I Won a Mompreneur Blog Award!

A couple of days ago I mentioned that I entered this blog into a contest hosted by Homeschool Entrepreneur. And guess what — oh yeah, I kinda gave that away in the title — but I Won!  I’m so excited. This is my first Blog Award, so you have to excuse my outburst.

Anyway, there were a lot of great blogs entered in this contest and I recommend that you check them out at Homeschool Entrepreneur.  I’ve listed the winners below:

Congratulations to all the winners:

Youth Category (under 18)

Sweet Tea {Jesus} and Me

Homeschool Blogs:

Katie’s Homeschool Cottage

Mom Blogs:

For Such a Time As This

Mompreneur Blogs:

Homeschooling WAHM

Brand New (Baby) Blogs:

Gardening For My Family

The Reader’s Choice Award…

. . . will be announced on our blog, HomeschoolEnt.com on Monday.

Thanks to everyone who voted for and encouraged me. I really do appreciate it!

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Real World Education for the Next Generation

I’m so excited to be a part of Rhea’s Beach Retreat! Why? Because I want to give my children a real world education that will prepare them, as the next generation, to thrive. They need to know that they have options beyond the traditional “Go to School — Get a Job” mantra. My prayer for them is that they’ll take their unique talents and use them to enrich themselves while helping others.

Dabbling with home businesses gives young people of all ages many wonderful opportunities to experience Entrepreneurial Education. Plus it gives them the experience they need in case they ever decide to work for someone else but need a work history to land a job.

Ever wonder how you’re supposed to get a job if you’re just out of school and the company requires “work experience”?

As Rhea says:

Not only does having your own small business incorporate reading, writing, spelling, practical math, and relevant skills into your day but it also helps you think creatively and independently while learning to follow the rules.

It seems that so many adults don’t always make wise decisions because of their fear of failure. Our society is so perfectionist-oriented that making a mistake is considered by some as failure. That is not always true.

And anyone who is anybody has made more mistakes than their peers. They just learned from their mistakes and continued on when others let one mishap steal their success.

Robert Kiyosaki says, “The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy or the government or the rich. It’s self-inflicted fear and ignorance that keeps people trapped.”

“We all have tremendous potential, and we all are blessed with gifts. Yet, the one thing that holds all of us back is some degree of self-doubt… Often in the real world, it’s not the smart that get ahead but the bold.”

Incorporating home business into your daily school routine helps students learn skills that others never value. They won’t believe how much they have learned while having fun AND while making money!

If you want to learn how to motivate your students to strive to develop their potential and learn concepts such as “Passive Income,” find out more about the only live 3-day event of its kind designed to help families develop the mindset of success - Rhea’s Beach Retreat.

Click here for more information.

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5 Things Serena Williams Taught Me

Serena Williams: On the Line

I just finished reading Serena Williams’ autobiography “On The Line” and I was pleasantly surprised by the business lessons that I learned from her book.  I mean, her book is meant to be an autobiography chronicling her life and the role tennis played in it. It’s a very quick and comfortable read due to the conversational quality that it maintains throughout the book.  Serena is very honest about her faults, failures and motivation to be the best tennis player, and as she matured, best person that she can possibly be.  And from her life lessons she’s taught me a few things too.

1. The importance of having a plan. A real plan. One that you write down and hold yourself accountable. I tend to have fly by the seat of my pants. I have a running list in my head of what I want to accomplish, but let’s face it, between the demands of motherhood, being a wife and working from home, my memory isn’t always up for the challenge. So I plan on going to Wal-Mart this Monday and write down my goals — long-term, short-term and daily.  Serena’s dad had them compile a strategy list (for life, not just tennis) every evening in their journal, something that I plan on following with my own children.
2. The importance of self-talk. Throughout Serena’s book she shares with us the self-talk that she used while at tennis matches. She writes her own self-talk on post-its that she sometimes sticks to her racquet. One example of her self-talk follows:“… It all happens now!!! Release and go. U don’t have to hit every ball hard. Just relax & focus. U don’t have to be perfect. Just be strong and brave …” — Quote taken from “On The Line”
   
   

   Regardless of how much external support we may have in our lives, if we don’t focus our attention on what we want to accomplish and encourage ourselves it will all be for nothing. People who do well in business have to have a healthy ego if they’re going to survive the ups and downs that life throws us. So take a minute and think about why you’re “The Best” and pat yourself on the back.

