The Votes Are in And We're Off to Niagara Falls!

Make your reservation today for the 2006 African-American Homeschoolers Family & Friends Vacation.

When: Wednesday, August 2 - Monday, August 7, 2006 -- 6 days and 5 nights.

Where: Rock Point Provincial Park, Dunnville, Ontario, Canada.

Activities: At campsite -- Hiking, canoeing, wildlife viewing, activities for children and homeschooling round tables. Campsite is 1hr South of Niagara Falls.

Cost: Reserve your family's space at the campsite by making your $75 payment via PayPal by April 30, 2006.

Space is limited and on a first come, first served basis.

Hooked on Phonics will be offering an overstock sale beginning immediately and ending 6/1/06. We will be blowing out inventory on the following items:

Learn to Read with Audio Cassettes: Normally $279.99, now only $99.99
Hooked on Math with Audio Cassettes: Normally $249.95, now only $99.99
Hooked on School Success: Normally $249.95, now only $99.99, plus free 2005 World Book encyclopedia

No coupon is required to receive this discount, the discount will automatically be applied at the shopping cart.

Alpha Omega Publications provides Christian curriculum for grades K through 12, including Switched-On Schoolhouse, LIFEPAC, Horizons, The Weaver Curriculum, and Power-Glide. Take advantage of the 20% sale today -- Our Annual Spring sale begins in April and continues through the end of May. Orders on all products during April will be discounted 20% and all orders in May will be 15% off.

Get your Produce Passport now!
Kids love to collect stickers, why not put this characteristic to good use and let them collect a lifetime of good health along the way? The Produce Passport Book has 21 different fruits and vegetables, of which UPC branding stickers are commonly found in most food stores across North America. It is as fun as it is simple; you buy the fruit, take the sticker off, eat the fruit and then stick that sticker in the Produce Passport until all the pages are full. Take a tour through the Produce Passport and get your child started on the road to a lifetime of healthier eating today!

Classroom in the Kitchen: Home education an increasingly popular alternative

Chris Etheridge of The Register-Mail writes about homeschooling in Illinois and highlights some interesting statistics:

- 1,096,000: Estimated number of homeschool students in the U.S. in 2003.
- 98,000: Number of kindergarten students homeschooled in 2003, the largest of any grade level.
- 77: Percent of homeschooled students in 2003 who were white, up 2 percent from 1999. (61 percent of public school students were white.)
- 54: Percent of homeschool families that made less than $50,000 in 2003.
- 445,000: Number of homeschooled students in southern states in 2003, the most of any region of the country.
- 48: Percent of homeschool students in the equivalent of elementary school (K-5), the same percentage as public schools.

Read the full story here.

Millions of Young People WILL CHANGE THE WORLD ON NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY April 21-23, 2006!

Millions of youth will participate in National & Global Youth Service Day, the largest service event in the world, on April 21 - 23, 2006. They will tutor young children, engage in disaster relief, register new voters, educate their communities about good nutrition, distribute HIV/AIDs prevention materials and meet many more community needs through their service. National & Global Youth Service Day supports youth on a life-long path of service and civic engagement, and educates the public, the media, and elected officials about the role of youth as community leaders. Join us!

Homeschooling As A Single Parent: How You Can Make It Work

Full time freelance editor and veteran single homeschooling mother of three, Mary Jo Tate shares how parents can work and homeschool and do both with success!

Let’s face it: being a single parent intensifies the challenges of homeschooling.

In many two-parent homeschooling families, the dad takes primary responsibility for earning the living and the mom takes primary responsibility for educating the children. The labor is divided and the support is multiplied. Although there are also many two-parent families where both parents contribute to the education and the finances—often through a family business—a single parent is often solely responsible for both. The labor is multiplied and the support is subtracted.

But, the increasing number of single parents choosing to educate their children at home testifies that it can work. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute says his studies show that about two percent of homeschooling families are headed by single parents, but it is his opinion that this figure probably underrepresents the true number.

I have been homeschooling for eight years—four of them as a single mom. The number-one question people ask me (usually with a breathless air of amazement) is “How do you do it all?”

My answer comes in two parts: (1) I don’t, and (2) I redefine it all.

Read the full article here.

