival of Homeschooling, Chinese New Year, co-op, coke, curriculum, Dana Hanley, economics, education, festivals, finances, frugal, frugally, fun, games, geography, Heart of Wisdom, help, Henry Cate, Homeschool, homeschool graduates, homeschool mom, homeschooling, house fever, HSBA Post, Jacque Dixon, math, money, parenthood, pepsi, photography, public school, Purim, reading, recipes, research, Robin Sampson, save money, school, science, Scriptures, spam comments, study, teaching, The Thinking Mother, Walking Therein, Why I Homeschool, writing

I have been so enjoying June! Its been a wonderful month even tho its only the 16th. We had a wonderful get together on Saturday with some wonderful friends! With that get together still in mind, I thought it would be neat to have that as my theme: A Summer Party

At a summer party, you have plenty of food, fellowship, fotos and fun!

Elena LaVictoire of My Domestic Church has some tips for reading fluency that Works for Me Wednesday.

Travis who is the Personal Web Guide asks Do You Read? He explores the benefits reading can have upon us in a culture so saturated with television. It discusses the benefits reading can have in stimulating our brain and providing us with a wealth of knowledge, as well as the pitfalls of succumbing yourself to television all day.

Lara DeHaven who is a Texas Homesteader shares My Favorite Quotes on Education.

Nui Loa of Boston Children’s Music shares Our Five Favorite Kids’ CDs for Grownups.

Annette Berlin who has Craft Stew knows art is important to a well rounded education…both as a subject to study and as a tool to create. Microsoft Paint Tutorials provides an easy way for any child to explore color, line, shape and the imagination.

Beverly’s Homeschooling Blog (About.com) has a listing Free (or Cheap) Summer Movies for Kids in theaters offering summer specials for kids.

FOOD

Barbara who has Three Girl Pile-Up is incorporating her reading into her eating Thunder Cake.

Neighbor Nancy who gives Recession Depression Therapy has some Electronics Activities For the Young Mad Scientist that help you keep your appliances in one piece, while everyone learns some pretty shocking things about electricity and electronics. These hands-on activities are good for ages 3 to 103. Have fun!

Courtney who lives Life on Courtney Lane shows why only studying one or two science topics per year is a good approach and how to get started: Learning Science, One Topic at a Time

Amy LeForge who gives Earnest Parenting is thinking I Killed the Chickens.

The Science Mouse knows How to attract toads to your garden.

Cristina who does Home Spun Juggling gives a life lesson from watching animals, inspired by our butterfly project: Caterpillars of Learning.

FELLOWSHIP

An article stating the reasons why I choose to homeschool my children. Jaime who lives For His Glory gives the reasons for Why I Homeschool my children.

Tim Tinkel of Families Again is Getting My House in Order by doing something that homeschoolers struggle with – organizing. However, not only do we have to get our physical houses in order, but our spiritual ones as well.

Dana of Principled Discovery shares about how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child used against English homeschoolers.

The Hall Monitor at DetentionSlip.org thinks maybe the problem is that some of these public schools have over a dozen valedictorians is that the Recession hits high school seniors’ choices.

~Kris~ who hasWeird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers got an Interview with a Homeschool Graduate: Morgan. After being homeschooled K-12, Morgan is now entering her senior year of college as an education major. She shares her unique perspective on education through the eyes of a homeschooler-turned-public-school-teacher.

Jenafer who has Cage Free Monkeys shares about their News Interview Promoting Homeschooling.

Andrea of Homeschool Blog shares How to use learner.org as a homeschool curriculum.

Joy Miller who has Five J’s has 7th Grade Homeschool Curriculum for 09-10. This isn’t just a list of curriculum for a 7th grader. I’ve also described how we use each curriculum, how long it takes, and why we like it so much.

GFCF Mom of Many has gleaned Ways to save money buying next year’s material

Loving Learning At Home! is Living more frugally…in a BOX???!!!!!!!!??? You can live frugally as a homeschool or even just a regular family!