3. “You don’t drown by falling into the water. You drown by letting yourself stay there.” Serena’s dad has some interesting and valid insights about life and business.  Sometimes as small business owners when we hit a wall (as I did earlier this year) it is so tempting to feel sorry ourselves and stop doing the things that we need to do to fix our situations. We use the economy as an excuse or whatever is  else is our particular challenge to stop striving. But as Mr. Williams stated, you’ll only drown if you don’t try to save yourself. So don’t ever stop reaching for your goal. I know I won’t.
4. Change it up! This a title in her book that I think definitely applies in my life. I’ve been working on a gabillion transcripts — proofreading, styling, typing, etc. for the past two weeks. So I finally got to the point of being unproductive. I didn’t want to listen to anymore transcripts. I was getting annoyed at the “silly” errors I kept finding and just working myself up into a funk.  But that truly wasn’t the problem. The problem was that I was pushing myself to get everything done so that I can do what I want. But in the process I ended up taking longer to finish what I could have flown through with a better attitude. So, I’ve changed it up. I’m proofreading from paper rather than the screen and I’m giving myself play breaks in-between sessions. How do you change up your routine to avoid burnout?
5. Always be charitable. While on a trip to Africa, Serena decided to make donation to the children of Africa through a program called “Build African School”. She decided to donate her money overseas because she her money would get more accomplished there than it would in the United States because things are much cheaper than here. During these challenging economic times we sometimes pull back from sharing what we have with others because of our perception of lack. But really, even when we feel we’re drowning in bills would sending that $10/mo. or $25/mo. stand between us and survival. And in most cases, the answer is “no”. So one of my goals is to select a charity to donate to on a regular basis.

So, although I really can care less about tennis, Serena’s story was an interesting and valuable read for my downtime from doing all of these transcripts.  If you get a chance you should check it out.

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Fun Contest to Win a $100 Gift Card from The Container Store

TOS is hosting a fun “Back-to-Homeschool” organizing contest on their Facebook page.

Here is the information:

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine wants to see how you spiff up for the school year!

• Does your schoolhouse need cleaning?
• Do you have any ideas for small spaces or decluttering to help you stay organized throughout the year?
• Inspire others or simply gain valuable insight by sharing your story and photos with us!

To participate, visit their Facebook fan page, and if you aren’t already a fan, become one at: http://www.facebook.com/theoldschoolhouse.

To enter, simply send in as many photos as you can of your personalized schoolhouse. Include captions for your photos in as few words as you wish, or create a photo essay. Be creative, have fun, and get excited!

Staff will choose 5 photos on Sept 3rd, and fans will then have until Sept 8th to choose their favorite of the 5. The winners will receive a 1-year subscription to My Audio School and a $15 gift certificate for scrapbooking supplies from Creative Memories.

After the five winners are chosen, TOS will post their submissions to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine Facebook fan page, where fans will vote ‘thumbs up’ on their favorite of the five finalists for the grand prize of a $100 gift certificate to The Container Store.

View full contest details here: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/facebook/Spiffed-Up-Facebook-Contest.htm

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A Divorce Is Announced

According to www.dictionary.com, the word “divorce” can mean a few things. Of course the dissolution of a marriage between husband and wife is the first to come to mind. But in my case, Definition #6 works best: to separate; cut off. Yep, that’s exactly what’s going on with me and the “Big Guy.” When you’ve been wronged, as I have been, sometimes there is just no going back.

