Life on the Road

Welcome to the 134th Carnival of Homeschooling!  I am honored to be hosting the carnival a second time, and I want to extend my hearfelt thanks to the dozens of bloggers who submitted these incredibly interesting, challenging, and diverse posts for your reading pleasure.  So without further ado, let’s get on with the show!

Most people (and especially most homeschooling families) have at least a passing knowledge of the 12 labors that Hercules had to complete for Eurystheus.  I would propose that, as homeschoolers, we face a no less daunting set of tasks.

Hercules’ First Task:  Slay the Nemean lion, which no weapon can harm.

Wow, surely, that’s impossible!  Not to Hercules, who simply used the strengths he knew he possessed.  Often, being the best teacher requires us to do some hard work on ourselves first, to gain that perspective.

christinemoers suggests that homeschooling - indeed, parenting in general - requires this kind of tough introspection. Be sure to read What are you afraid of? posted at welcome to my brain . net.

Karen M Gibson suggests that we need to look at our deepest beliefs and motivations for our choices in Your Child Wants to Attend School – Now What? at Leaping From the Box.

Rachel Davis advises that we think about what “schooling” itself really mean - or should mean! - with Why Homeschooling isn’t Lacking in Education! posted at Holy Hillbilly Creations Blog-Where Fashion meets Modesty!.

Evie Maddox takes a look at our scheduling choices in Why Homeschool in Summer? posted at Stay At Home Child.

Dianne M. Buxton discusses How To Find Emotional Intelligence and Positive Thinking In the Ballet World [Ed. note: or anywhere!] at Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes.

Cristina encourages us to learn to let go, in Pushing Buttons posted at Home Spun Juggling.

ChristineMM challenges us to take a hard look at our standards, in Controversial Article About Homeschooler’s Abilities On My Mind posted at The Thinking Mother.

Hercules’ Second Task:  Slay the hydra.

The trouble with a hydra?  You cut off a head, and it just grows right back!  It’s more than one person can do!  Even Hercules called upon his nephew to help out with this task, cauterizing after each of his chops.  Sometimes we do need to reach out, and make use of other resources available to us, and other people’s strengths.

Carol Topp, CPA suggests that we band together to find stength as a coop, in The Homeschool Socialization Problem Solved posted at HomeschoolCPA - Homeschool Blogger.

Alasandra wants to help recognize and validate fellow homeschoolers! Check out The Graphics Winner posted at Alasandra’s Homeschool Blog Awards.

Need a pat on the back for your thrifty schooling choice?  Check out Back to School Shopping: The Homeschool Way from Penelope at The Cafe at the END of the Universe.

Kim Hutmacher talk about using the author to add a dimension to literature, in Making the Author Connection posted at Works in Progress.

David Cassell warns about the current problem with a GED Scam, at selectcoursesblog.com.

A couple of little math boosters from denise at Let’s Play Math!: Free Multiplication Bingo Game and the Crazy 4 Math Contest.

Need a unit study, Matey? Well then ye best hurry along to Little Blue School so’z Lydia can give ye a Treasure Island Homeschool Seminar: Literary Lesson Plans and Nautical Worksheets.

Want to know more about the brain? WAY more? Alvaro Fernandez presents Learning & the Brain: Resources for Educators posted at Sharp Brains.

Hercules’ Third Task:  Capture alive the stag with the horns of gold, sacred to Artemis.

As homeschoolers we learn that the most precious gifts are worth whatever time and effort they cost.  Hercules could have killed the deer easily, and soon - instead he had to follow it around for an entire year waiting for the moment to make the capture.

Thomas J. West advises musicians to “BE PATIENT!” in Music Practice Tips #2: Don’t Exceed Your Brain’s Speed Limit posted at Thomas J. West Music.

Silvia describes her 8 year old learning patience in Flying Success! posted at Po Moyemu–In My Opinion.

Hercules’ Fourth Task:  Capture an enormous boar.