Name of Blog: Barbara Frank Online has a A Great Source for Homeschooling Supplies right in your own neighborhood.

Sharon with the Seven of Hearts shares about Homeschooling on the cheap.

Jana of Pure Home Schooling gives parents An Easy Start To Homeschooling through a quick idea to get started homeschooling even without a bunch of research and knowledge of curriculum.

Andrea at the Atlanta Education Homeschool Blog asks “think you are not qualified to homeschool?” She gives Notes from a homeschooling mom: I am not qualified to homeschool

Special Needs Homeschooling has some Question’s you should ask about your child’s education if you have a special needs child and are considering homeschooling or not. These are some question you should ask before making that decision.

FUN

Laura Williams’ Musings has a Flurry of Activity x 6 + end of school year + introducing workboxes = summer activity anew.

Alicia of Magic and Mayhem is In Praise of Summer Vacation (and Children) and gives an answer to those mothers who complain about having their children at home for summer vacation, talking about the joys of summer and of spending time with our kids.

Henry of Why Homeschool hasThoughts about summer and what will our children do with more free time? He explains how the Cates are transitioning to their summer schedule

Kathi who says No fighting, no biting! blog had a blast! attending a homeschool conference. It’s a great way to meet other homeschoolers, hear affirming talks, and be able to buy every new (and old) book you want for your homeschool room.

Tristan of Our Busy Homeschool knows that children can teach us so much, and they are often much braver than we are, and Just for Today we studied sharks.

Jacque Dixon who is Walking Therein is Too Busy Home Schooling to Blog, Email or Tweet. Its the most busiest time of the year!

Hope you enjoyed this week’s carnival! Enjoy your summer! Make sure to join in next week’s Carnival of Homeschooling hosted by Our Curious Home.

And yes… some of those pics are from our big weekend with everyone! I promise to get some more up soon!

©AmandaDixon2009

Tags: 7th grade, Barbara Frank, benefits, blog, books, Carnival of Homeschooling, caterpillars, cheap, chickens, children, college, curriculum, Dana Hanley, education, email, Facebook, fellowship, food, fotos, frugally, fun, garden, Henry Cate, high school seniors, Homeschool, homeschool conference, homeschool graduate, homeschooling, interview, Jacque Dixon, June, literature, Microsoft Paint, party, photos, pictures, Principled Discovery, quotes, reading, recession, Sabby, save money, school, science, sharks, study, Summer, summer movies, supplies, thunder cake, toads, tutorials, tweet, Twitter, UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, Walking Therein, Why I Homeschool

I know that Mother’s Day is a week away, but hey, let’s start appreciating her all this week and have a grand finale on May 10th!
For The Homesteading Carnival #94 I am dedicating the theme to all the Mamas out there! You are awesome!

To start… Well, let’s start where Mama usually starts her day: Devotions
Gleaning The Harvest, a ministry helping the widows and fatherless of the homeschool community through your support, asks Who Is Your Provider?
Growing In Grace shares how you can have Joy Like A Fountain.
PennyRaine wants to tell the truth and get real.

Next, Mamas usually heads to the kitchen to prepare something for her family to eat as they start their day. jim who majors in Bargaineering has some Frugal and Convenient Breakfast Recipes that will help us start our day off right… if you like breakfast foods that is.
If you like biscuits you might wanna try SimpleFolk’s Dandelion Jelly on them.
After breakfast, gotta make sure we have some snacks for in between time… Abi who lives on the lighter side made a perfect snack: Bunny Trail Mix.
For lunch,  Ruth of But First, We Have Coffee shows us How To Make Eggrolls. If you’re not an eggroll person, you can head over to Like A Warm Cup Of Coffee and try Sarah Mae’s Taco Crescent Bake that is delicious and easy.
Wanna a little sweet snack? Rachel who lives in A City On A Hill made some Tapioca Pudding that is quick and easy and tastes wonderful!
For dinner, Grandma Rosie’s Texas Home has made some amazing Zesty Chicken and Potatoes and
jim who has a Blueprint for Financial Prosperity is Making Homemade Bread Crumbs to go with it! Or Robin who has a Heart of Wisdom gives some Unleavened Bread Recipes and Freebie.
Finally… my fave part of eating: the desserts! Rani who has Indoor Garden Musings created a 5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake for us to enjoy! Ever met a Mama that didn’t like chocolate? Me either! Knows what goes good with chocolate? Depression Caramels straight from The Austerity Kitchen. Or maybe we need to make the desserts a little more healthy with a Fresh Strawberry and White Chocolate Custard Pie from Scribbit | A Blog About Motherhood in Alaska.

