Calling All Frustrated Writing Teachers

Calling all frustrated teachers of reluctant writers: WriteShop has the solution to your child’s “I don’t know what to write about” dilemma! WriteShop has created StoryBuilders to jumpstart your child’s creative juices. They’ve solved the “Oops, I forgot to put the setting (or plot, or character trait, or character) into my story” excuse, too. StoryBuilders are FUN, creative, nonthreatening helps that will have your reluctant writer asking to do more. They’ll also have your creative writer begging to use them. My 10-year-old reluctant writer actually got excited about her writing assignments from StoryBuilders and requested to use more than one card from each element to spice up her stories.

The WriteShop StoryBuilders are e-books that you print out onto cardstock (either a different color of cardstock for each element with black ink, or white cardstock with colored ink) and cut apart to make a deck of cards for each basic story element: characters, character traits, settings, and plots. Each StoryBuilder set is theme-based, so you can choose just one that fits your child’s interests or buy all three—they’re only $7.95 each. WriteShop StoryBuilder e-books come with a teacher’s guide to help you utilize them to their best advantage for your children. Each story element has forty or more cards, enough to last for a loooong time without having repeats. Since I have neither colored paper nor a colored-ink printer, I printed mine on white cardstock with black ink and then colored them to indicate which element they were. Check out the box in which I store all my StoryBuilder card decks. This method makes it easy for my daughter to choose which theme and which cards for each element she wants to use for each story.

Want to try a StoryBuilder for FREE? The World of Animals StoryBuilders is being offered for FREE (for limited time only) at The Old Schoolhouse Store: http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=62_128&products_id=2530

Let the Adventure Begin!

Students can have FUN while learning to write a REAL novel and get a high school English credit in the bargain! Sound like a novel idea? Not if you’re using the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum.

The One Year Adventure Novel is for high school students who love to write. It’s also for students who hate to write, and for all those who fall in between. The creator of the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum focuses more on the process than on the mechanics, although those are certainly not neglected. The writing process is broken into small, manageable DVD lessons with workbook and writing exercises to reinforce the concepts. Quizzes are even included, although you are certainly free to eliminate them. Students also study a number of classic adventure novels (to fulfill the literature part of the English grade) to give students direction and goals at which to aim. Online forums give instant peer feedback and support. If you’re worried about piloting your writer through the process because you are not a writer yourself, have no fear, clear guidelines for critiquing and assigning grades are given.

Never has a curriculum been so anticipated or enjoyed as the One Year Novel at our house! I haven't seen my daughter this excited about school since kindergarten! It is well worth the $199 price tag.

A FREEBIE & A COUPON!

Remember the review I posted a while ago about a great online math program called ALEKS? You can try it for one month for FREE! Go to www.aleks.com/webform/pr-87 to access your free trial. ALEKS stands for Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces. Here are the features: complete curriculum solution for math (no textbooks or supplements needed), artificial intelligence targets gaps in student knowledge, assessments, and individualized learning for students in grades 3–12, automated reports monitor learning progress, unlimited online access, FUN. Enjoy! Then, come back and tell me how your kids enjoyed using ALEKS and the feature you most appreciated about it.

The fun homophone program I blogged about a few days ago is offering a special, limited-time coupon for $10 off your purchase to celebrate its launch. Hurry on over to www.all-about-homophones.com to purchase your CHEAP copy today! To receive
the discount, visitors to the site need to enter "FUN" in the customer code box during checkout. The coupon code is good for one week only, through February 2, 2009.

Molly to the (Economic) Rescue!

Everyone wants to save money these days, but do you struggle, as I sometimes do, knowing where to cut corners? Are you looking for innovative ways to save money? Molly to the rescue! Molly’s Money-Saving Digest for February is packed chock full of practical tips you can do to prepare for the coming spring, as well as pragmatic ideas you can use now. I love to plan and am eager to try the homemade cleaners and repurposing suggestions. Pour yourself a hot cup of tea, curl up in your favorite chair, and get ready to chat with Molly about the basics, gardening (yes, in winter!), homemade cleaners, and an inspiring story of a family who set a big goal and achieved it. Here’s a convicting quote from their story: “Experience has shown us that, as much as many people say they want to do something, very few are actually willing to meet whatever grubby, everyday challenges need to be met in order to actually move toward the goal.” So, the question is how much money do you really want to save?

Molly’s Money-Saving Digest for February 2009 is coming soon to The Old Schoolhouse Store (use the store link on the right side of my blog). Check out Molly’s Web site at www.econobusters.com for more money-saving tips.

Peace for a Piece of Language Arts

“Mom, Mom, come here my peace for the school play! Can you help me decide what to where?” “Yes, I’m looking foreword to seeing you act. Don’t practice so much you become horse!” It’s not a complement if someone asks if you die you’re hare. The plain with the American Idle in it crashed into the see.

Yikes! Have you seen similar erroneous sentences in your children’s writings? Do YOU struggle with its versus it’s or your versus you’re? I have to admit that those last two are my personal pet peeves in others’ writings. Struggle no longer! From the creators of All About Spelling come a brand new offering to help with word usage dilemmas: All About Homophones.