Young Naturalist's Backpack Kit

Strap on your pack, head outside, and open your eyes to the wonders of the world around you! This deluxe nature kit has everything kids need for an exciting nature study. Catch and observe insects, identify and press flowers, watch the habits of birds and small animals, and make a record of observations just like a real naturalist!

Get started with the Watching Nature book, a photograph-filled introduction to nature studies that will inspire kids in their own discoveries. The complete contents of this kit are three Golden field guides (insects, wildflowers, and birds), Watching Nature, plus the tools of the trade: an insect net with sturdy wooden handle, 12 insect collecting vials, a pop-up habitat to hold bugs and other tiny wildlife, lightweight compact binoculars, a plant press, double-lens 5x/10x magnifying glass, nature notebook, ruler, and plastic specimen collection bags. This kit comes with a sturdy backpack with padded shoulder straps and back, compression straps, and multiple pockets. Backpack and habitat colors may vary. Grades 2-8. Order from Home Science Tools Today!

May We Also Suggest Home Science Tools':
The Amateur Naturalist

Explorer Microscope, 20X

Welcome to The Book Samaritan!
We provide free books and curriculum to homeschoolers.

There's nothing like homeschooling! It can be exhilarating, chaotic
and rewarding all at once. But when a tight budget limits a
homeschooler's ability to obtain the curriculum they need,
homeschooling can quickly become frustrating!

Expenses can be enormous for homeschooling families:
They are usually single-income households;

Books and curriculum for multiple children can really add up;

School supplies, field trips and supplemental materials are
the sole financial responsibility of the family.

Unexpected events can make things particularly difficult.

A lost job, illness, divorce or other "surprise" can really rock a
homeschooling family's foundation. Often, a family that was once
deeply committed to homeschooling must reconsider its options.

We want to help.

We provide books and curriculum to families who have financial
needs. If you have budgetary constraints that are hindering your
ability to provide your children with the best possible curriculum
choices, please let us help.

Homeschoolers help us, too!

We recognize that for those homeschoolers who are more financially secure, our services are not necessary. If this applies to you, we thank you for not requesting materials. Instead, we humbly ask that you consider a donation of your used curriculum. We rely on your help!

Freedom - The Timeless Lesson of Passover

Get this and more at OyToys a Jewish store that offers a wide selection of Jewish Toys and Jewish baby gifts, including Hebrew and English personalized baby blankets, burp cloths and bibs. We feature everything you need for Jewish children from infants to older children: toys, music, videos, Jewish software, games, books, and crafts. We have educational toys to assist children in learning about holidays, customs and the Hebrew aleph-bet. We also offer the Shalom Sesame, Beginner's Bible and Aleph-Bet Blast-Off video series. At OyToys, we feature Jewish toys, Jewish pet toys, Jewish gifts and Jewish music specially made for all of the Jewish holidays: Shabbat-Shabbos, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot-Sukkos, Simchat Torah-Simchas Torah, Hanukkah-Chanukah, Purim, and Passover-Pesach.

Perfume Science

Follow your nose on a fragrant journey through the science, history and art of making perfumes. Experiment with countless fragrance combinations on your way to becoming a master perfumer. Learn how your nose and olfactory system work with your brain to sense and recognize smells.

Play games with your sense of smell and taste. Read about the long history of perfumes and take a peek into the perfume industry today. Discover where natural and synthetic fragrances come from. Use vegetable shortening to extract the fragrant oils from rose petals. Find out what makes a perfume different from a cologne.

Design your own perfumes and learn how perfumes are meticulously composed. Train your nose to recognize the components of complex scents. Make a scented potpourri and a sweet-smelling sachet with your homemade perfumes. Design the perfume that suits you perfectly, and surprise your friends with perfumes made specially for them.

Perfume Science introduces young perfumers to the biology, chemistry and techniques behind fragrance design. This kit is a complete perfumer's laboratory including 8 high-quality perfume oils, decorative flacons (small bottles) for storing your perfume creations and important tools of the trade.

Topics and Experiments
* Setting Up Your Perfume Laboratory
* The Physiology of Smell
* Smell Memory & Taste Test Games
* The History of Perfumes
* Extracting Fragrances from Plants
* Where Do Fragrances Come From?
* Perfume's Head, Heart & Base Notes
* Training Your Nose
* Learning to Work as a Perfumer
* Composing Perfumes from Formulas
* Designing Your Own Perfumes
* Fun Facts about Perfumes
* Special Crafts for Your Perfumes
* Advice for Safe Experiment

Northeast Unschooling Conference
Memorial Day Weekend May 26-28, 2006 at the Mariott Hotel in Peabody, MA.