Now that we have all our food situated, Mamas usually head to the rest of the house to get things done! Training Daughters, Teaching Wives has a Quick Clean-Up Tip: Toddler Toys to help you get the house looking spick ‘n span!
Mamas are always wanting to be frugal and responsible with what God has given them and CandyFoote has some awesome 99 cents deals you won’t wanna miss out on!
The Smarter Wallet shares 10 Things To Buy New (Or Things You Shouldn’t Buy Used) to help Mamas get the most for their monies. So does the Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life wants to know if You Haggle? How To Negotiate A Price.
Mamas need all the help they can get and Chris Lang of Home I Own helps us Deal with unwelcome guests in your house (part 2).

Since the house and everything is in order, Mamas can head outside to tend the garden… Kim who lives Life In A Shoe shares their Adventures in sprouting.
Miss Alli who is on A Handmaiden’s Journey got to go to a Herb Festival and had a great time learning all about herbs!
Amanda who knows Better Is Little has a wonderful Outside Boot Storage idea for you to store those yucky boots outside and not in the house!
Mamas never forget to stop and smell the flowers! Miss Jocelyn is learning to See, Miss Amanda has
A New Love, Miss Jessica shares about Our Golden Wattle, Miss Alyssa loves the Wildflowers in Oregon, while Miss Monica June loves the Wildflowers in California.

Finally Mamas take a look at all their day has included… so does Gin Getz of High Mountain Musing who knows Some days are just that way.

I am taking this week to my Mama and show her how much she really means to me!

Tags: Alaska, breakfast, California, Candy Foote, chicken, chocolate, clean up, coffee, cooking, dandelion jelly, devotions, dinner, eggrolls, fatherless, flowers, food, frugal, gardening, Gleaning The Harvest, God, herb, herbs, homemade, Homeschool, homestead, homesteading, Jacque Dixon, Jesus, Jocelyn Dixon, Joy, Joy Like A Fountain, Kim Coghlan, Life In A Shoe, Like A Warm Cup of Coffe, Lord, lunch, Mama, moms, Mother's Day, mothers, Oregon, outside, Penny Raine, potatoes, provider, recipes, Ruth McLean, Sarah Mae, Savior, Scribbit, snacks, tapioca pudding, The Homesteading Carnival, toddler, unleavened bread, widows, wildflowers

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!

Here we are entering day seven of my Super Blogoversary Giveaway Bash. Some of the wonderful giveaways that are still going on are: GOV Purity Ring Giveaway Giveaway (ends TODAY!), Sense and Sensibility ePattern (ends TODAY),and Get Organized To Make This School Year Great! (ends March 26th).

Today’s giveaway is brought to you by Bundled In Prayer. Christina Brown makes Hand-Crafted Custom Afghans and MORE! MADE WITH ALL-NEW MATERIALS!!! Lovingly and Prayerfully Handmade! BundledinPrayer is primarily about prayer and comfort. May God minister to your heart and change your life.

BIP has donated a red and/or blue shawl for my blogoversary giveaways!
The Shawl is a versitile wrap-shawl with two buttons to enable many different options for wear in any sizes and super colors!

The BIP Shawl values at $20-$30.

