Working and Homeschooling

Yak doing 5th grade math

I suppose it's time to start posting an occasional plug for my upcoming book, "The Working Parent's Guide to Homeschooling". I was originally planning to self-publish, but a friend in the biz convinced me to write a book proposal he could send to his agent. So that's where we are right now. Waiting and hoping for recommendations for representation from one of the top literary agents in New York! I am humbled. Okay, I'm over it. The truth is, I really believe in this book, and feel it addresses important issues for working parents who may be interested in homeschooling but think it's impossible. From my own 15 years of experience as a working and homeschooling parent, as well as that of friends and mentors I've met along the way, I hope to offer encouragement and real solutions to working parents who want to make the leap into homeschooling and discover a richer, more fulfilling life for themselves and their children. 

Full chapters address scheduling, child care, working at home, resources, freebies and more. This is not just a quickie 20 page ebook. Nearly 200 pages offer examples of working parents, including office workers, nursing assistants, waitresses, front desk workers, swing and night shift workers, 9-5ers, self-employed and work-at-homers. We are singles, couples and families on the road. Our children play music, hockey and baseball. We sometimes watch too much TV and sometimes play too many video games. In other words, we are typical American families - who work and homeschool.

Stay tuned for occasional updates as we move through the publishing process and check back for more posts on the topic of working and homeschooling.

Liebster Blog Award - Wow!

A huge Thank You! To Christy Willis for nominating "Around The Homestead" for the Liebster Blog Award.  Well, okay, it's really a "pass it on" kind of thing for small blogs, but hey, it's nice to be noticed!  

Now I get to post 11 facts about myself, answer Christy's 11 questions, and nominate 11 blogs with under 200 followers for the Liebster.  This could be fun;)

11 Facts About Me:

1.  I have 4 of the most amazing, awesome children anywhere!
2.  I am Grandma to 1 incredibly intelligent, genius grandson!
3.  I love to travel.
4.  I make my own soap, lotion, deodorant and toothpaste.
5.  I write.
6.  I have played the flute since I was 7 years old, piano since 8.
7.  I love camping.
8.  I get my milk right from the goat and cow.
9.  I raise my meat in my backyard.
10.  I steal eggs from my chickens.
11.  I love to sew.

Whew!  Now for Christy's questions:

1.  Who or what is your inspiration?
            There are so many inspiring women out there.  I love the wisdom of Mother Theresa of Calcutta and the courage of Dorothy Day.

2.  What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
             Fill the kettle for coffee.

3.   How do you handle a stressful day?
             Pray, pray, pray.  Chocolate.

4.    What book do you recommend all parents read to their children?
              Just one?  Definitely The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Also The Chronicles of Narnia.

5.    When the kids go to bed what do you do?
              Read to them, then read to myself.

6.  What is one thing about your past you wish you could change?
              Nothing.  Everything has brought me to where and who I am today.

7.   If you had a million dollars, what would you buy?
              I would pay off my debts, put the rest in the bank, and set up special funds for scholarships and other needs in my community.

8.    Why did you start blogging?
              To discipline myself to write more and experiment with writing styles and topics.

9.     Are you going to follow all the award nominees?
               Yes.

10.   What is one thing you hope your children remember about you?
                That I love them.

11.    How would you define your character?
                 Strong, stubborn, loyal.

My 11 nominees:

Following Him Home
Homesteading In The Southfarthing
I Can't Decide
Joy In The Journey
Live, Laugh, Learn
Reaping A Harvest
Rowangarth Farm
Spring Peeper Farm
Sunshine Sentiments
The Home Front
Training 6 Hearts 4 Him

And so, my awesome nominees, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is:  

Post 11 facts about yourself.
Answer my 11 questions to you.
Choose 11 of your favorite blogs under 200 followers and nominate them.
Share the love by following my other nominees.

My 11 questions for you are:

1.  What is your favorite hobby?
2.  What is your favorite dinner to make for your family?
3.  What is one thing you do to keep your sanity during your busy day?
4.  What is your favorite book?
5.  If you could go anywhere in the world for 2 weeks, where would it be, and why?
6.  Who is your favorite musician, and what is your favorite type of music?
7.  What is the big thing you want to do "when you retire"/"when the kids are grown"/"whenever"?
8.  How do you relax at the end of the day?
9.  What is the most important thing you try to teach your children?
10.  Are you going to follow all the award nominees?
11.  Why do you blog?

Okay, my friends, I hope you enjoy doing this as much as I have.  Link back here when you're done, so I can follow your answers;)   

Book Report

Some time back I posted about my first book, "The Working Mom's Parents' Guide to Homeschooling".  I was going to begin serializing it, as I am about halfway finished with it.  Then came the opportunity of a lifetime for a new author:  an agent has requested a book proposal!  Wow!  So, naturally, I set aside all marketing activities including the free download of Chapter 1, and completion of the manuscript to write my first book proposal.  It is certainly a learning experience.  It is nearly as long as the book itself, but the closer I get to finishing it, the more I believe in my book, and the more excited I get about finishing it.

So, apologies to all of you who were looking forward to the next installment of The Working Mom's Parents' Guide to Homeschooling, but for now, I have to finish the book proposal and get it off to the agent.  Never fear, whether my baby gets picked up by a traditional publisher, or I go the self-publishing route, this book is going to happen, I believe in it now more than ever.  Besides, I have several other titles lined up for future books, and they are pestering me to get on with it!

Thanks to all of you who participated in the free download.  Keep checking back for updates on the publishing process, and other updates about life Around the Homestead.

Learn Spelling with Stories - Talking Fingers Word Qwerty

We had so much fun with our first Talking Fingers program, that when we found out we would get to try Talking Fingers Word Qwerty we just couldn't wait.  My son signed in and started "playing", and as I listened and observed, I was very happy with what I was seeing.  The same company that helped him learn proper finger placement on the qwerty keyboard and helped with his reading skills was now helping him learn to spell and write short stories!




Through a variety of interactive games and exercises, Word Qwerty teaches spelling rules and tricks, such as looking for patterns.  Catchy songs help children remember them.  As is explained on the website,  "Wordy Qwerty – Foundations for Reading and Writing Fluency, takes 7-9 year olds through the next steps of reading and writing fluency, and picks up where our award-winning software, the Read, Write & Type Learning System leaves off."

Students learn about spelling rules, word families and "outlaws" (words that don't follow the rules).  Next comes the spelling challenge - students hear a word and have to spell it correctly and put it in the right box.  The program prompts the student if he misspells the word. 



Then students are shown a few sentences, hear them read, and are challenged to write them as they are read back to them.  Parents can sign in and monitor student progress at any time.





Talking Fingers offers a FREE demo download for Word Qwerty.  The pricing for Word Qwerty online Home Edition is as follows:  1 user $25, 2 users $40, 3/$52.50, 4/$60, 5/$71.25.  CD version Home Edition $35; K-4 Reading Bundle which includes Word Qwerty, Read Write Type and other goodies CD version Home Edition $99.

See what other Homeschool Crew Members are saying about Talking Fingers Word Qwerty.

We received a limited license to Word Qwerty online, in order to use and evaluate this product in our homeschool classroom.  No other compensation was received for this review.