Last year I purchased a copy of Microsoft Small Business Office 2007. I used one of the many OEM companies so that I could save some money on my purchase. I got my License Key and Product Number. The installation went great. And although the interface was different from Office 2003, I got used to it, and even began to like it. Everything was going smoothly … until my computer needed to be have the hard drive wiped clean and have everything reinstalled. I thought that I had all the bases covered. I checked my Microsoft Office information that I had and copied down the serial numbers that I had been given at the time of purchase. And then I went about wiping my hard drive.

But, as with most hasty plans, I didn’t notice one significant flaw. You see, I had forgotten that Microsoft gives you two sets of serial number – the Product and the License. I had only copied the Product Number, not the license number. Okay, I admit it I was really mad at myself, but I took solace in the thought that I could just call Microsoft up and get this resolved in a quick and painless manner. Hah!

First of all, I don’t understand why you need to go through a registration process with the “Brain Trust” since they tell you that they have no way of knowing your license number. So, when you register you copy of Microsoft 2007 it must all be for nothing because no one can help you to retrieve the information. However, if had downloaded from one of their preferred digital retailers, such as Digital River, I would have been able to get my license code from them. The young lady that I spoke to on the telephone suggested that I call back the company that I had originally purchased it from and see if they had it. Of course, that company only keeps the information for about a year, and I was (of course) too late by a matter of weeks.

Okay, I take a deep breath at this point and call Microsoft back. I tell them what’s happened and the only way that they can help me is to suggest that I repurchase the program for another $150+. I mean, it’s only reasonable that this giant company is unable and unwilling to create some form of retrieval system for people in my situation. Just buy a new one they say.

And that’s when I started contemplating turning to a life of crime. I searched the internet to find ways to restore what was rightfully mine, and actually found a lot of cool ways around the licensing problem, but I digress.

So after abandoning my criminal aspirations, I started going through the myriads of nieces and nephews who might still be eligible for the college discounted rate (Microsoft Ultimate for College is only $50). I can live with $50 more, but anything over is ridiculous! Nope, could you believe they all had the nerve to graduate and mess up my plan!  How selfish?  Then I tried to find someone who might be willing to take a chance of letting me install their license into the evil program.

Finally I regained my senses and called out to an old friend who I will refer to as COG. COG was appalled that I had even bothered spending that kind of money on the software in this day in age. After a big sigh (of disgust or acceptance, I’m not sure which) he suggested that I use one of the free internet applications. So, I chimed in that I had downloaded OpenOffice to use once this stupid Microsoft trial period was over. He shook his head (yes, I could hear him shaking his head over the telephone!) and said just save the hard drive space and use GoogleDocs or better yet, Zoho.

What pray tell is Zoho? Well, it’s this wonderful place that I have fallen in love with and plan to use for the rest of my life (or until something cooler comes along – I am kind of fickle these days). It’s kind of like Google Docs in that it has a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation package. But that’s about where the comparison stops. Zoho (www.zoho.com) also has a project management application and webinar software that ranges from free to $24/mo. They also offer Customer Relationship Management, an online invoicing tool, online database and reporting. And let’s not forget the online organizing tool, a centralized public repository for working on shared documents with team members, instant messaging and group chat tools, online web application creator, online document management, online note taker and even a Zoho Wiki!

So, by divorcing Microsoft I will experience these benefits:

• Free up a gazillion megs of memory.
• I don’t have to be told stupid things like, “Well, yes you registered, but we don’t keep track of those things so the best thing you can do is spend more money on the program that you already purchased” and I am still totally compatible with all of my clients needs, since Zoho imports Microsoft Office documents.
• And heck, I can probably offer more services as a virtual assistant since I’ll have the project management and webinar tools handy.
• And best of all I have the freedom to NOT pay over and over again for the same darn program because some people don’t think that customer service and satisfaction is the highest priority.

So, although we’ve been together over twenty years, I think it is now time for me to divorce the “Big M” and become one with the free internet resources with their multiple redundancies. The terms of our divorce will include:

• Joint custody of the operating system. (I’m mad at  the “Big M” but not ready to jump over to Apple anytime soon.)
• Because of some cool macros that I have in Excel, I guess I’ll have to agree to joint custody for program for awhile. (At least until I find out how to do the same functions on the free platforms.)