Hey, this is number four in this vein already.  Hercules is an old hand, and the task is no big deal, right?  It’s the same with homeschooling, really.  At some point we’re all new at each thing we attempt - from homeschooling at all, to different curriculums, to teaching a new subject or age group.  But after a while you earn your stripes, and being to feel like you know what you’re doing.  (At least sometimes!)  And the veterans can share their wisdom with those who come after…

Lessa Scherrer aka Princess Mom presents Advice for Newbie Gifted Homeschoolers posted at Help! My Kids Are Smarter than Me!. 

Lori shares her experiences with newbies in What I Wish I Had Known at The Simple Life at Home.

14 year veteran Jena offers us Advice for First Year Homeschoolers, from Yarns of the Heart.

Katherine gives her review of a great resource for the preschool set: Kumon Workbooks, at No fighting, no biting!

Susan Gaissert advises letting young readers graze! Check out No Syllabus, No Problem posted at The Expanding Life.

Two terrific posts about kids learning to read from The Life Without School Blog: Laureen describes writing Upside Down and Backwards, and Jena offers her advice in Teaching a Child How to Read.

Hercules’ Fifth Task:  Clean the Augean stables.

What can I say, everyone knows that there’s always lots of, um, manure to deal with.

Military homeschoolers? Think layers and layers of it! Why Homeschool points to a great resource on the topic in Are you a military homeschooler.

Not so military? How about Government’s latest? Beverly’s Homeschooling Blog (About.com) wonders if the latest goings on there will have California Homeschool ISPs changing names?.

And a little dose of politics from Susan Ryan with Continuation of The Nerve and Isn’t there a law?? posted at Corn and Oil.

Indiana Jane’s Notebook and SpunkyHomeschool both discuss some of the religious controversies that are boiling within the homeschooling community in Ruminating on homeschooling, and Conventional Wisdom, respectively.

Hercules’ Sixth Task:  Drive away the multitude of Stymphalian birds.

One bird is nice, three birds can be lovely and musical.  A swarm of anything, though, is a problem.  And sometimes it really is the little things that make or break a situation.

NerdMom beautifully address an issue near and dear to my heart in The First Key to Homeschooling and Not Losing It over at Nerd Family.

Hercules’ Seventh Task:  Capture the “beautiful and savage” bull that Poseidon gave to Minos, King of Crete.

The tale concludes that Hercules “mastered” the bull, and took it back in a boat.  One of the things homeschoolers often celebrate is our freedom to master things “beautiful and savage” which are spurned by the public school system.

Teresa Wymore talks about the value of great literature (and don’t miss her insightful expose on public school teaching!) in harry potter and homeschool posted at Flesh & Spirit.

Erica Burgan presents Field Trip to the San Diego Zoo! [Ed. note: Need I say more, here?] posted at The Sojourner.

And speaking of the public school system, enjoy Kathy’s review of the book Schooled posted at Homeschoolbuzz.com Reviews.

Hercules’ Eighth Task:  Get the man-eating mares from from Diomedes, King of Thrace.

Let’s take a lesson from the idea that good ol’ Herc might have done this one differently.  Maybe sometimes you can do the most good by working with the system…

Barbara Frank tells us There is Hope with the story of an amazing High School student.

Hercules’ Ninth Task:  Get the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.

Hercules teaches us an important lesson here.  Sometimes, all it takes to get what you want is to ask for it.  (Yes, I know his task doesn’t end that simply)

Hercules’ Tenth Task:  Get the cattle of Geryoh, a monster with three bodies.

Sometimes even the most arduous tasks have wonderful and unlooked-for benefits.  During this task, Hercules set the Pillars of Hercules in place.

Miss Amanda has some fabulous gifts posted in The Perfect Gifts for the Graduated SuperAngel at The Daily Planet. 

Studying Ancient History? Bored? Not likely if you listen to Mrs. C on Trojan Horse Craft posted at Homeschool and Etc..

Hercules’ Eleveth Task:  Bring back the golden apples of Hesperides.

How you feel about this task depends somewhat on a moral judgement - Hercules succeeded by tricking Atlas.  Ethics, morality, values…  It’s a big part of why many of us keep our kids home!

Living By Learning shares some insight about A Game Ethics Lesson from The Karate Kid at On Living By Learning.