To enter to win this givewaway:

1. Visit the sponsor’s site, come back to THIS POST and leave a comment about their products.

2. Add the Super Bash icon to your site and comment letting me know.

<a href="http://superangelsblog.com?p=1720"></a><a><img src="http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m80/Super_Angel/BlogoversaryGiveaway.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>

For even more chances to win:

3. Announce the giveaway including the giveaway link on: your blog, twitter (@Super_Angel), facebook, stumbleupon, groups,and forums and leave another comment with the link to the announcement.

4. Email your friends. Please CC me (missamanda AT kconline DOT com) on the email and leave a comment so I record how many times you entered.

5. Sign up for my mailing list either via Feedburner, bloglines, or any other feed reader, or through my personal mailing list by requesting to be put on it. My personal mailing list gets special announcements, emails, and notices.

Make sure you LEAVE A COMMENT for everything you do for each giveaway so I know how many entries you have!

This giveaway will end on March 27th, so hurry and enter!
Love, Prayers and Blessings,

©AmandaDixon2009

Tags: 1914 dress, 3 years, afghans, afternoon dress, apparel, apron, bash, Beatrix Potter, blog, blogging, blogoversary, blouse, Bundled In Prayer, Christian, Christina Brown, Cindy Rushton, clean, clothing, craft, crochet, custom-made, dress, easy, ebook, Edwardian, email, embroidery, ePatterns, era, Facebook, Generations of Virtue, giveaway, God, gown, hand-crafted, handmade, healing, help, Homeschool, homeschooling, ideas, jacket, Jennie Chancey, jewelry, Julie Hiramine, love, March 18th, orderly, organization, Organized, pantaloons, parents, patterns, pelisse, pinafore, planning, Prayer, purity ring, Regency, resources, reticules, Romantic, schedule, school, Sense and Sensibility, sew, sewing, shawl, shirt, shirtwaist, skirt, spencer, Stumbleupon, super, swing dress, tea gown, tshirt, Twitter, underthings, wrap-shawl

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!

Here we are entering day six of my Super Blogoversary Giveaway Bash. Some of the wonderful giveaways that are still going on are: GOV Purity Ring Giveaway Giveaway (ends March 25th), Homeschool Princess Tshirt (ends TODAY!), and Sense and Sensibility ePattern (ends March 25th).

Today’s giveaway is brought to you by Cindy Rushton and Rushton Family Ministries. Their prayer is that through your time with them, you will be encouraged in your heart, equipped in a greater way for your call in life, and most of all, inspired to follow the Lord in ALL areas of your life.

Cindy Rushton has donated her Get Organized! Easy Ideas to Help Make This School Year Great! Ebook for my Super Bash!
HELP is here! REALLY! Join one messy mom as she shares practical and easy ideas that are guaranteed to help any other mom get organized and ready for the best year yet!  Need help with planning your new year? Want help setting up a schedule that works but doesn’t bring more stress than help?  Need a step-by-step how-to for getting that jungle of a home clean and orderly? Want help with EASY meal plans for YOUR family? Need a plan for getting your little ones busy with cleaning—not messing up more?  This is one mini-ebook that is sure to help you get it all together IMMEDIATELY—even if you think you are an emergency case!

To enter to win this givewaway:

1. Visit the sponsor’s site, come back to THIS POST and leave a comment me about their products.
2. Add the Super Bash icon to your site and comment letting me know.

<a href="http://superangelsblog.com?p=1720"></a><a><img src="http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m80/Super_Angel/BlogoversaryGiveaway.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>

For even more chances to win:

3. Announce the giveaway including the giveaway link on: your blog, twitter (@Super_Angel), facebook, stumbleupon, groups,and forums and leave another comment with the link to the announcement.

4. Email your friends. Please CC me (missamanda AT kconline DOT com) on the email and leave a comment so I record how many times you entered.

5. Sign up for my mailing list either via Feedburner, bloglines, or any other feed reader, or through my personal mailing list by requesting to be put on it. My personal mailing list gets special announcements, emails, and notices.

Make sure you LEAVE A COMMENT for everything you do for each giveaway so I know how many entries you have!