It would be nice to get some spousal support but sometimes freedom costs, you know?

So, thank you COG for freeing me from this unhappy and one-sided relationship. I hope to be able to return the favor one day soon.

Goodbye Microsoft.

Hello Zoho!

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Don’t Miss My Guest Blogging Debut!

I’m so excited that I was invited to be a guest blogger for Kelli’s blog http://momof3boys3702.blogspot.com/. I’ve written a four week series on making the most of Colors in Education.  The “colors” refer to basic personality traits and how to make the most of them when teaching your children (or anyone else for that matter!)

If you want to learn a few tricks to make your homeschooling  little bit easier this year, be sure to tune in each week this month at http://momof3boys3702.blogspot.com/.

Thanks again Kelli for this opportunity!

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How to Find the Right Curriculum Without Breaking the Bank

The best way to find a curriculum that will work with you and your children is to sample as many different types as possible.  But of course there’s that little problem of cash to fund this little experiment. But there is hope …

Homeschoolers love to share resources. Because of this (and it’s just good business) many curriculum stores give away freebies and sample so that you can try before you buy. Another great source of freebies are homeschool expos.  You can check around to see when one is coming near you. Or you can enjoy a virtual expo from the comfort of your home. Virtual expos provide you with samples of all of the vendors that have participated that year.  You’ll get MP3s, ebooks and sometimes special websites for you to learn more and/or try out products.  I went to my first one this year and I’ve been enjoying it at my own pace.

There are also people who collect free resources from across the internet, such as Homeschool Freebie of the Day. The Erksine Family has great websites that give away free curriculum, ebooks and audio shows to enhance the homeschooling experience. The Erksines encourage people to sign up for their weekly notifications so that you know exactly what day each resource is offered. This is very important since they take down each resource at the end of the day and you don’t want to miss any of their finds!

Another way to experience all that is homeschooling is by getting a subscription to a monthly magazine and seeing how other homeschoolers are getting things done.  Right now there is a great Summer Bouquet subscription drive that not only gives you an in-depth look into homeschooling, but they’re also giving away 19 bonus curriculum packages. These packages contain ebooks, real books, software, DVDs, movies, etc. What better way to get an overview of the many, many different types of ways there are to educate your children today? Just a word to the wise, these particular bonuses are only available for the first 5,000 subscribers, so if you are thinking about doing this, you need to get it right away. (If you’re one of the first 1,000 subscribers you’ll get additional gifts!)

Oh, another cool aspect of this particular subscription drive is that they’ve also created a really cool interactive catalog so that you get an in-depth understanding of what you are really getting.  You know, I always hate those ads that tell you you’re getting free bonuses and then just list a bunch of stuff under it. I mean, what if you are unfamiliar with a certain product and want to know more? But these gals are taking full disclosure to new lengths, so you won’t be surprised when your packages arrive.

This short list should be a good place to start on your curriculum hunt.  And always remember that Google + FREE + curriculum is always a winning combination to find more great curriculum ideas and samples.

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Homeschool Curriculum: Points to Ponder

When people begin to toy with the idea of homeschooling their children one of the common fears involves the curriculum:

• Which curriculum is the best?
• Which one guarantees that my child will be able to do brain surgery at 10?
• Which one will take me by the hand and lead me through everything because I don’t have a degree in education?
• What happens if I don’t know the answer to a question?
• Will my child be doomed by my “ignorance”?

And the answer to all of these questions is … there is no magic curriculum. The purpose of homeschooling isn’t to create Einstein (even though that might be nice). It isn’t to prove to outside friends and family that your child is smarter than their child. It is to provide your child with an educational platform that will allow him to thrive as an individual and to be able to learn the skills they need for their chosen profession. The rest is all ego – parental ego.