Hercules’ Twelfth Task:  Capture Cerebrus alive.  And take him back!

When Hercules successfully brought Cerebrus back, Eurystheus wisely decided that he didn’t want it and ordered Hercules to take it back.  Clearly, the moral of this story is, “Be careful what you ask for - you just might get it.”

Such was my request to allow me to host the carnival this week.  Arrangements were made six months ago, when I hosted the Leaving a Legacy edition back in January.  Who could know that this week I would be layed low by medical problems, and even spend a day in the ER?  But in true heroic fashion… er, with the baby in one arm and the three-year-old climbing up my back…  We’re done! 

Thank you for reading…  Of course, please let me know if you find any errors or broken links!

Please take a moment to post a link to the carnival on your blog, as well as adding it to any social bookmarking sites you use (the “Share This” link, below, will make it easy for most of them!) — help spread the word about homeschooling, and the carnival, and send some traffic to all these terrific bloggers who took the time to share their lives with us.

Don’t forget to send in your post for next week’s carnival, as well, hosted at Consent Of The Governed!  Just click on over to the easy submision form at Blog Carnival anytime before Monday at 6pm Pacific.

Since this is already all put together, I’m just going to give it to you, as something important to be aware of: 

AMA Supports Proposed Legislation to Make Home Births Illegal

ABC News reported on July 11. 2008 that the “American Medical Association has agreed to support proposed legislation that, some physicians say, could make make having a planned birth in one’s home difficult, to virtually impossible.”  Presently their is no legislation but the AMA is backing what is called “Resolution 205″ which is a request to support the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG) position that home births are not safe.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) spokesperson Gregory Phillips, stated clearly, the ACOG position, “We are against home births, period.”  He continued in the ABC story by stating, “Women who give birth outside of a clinical setting risk putting themselves and their newborns at risk.”

In opposition to this stand the American College of Nurse-Midwives has come out with a strong statement in support of planned home births. Jennifer Block, author of “Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care, who also writes a column for the LA Times stated in her columns that in Britain they routinely ask expecting mothers if they would like to have their babies at home instead of in the hospital.  In her column Block noted that a hand-out is given to expecting mothers from Britain’s National Health Service that says, “There is no evidence to support the common assertion that home birth is a less safe option for women experiencing uncomplicated pregnancies.”

Block also noted in her column that last year a joint statement was issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Royal College of Midwives that said, “There is no reason why home birth should not be offered to women at low risk of complications, and it may confer considerable benefits for them and their families.”

Ms. Block concludes her article by noting that she believes this entire issue is nothing more than a turf war by physicians not wanting to give up control. “The AMA’s statement calls for legislation that could be used against women who choose home birth, possibly resulting in criminal child-abuse or neglect charges. The group says this is about safety, but with no credible research to back up its claim, this argument falls flat.”

The various articles noted that the reaction by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG) and the AMA came about due to a documentary film called “The Business of Being Born” by talk show host Ricki Lake, where she exposed the American system of birth as a business. Abby Epstein, the film’s director stated in the ABC story, “What the film has done is to cause a lot of women to choose midwives over OBs — especially younger women who’ve never heard of midwives,” said Epstein. “We’ve received calls from midwives saying that their practices have doubled since our film was released. There’s a lot of ego in this — that one would want to choose a midwife over an MD. It’s really a turf war going back 100 years between the medical establishment and midwives.  The trailer for the film can be seen on YouTube at the following address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DgLf8hHMgo

I am pleased to announce that Life on the Road is once again hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling this coming week. 

I’m writing this in the hopes that you’ll join the party! (Check out our the last adventure, from January, here)

If you have a blog, you’re welcome to submit an article: 

• The post can be new or old - anything you’ve written is fair game!
• Your *blog* does not have to be about homeschooling, only the post you submit.

It’s easy to submit with the Blog Carnival form.

You can also find more info at the website that runs the carnival, “Why Homeschool“.

Hope to see you at the carnival! 

Check these out:

Win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature’s Child - Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Lori from The Simple Life at Home tagged me for this (and blessed me with the accompanying award).  Thanks, Lori!