All About Homophones is a multi-grade, multi-learning style curriculum designed to take the pain out of teaching about words that sound alike, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Have fun with games, cards, graphic organizers, worksheets, and more while teaching homophones in an engaging, relaxed, easy-to-remember way. The Tool Kit also contains a huge list of homophones separated by grade level to make it easy to make sure your kids are learning the appropriate words.

The All About Homophones Web site includes FREE samples and how-to-teach articles. The creator is so sure that you will absolutely love All About Homophones that she offers a thirty-day, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. You can purchase a hard copy for $29.95 and an e-book version that you can download right away for $27.95. Either way, it’s a bargain for a great tool you can use with all your children for many years.

Deeper Roots Bible Curriculum Review

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6–7 NKJV).

“Blessed is the man . . . his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night . . . he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:1–3 NKJV).

That’s what I want for my children. Isn’t it what you want for your children? Discovering a Christ-Like Character by Deeper Roots Publications will provide you with the tools to help your children develop the Christian maturity they will need to stand firm in this world.

Discovering a Christ-Like Character is not fluff; it delves much deeper than a fill-in-the blank workbook. The lessons are comprised of memorization, journaling, reading, thought-provoking questions, and “cool activities” (according to my teenager). Each lesson also includes beautiful artwork, maps, prayer suggestions, and an unreached people group profile. It can be used for a full credit on a transcript for high schoolers. The lessons in this Bible curriculum are designed first to help young teen students focus on Jesus Christ and to come to a deeper knowledge of His character, and second, to enable them to personally develop a more Christ-like character. The lessons cover eight different aspects of Christ’s character with which young teenagers most often struggle. The Deeper Roots Web site says, “We believe that Christians only become truly like Christ by growing in knowledge and relationship with Him. Our part is to study God’s Word and obey it; God’s part is to conform us to be like Christ (Rom 8:28–29).” By taking time to discuss each lesson with your children, you will be discipling them and mentoring them in the most effective way towards growing deeper Christian roots.

Deeper Roots curricula were written for homeschoolers. Student books are $19.95; teacher books are $28.95, and the bundle is $62.45 (includes a student book, a teacher book, and one set of Matthew DVDs). The Web site has FREE samples and highlights their many other Bible curricula choices for all age groups, and encouraging books for homeschooling moms.

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

As a homeschool mom (or dad!), have you ever wished for an online service or Web site to meet your needs, but been unable to find one? Or, have you found what you needed, only to discover that you couldn't afford it? Do you have a great idea for an online service that would benefit the homeschooling community, but you don't know how to implement it? Now is your chance to tell someone who has the opportunity to make your dreams come true! A homeschool mom received a grant to build a Web site to provide services to the homeschooling community for FREE! The best part is that she wants to know what YOU want! So, take a short, seven-question survey and let your voice be heard. http://www.surveymk.com/HomeschoolMom

Calling All Creative Writers!

Exciting News from TOS!

Attention writers! Grab your pencils and get those creative juices flowing!

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is hosting our second Storytime Writing Contest! We have two creative fiction categories: adults (16 and up 2,500 words or less) and children (15 and below 1,500 words or less). Deadline to enter is March 16, 2009. $7.95 fee per entry.

Grand prize winners in both the adult and child categories will receive prize packages valued at over $1,000, publication in the Summer 2009 issue of TOS, and publication in our Storytime 2009 Compilation E-Book. Eleven Honorable Mentions from each category will also be included in the E-Book in addition to receiving gifts from top homeschool companies.We look forward to reading your entries!

For a detailed list of prizes, official contest rules, to meet our judges, and to upload your story, please visit: www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/Short_Story_Contest.php.

Need help teaching writing? We have over 200 writing products in the Schoolhouse Store!

Sissy (my 13 year old) can't wait to enter! She's forever writing stories and adding chapters to the stories she's already written. She also draws elaborate, detailed pencil sketches (and they're very good!) of all her characters. In fact, one of the things she does most frequently with her online besty friendy is saga. That's where they take turns (or sometimes work simultaneously) writing a story. It'll be interesting to see what kind of story she writes for this contest.

Keep watching my blog for a review of a great, affordable creative writing tool!

Piano for Preschoolers

From the time I learned how to walk, every time I walked by the piano I would give a few of the keys a little plink. I never pounded or banged on the keys (right, Mom?). I begged and begged my parents to let my play it until my dad finally gave in and started me on a beginning piano book. I’ve been playing, performing, and teaching the piano for more than thirty years now.

That’s fine for people who have a little music background and a piano in the living room. If you have neither and can’t afford a live teacher and a real piano, but your little ones are begging to make music, KinderBach has the solution for you.

KinderBach Learning Center offers online piano lessons for young children through Web video, printable activity pages, interactive games, and unique piano karaoke songbook participation. KinderBach is preschool piano lessons, music for young children at their level of understanding. KinderBach presents music using the piano keyboard (or a small, cheap keyboard) as the base instrument to maximize the beneficial effects on the growth and development of young kids. Children love the engaging teacher, and cute characters make learning easy. Parents love how easy it is for their children to learn music theory as well as how to play the piano (or keyboard).

With KinderBach, you can choose the learning path that is best for you. KinderBach offers online sessions, DVD lessons, or curriculum for early childhood classes. They offer a 30-day money back guarantee just in case you’ve got a budding Picasso instead of a blossoming Mozart.