So the first thing that parents considering homeschooling should work on is their own attitude. There is no one on this planet that loves your children more than you do. There is no one on this planet that will lay their life down for their children but you. So, you will not hurt your child by educating them. Education is really teaching someone how to find out the answers to the questions that they have in life. Common sense is a much harder thing to learn than regurgitating facts for a test, which unfortunately, the current educational system revels in these days. So before you pick out a curriculum, you need to have a good long talk with yourself about why you want to homeschool, make a commitment and do it. The rest will fall in line.

I have spent lots of money looking for the holy grail of curricula. But I was looking for things that interested me and not really considering the things that would interest my children or suit their personalities. So, before you pull out your checkbook, watch your children play and interact and see what works best for them. My eldest daughter must be in motion or she’ll explode. She’s a really smart girl, but sitting quietly is not her best learning style. My middle daughter is of a reflective nature, so I have to make sure that I leave her a lot of time to get her work done. She’s a daydreamer, but her work is always well done by the end of the school day. My youngest (he’s 2) seems like he’s going to follow in the footsteps of my first daughter. He’s always in motion and does his best “work” while he’s running around. So, we’ll be doing hopscotch alphabet and numbers in a couple of years. J

Now, that I’ve categorized my kids I can start thinking about which curriculum would be “the best”. I think “the best” curriculum is one that works for my family. It may not work for Fran’s family or Katy’s family, just my family. Every family is unique. So, I have a more eclectic approach. I like Sonlight’s curriculum, but my daughters had trouble with some of the math samples I printed up, so it didn’t make sense for me to invest in the whole year curriculum. But I do use their reading book lists that tie in what I’m teaching my girls right now. We’re learning Russian from a fellow homeschooling mom and her family. I like the language arts and history programs by Susan Wise. I have various science books around the house, so this year we’ll actually see which ones we will use.

For math I like Math Mammoth. My 9-year-old and 6-year-old are both working in the same series (at different paces, obviously), but what I’m really impressed by is their mastery of each worksheet. My eldest really struggled with conventional math books and got more wrong than right. Now, however, she’s a consistent 95% and above on each one. That’s greatly improved her confidence which has led to better work habits. My six year old is adding and subtracting double digits with ease. Although she works more slowly than her sister (who is still in review mode) she gets 100% every time. So how can I complain about a little daydreaming?

My 6 year old is still working on her reading skills, but the book, “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons”, I’m using to teach her to read is much different than the ones that her big sister used. Why? Because she needs more time to think out her answers. The eldest (and probably her little brother) loved the computerized independent/discovery learning style. I used the Scholastic Reading Program (that they discontinued for some reason) as well as StarFall and IKnowThat coupled with the LeapFrog Videos and she pretty much taught herself. My point is that each child learns at his or her own pace. Our job is to find what works and encourage it. And that’s one reason I think the best way to start is not to spend hundreds of dollars on curriculum, but find something that is flexible while you work out the details of how your children learn.

I have fallen in love with the The Old Schoolhouse Planner. It’s an eclectic collection of resources that is also a complete year’s curriculum. First off, let me confess that I have not been the most organized homeschooler. I’ve purchased programs to keep records on the girls work, I’ve set up schedules (that I then proceeded to ignore after about a week), and changed my mind a couple of times during the course of the year on some of the books that we had chosen to use for learning. But after reading through this 375 page masterpiece of planning I am finally content. Each month is based upon a theme and all the activities and subjects that are taught in that month follow that theme. This would be just about perfect for new homeschooling families. When you start out homeschooling you always worry that you won’t get everything done. The planner is designed to help you not only get yourself organized, but to have fun while you teach and learn. (If you want to learn more about the planner you can go here or read additional reviews here.)

Another resource that you will find useful is called “Oklahoma Homeschool” and has a great breakdown of educational styles and ideas that will be a great help to you as you choose your curriculum. You can also visit The Homeschool Lounge and talk to experienced homeschoolers. You’ll see that the ways to have well-educated children are as diverse as the stars.

You can and will make the difference in your child’s education. The curriculum is just a tool in your hand. Take your time to pick the right one for you and your family and the rest will follow.

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