Then I was for a nearly identical meme by Mylinda at The Buggy Crew!  Small world, this infinite internet universe…

Here are the RULES:

• Link to the person that tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

And, just because it was so funny, I’m including Lori’s vow that she made you take when reading the post.  I guess at this point it’s quickly bcoming a legacy of the “7 Random Things” meme!  ;) 

Before I get started, everyone raise your right hand and repeat after me:

I, ________, solemnly swear to not laugh at, be shocked by, nor hold against Tiffany, any of the below stated facts. I promise to continue to visit and support her despite any awkward vibes I may feel after reading her facts. I will not remove her from my Google Reader as a way of punishing her for her random weirdness.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here are 7 weird and/or random facts about me:

1.  I was horse-crazy as a pre-teen.  Not all that uncommon in girls, as I understand it, but hey - you didn’t know that about me until just now, did you?

2.  I love playing computer “RPG” games.  Might & Magic, that type of thing.  I even like playing Dungeons & Dragons, but that requires a bunch of people to coordinate their schedules.  Blah!

3.  My middle name is Susan, which is my mom’s name.  Dad wanted to name me Susan, but Mom was opposed to the confusion that that would cause, so this was their compromise.

4.  I am really, really shy.  No, really.  I’m pretty good at faking it, so even most people who know me casually would never guess.

5.  I have six cats.  Two are ancient (about 15 years old), and four are babes (6 months old).  How did that happen?  I dunno, really, but the kitten story is around here somewhere…

Wow, this is harder than I thought…

6.  I spent most of my adult life essentially never wearing skirts.  Now I only wear skirts.  When they say, “The Lord works in mysterious ways,” who knew they meant stuff like that?

7.  One of my favorite things to look back on and chuckle about, which is totally representative of me, is the time I got a moving company to give me a binding quote for a move.  It took them about 1.5 times as long to move me as they’d anticipated, so they took a bath on the cost.  You see, they looked and saw a 2 bedroom apartment without too much furniture.  What they failed to realize was that I had (and have) bookcases all over the place, and rather than a handful of knick-knacks and houseplants, they are actually packed full of…  yeah…  books. 

Imagine my surprise when I was also tagged for this meme:

By Ecclectically Yours!

So, those of you I’m about to tag, you may consider yourself both “An Amazing Blogger” and also “Loved” … and as far as I’m concerned you can pick one or the other to do. 

I’m not sure which of these have made itto my Blogroll, which I don’t update much, so hopefully you can all find a new friend in this list as well:

Our Blessed Arrows

The Diaper Diaries

Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths

Overwhelmed With Joy

A Dusty Frame

Holy Hillbilly Creations

Crazy Adventures in Parenting

Happy Reading! 

Welcome, one and all, to the 109th Blog Carnival of Homeschooling!

Thanks to Why Homeschool for allowing us to host the carnival, and to all the many bloggers who contributed.  And with such colorful and self-explanatory post titles, you all have made my job so easy! 

Being 8 months pregnant, there’s not really much else that spends a lot of time on my mind these days (have you voted in my Baby Pool?), so naturally the theme of the carnival had to fit in with that somehow.  A tall order, you say?

Children are a gift, and the responsibility we have to the future is so huge as to be overwhelming.  As homeschoolers, I feel we are taking a far more active role in the training of our children, and have far more opportunities - with every moment of every day - to impart the knowedge, wisdom, traits and values that we feel are important . . . to leave a legacy.

As today (1/29) would also be my father’s birthday were he still alive, this seemed a doubly appropriate theme.

We can encourage our children to reach out in a variety of ways, and leave a legacy of thinking out of the box.

Karen talks about Fostering an Entrepreneurial Spirit at Leaping From The Box. 

Amy Cortez uses travel as a part of her educational program in Travelin’ With The Kid in 2008 posted at Travelin’ With The Kid.

Saralee Sky presents Homeschooling vs Public Education posted at Womb To Grow.

Rose presents Greening up your curriculum posted at Learning at Home.

Joe Hitchem presents Stamp Collecting For Beginners posted at Stamp Collecting.