This giveaway will end on March 26th, so hurry and enter!
Love, Prayers and Blessings,

©AmandaDixon2009

Tags: 1914 dress, 3 years, afternoon dress, apparel, apron, bash, Beatrix Potter, blog, blogging, blogoversary, blouse, Christian, Cindy Rushton, clean, clothing, craft, dress, easy, ebook, Edwardian, email, embroidery, ePatterns, era, Facebook, Generations of Virtue, giveaway, God, gown, healing, help, Homeschool, Homeschool Boutique, Homeschool Princess, homeschooling, ideas, jacket, Jennie Chancey, jewelry, Julie Hiramine, March 18th, orderly, organization, Organized, pantaloons, parents, patterns, pelisse, pinafore, planning, princess, purity ring, Regency, resources, reticules, Romantic, schedule, school, Sense and Sensibility, sew, sewing, shirt, shirtwaist, skirt, spencer, Stumbleupon, super, swing dress, tea gown, tshirt, Twitter, underthings

When I was Making A List of goals for 2009, I realized I needed to make a new book list to start reading too.
I kept track of all the books I read in 2008, and was soo proud of myself when I read the stats of my reading…
In 2008 I read:

Kingdom Series by Chuck Black pg. 943
Persuasion by Jane Austen pg. 188
The Inheritance by Christoph von Schmid pg. 182
Ishmael by E.D.E.N. Southworth pg. 523
Self-Raised by E.D.E.N. Southworth pg. 374
Helen’s Temper by Mrs. George Gladstone pg. 123
Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne pg. 256
Run Baby Run by Nicky Cruz pg.360
The Infinite Day by Chris Walley pg. 571
Rosa of Linden Castle by Christoph von Schmid pg. 156
Michael O’Halloran by Gene Stratton Porter pg. 576
Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss pg. 341
Her Father’s Daughter by Gene Stratton Porter pg. 328
The Cross and The Switchblade by David Wilkerson pg. 192
Enoch Roden’s Training by Hesba Stretton pg. 184

WOW! 20 books and 5,297 pages! I am actually pretty excited about how many books I read this year! Its pretty exciting to see my accomplishment!

So right now I am currently reading:

My *NEW* Reese Chronological Bible
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick

And next I will be reading (not in any particular order):

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Silas Marner by George Eliot
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

I am sure I will be adding as the year progresses and I find more books!

Reading is such a wonderful way to educate! I must give credit to my love of reading for a lot of what I know. I learned many words from reading classics, I learned a lot of history from reading classics, and so much more! Reading Literature is an amazing way to homeschool! I plan to incorporate it a lot when I homeschool my children.

So… what books have you read this year? What was your statistics? Have you started a 2009 list yet? I would love to know what you are reading and maybe even find some to add to my list!
Love, Prayers and Blessings,

Thanks for stopping by “Daily” at the “Planet”!!
©AmandaDixon2008

Tags: 2008, 2009, A Tale Of Two Cities, Alex Kendrick, Alexandre Dumas, Bible, book list, books, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Chris Walley, Christoph con Schmid, Chuck Black, classic, David Wilkerson, E.D.E.N. Southworth, Elizabeth Prentiss, Enoch Roden's Training, Ernest Hemingway, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Gene Stratton-Porter, George Eliot, goals, Helen's Temper, Her Father's Daughter, Hesba Stretton, Homeschool, Ishmael, J.D. Salinger, Jane Austen, John Steinbeck, Kingdom Series, Lamplighter, Les Miserables, literature, Mansfield Park, Michael O'Halloran, Mrs. George Gladstone, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Nicholas Nickleby, Nicky Cruz, Northanger Abbey, pages, Persuasion, reading, Reese Chronological Bible, Rosa of Linden Castle, Run Baby Run, Self-Raised, Sense and Sensibility, Silas Marner, Stephen Kendrick, Stepping Heavenward, The Catcher in the Rye, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Cross and The Switchblade, The Grapes of Wrath, The Infinite Day, The Inheritance, The Love Dare, The Scarlet Letter, Victor Hugo, Wuthering Heights