Carol presents HomeschoolCPA - The best jobs for teens (from a tax perspective) posted at HomeschoolCPA.

April presents Homeschool Hacking Tips: Make your own Nature Journal! posted at Lunablog.net.

We can stay aware of the issues that impact our lives, and leave a legacy of civic involvement.

Susan reminds us to stay civicly aware in State Legislatures are Back in Action, at Corn and Oil.

Timothy Power presents a very thoughtful Thoughts on Banita Jacks, Homeschooling, and Liberty at Sometimes I’m Actually Coherent - a post I think everyone, homeschooler or not, should take the time to read.

Activities Coordinator presents Mississippi’s Messing Up a Good Thing And Failing to Fix a Bad One posted at Life On The Planet.

Barbara presents a public school shocker in I Am Not Making This Up…. at Barbara Frank.

Miss Jocelyn, although not even old enough to vote, brings us a look at the Candidates of 2008 as based on their views of homeschooling at A Pondering Heart.

We can revel in special moments whenever and wherever they occur, and leave a legacy of spontanaiety - and gratitude.

Laura captures a fascinating experience, thanks to her prepared spontanaiety in Serendipity posted at I Ate The Sandbox.

Melissa shares the joy of knowing your kid “gets it” in The Things Children Say posted at Melissa’s Idea Garden. 

Not for those - like my hubby - who are spider squeamish!  Cristina presents Tales from the Tuffet posted at Home Spun Juggling.

Barbara presents some thoughts and ideas on Homeschooling With a New Baby at Fuel.

We can show our children we value their uniqueness - encourage them in their weakness and their strength - and leave a legacy of true self-acceptance. 

Adso of Melk shares Invisibly Gifted: The Problem of Being Profoundly Gifted, but Not in Math on Lorem Ipsum.

Katherine deals patiently with her reluctant writer in furiously writing, at No fighting, no biting! 

Janice Campbell declares that Our Students Need to Write More posted at Janice Campbell: Taking Time For Things That Matter.

christinemoers presents My little one has found her way through a crack posted at welcome to my brain.

Kevin presents Emotional Intellect and the Homeschooler posted at M4K Homeschooling & Education.

Michelle Kennedy presents Organically Inclined » To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool? posted at Organically Inclined.

We can truly lead by example, and leave a legacy of integrity.

Summer ponders Just What Is Mom Teaching? at Mom Is Teaching.

Elisheva Levin presents Unschooling Anxiety and Adjusting Our Routine posted at Ragamuffin Studies.

SupUrbanMom encourages us all to give thought to our daily school habits in Save a Tree, Would Ya? posted at ROCity Family Adventures.

Lori re-examines her motivation for homeschooling in Re-evaluating Homeschooling posted at The Simple Life at Home.

Tea Party Girl offers a timely word of encouragement: It’s Not All Up to You–Wednesday’s Heart of Tea posted at Tea Party Girl.

Tammy offers her insights on Arrogant Homeschoolers, at Life Without School.

Lori explains How Homeschooling is Like Investing in the Stock Market at MORTpiphanies.

NerdMom explores the famous Yeats quote on education in Heart of the Matter posted at Nerd Family.

We can teach whenever and wherever works best for our family, with whatever materials work best for our family… and leave a legacy of flexibility, open-mindedness, and resourcefulness.

Enjoy the story of an audio-book road trip - Reading On The Road posted at On Living By Learning.

Sheri discusses scheduling in schooling through life posted at Shades of Pink.

GrrlScientist shares her review of Attenborough in Paradise posted at Living the Scientific Life.

Joanne presents Deschooling For Parents posted at An Unschooling Life.

HappyCampers shares a fascinating field trip to A Dairy Goat Homestead? No Whey! posted at Reese’s View Of The World.

Looking for something to read?  The Winter Reading Challnege brings us two submissions:  (Homeschooled Senior) Miss Amanda presents My 2008 List Of Books To Read posted at The Daily Planet, and Jacque presents Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths - Winter Reading Challenge: My Books 2008 posted at Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths.

L presents SCHOLA: Homeschooling With Ben (that’s Benjamin Franklin!) posted at SCHOLA.

Kathy expores boy-focused history with What a Night for a Knight posted at My Quivers Full.

Alasandra presents We Are Celebrating Robert E. Lee’s Birthday Today posted at Alasandra & The Cats.   (Hubby is from Mississippi, so we enjoy the “rebel” side of things here, as well!)

Julie presents an introduction to Visual Mnemonics at Home Education Resources.

Rebecca presents some great - and free - homeschool resources: Free is good! posted at The Upside Down World.

Kathy reviews the 2008 Caldecott medal winner in The Invention of Hugo Cabret: Homeschool Review posted at Homeschoolbuzz.com Reviews.

Beverly shares resources for Groundhog Day Fun at Beverly’s Homeschooling Blog (About.com).

Sol Lederman goes against his math grain and shares some anagramming fun with Male Nerd Sol posted at Wild About Math!.

We can just plain teach our children well, and leave a legacy of competence.

Denise teaches us to play Euclid’s game on a hundred chart posted at Let’s play math!.

Renae shares about Dominion, Reason 2 of Why Study Math posted at Life Nurturing Education.

Alvaro Fernandez explores inner space: Looking inside the Brain: is my Brain Fit? posted at Brain Blog.

Eric Koshinsky introduces Computer-Assisted Language Learning with Give CALL a Try posted at Teachers Call.

ChristineMM discusses the opportnities of a Free Phonics Curriculum Online at The Thinking Mother.

Sunniemom presents some Random Thoughts on Home Education posted at A Woman On Purpose.

Rebecca shares the fun results of a homeschool group event: Mid-Winter Tournament posted at Little Homeschool on the Prairie.

Phil shares about his education in report-writing, with Tales Of A Fourth Grade Something at A Family Runs Through It.

We can train up our children in the ways of our spiritual heritage, and leave a legacy of faith.

Dolfin presents Tu B’Shevat - book review and learning board posted at Lionden Landing.

And an interesting finale, in which homeschooled students have a chance to express the legacy they see developing in their lives:

Why Homeschool presents The Laurel Springs School video contest winners.

Thank you for reading…  Of course, please let me know if you find any errors or broken links!

Please take a moment to post a link to the carnival on your blog, as well as adding it to any social bookmarking sites you use (the “Share This” link, below, will make it easy for most of them!) — help spread the word about homeschooling, and the carnival, and send some traffic to all these terrific bloggers who took the time to share their lives with us.

Don’t forget to send in your post for next week’s carnival, as well, hosted at Beverly’s Homeschool Blog at About.com!  Just click on over to the easy submision form at Blog Carnival…

I am pleased to announce that Life on the Road is hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling for the coming week.  I’m writing this in the hopes that you’ll join the party!

If you blog, you’re welcome to submit an article! 

• The post can be new or old - anything you’ve written is fair game!
• Your *blog* does not have to be about homeschooling, only the post you submit

And it’s easy to submit with the Blog Carnival form.

You can also find more info at the website that runs the carnival, “Why Homeschool“.

Hope to see you at the carnival!  ;) 

Many, many thanks to Nataly of Beeutiful Graphics for the terrific new look over at our fun blog about the Knaus Berry Farm Bakery.

Yes, those are real Knaus Berry Farm cinnamon rolls in the header and next to the titles…  Makes me hungry just reading the blog now! 

Nataly also designed the adorable “Sleepy Cat” theme we use here…

I wonder if I can figure out how to ship some hot baked goods to her, to show my appreciation…

Even if you’re not a regular reader, this week is a great time to check out the Carnival of Homeschooling.  They’re celebrating their Second Anniversary today, and there are a lot of great posts.

We’ll be hosting the carnival here in a couple of weeks, so get your homeschool-related posts ready!

Are you an artistic type?

The Carnival of homeschooling is a really neat carnival that I frequently participate in … and will, in fact, be hosting here at the end of January!

They are holding a contest for a logo design for the Carnival, and submissions are now open!

Check out all the details over at the hosts’ blog, Why Homeschool.  Then get busy!!