Whether your family has been unschooling for years, or is just getting started , the Northeast Unschooling Conference will give you the opportunity to connect with other people who care about their children's freedom to truly be themselves.

Presentations
You'll hear experienced and interesting speakers like Ben and Kelly Lovejoy, Ren Allen, and Erika Davis-Pitre tell their stories and give helpful advice. You'll be able to pick their brains and get to know them.

Funshops
Funshops are open to all ages, although younger children may need help from a parent of older friend for some of them. Funshops will include an Arts and Crafts Room, Cheerleading, American Sign Language, Folk Singing, Artist Trading Cards, Chess, and many, many more.

Play!
There's a lot to do with unschoolers of all ages. Some folks will pull up a corner and just enjoy talking to supportive, like-minded people. Some kids may passionately play Yu-gi-oh together or set up impromptu video game centers. Some families may spend most of their time at the pool, while others may explore the area together.

Kids' Sale Table
The Kids' Sale Table will be available to all kids who are registered for the conference. At this table they may sell items they make to conference attendees. The table will be monitored by volunteers, and there will be no charge or commission for kids to sell their homemade items. (No food products, please!)

Plan to Stay until Monday!
The official conference ends Sunday afternoon, but it's a long weekend and we're planning great things for Monday. Peabody is right next to historic Salem, Massachusetts, and we're compiling a special package of discounts and coupons at attractions throughout Salem that will be free to conference attendees.

Then, we'll meet at Salem Willows, a park and old-fashioned New England amusement park right on the ocean. (You can see what it's like here ) We can hang out and chat and picnic at this lovely place, wander about, perhaps take a boat ride or buy taffy, and play pinball and skeeball. If you're brave, try the famous Chop Suey Sandwich!

Registration and hotel reservations are now available.

April is National Poetry Month

Established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, April is a wonderful time to focus on verse, living poets and poetry books. Check out these books, perfect for budding poets:


Thanks a Million: Poems

Sixteen thoughtful poems about being thankful for everyday things. Grimes uses a variety of forms that include haiku, a riddle, and a rebus in selections that speak directly to the experiences of young children.


Poetry Speaks to Children

More than 90 poems, for children ages six and up, celebrate the written word and feature a star-studded lineup of beloved poets, including: Roald Dahl; J. R. R. Tolkien; Robert Frost; Gwendolyn Brooks; Ogden Nash; John Ciardi; Langston Hughes; Sonia Sanchez; Seamus Heaney; Canada's best-loved children's poet, Dennis Lee; Rita Dove; Billy Collins; Nikki Giovanni and X. J. Kennedy. On the accompanying CD, 52 of the poems are brought to life-most read by the poets themselves-allow the reader to hear the words as the poets intended.


Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar

This new 'most complete' edition of the collected poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, the virtual father of black American poetry, includes sixty poems not included in the previous--and now out of print--Complete Poems. Sixteen of these were found in manuscript form.

THE SWAHILI COAST

The Swahili Coast, an 1,800-mile stretch of Kenyan and Tanzanian coastline, has been the site of cultural and commercial exchanges between East Africa and the outside world - particularly the Middle East, Asia, and Europe - since at least the 2nd century A.D.

The earliest coastal communities practiced ironworking, and were mainly subsistence farmers and river fishers, who supplemented their economy with hunting, keeping livestock, fishing in the ocean, and trading with outsiders. Between 500 and 800 A.D. they shifted to a sea-based trading economy and began to migrate south by ship. In the following centuries, trade in goods from the African interior, such as gold, ivory, and slaves stimulated the development of market towns such as Mogadishu, Shanga, Kilwa, and Mombasa. By around the 9th century A.D., Africans, Arabs, and Persians who lived and traded on the coast had developed a lingua franca, Swahili, or Kiswahili, a language based on the Bantu language Sabaki that uses Arab and Persian loan words. To listen to some common Swahili words and phrases, click here.

Homeschool Buyers Co-op offers special group discount for guitar bundles from iPlaymusic

Place your order by April 14, 2006 at 5:00pm Pacific Time to receive a special group discount for popular guitar bundles and DVD learning packages from iPlayMusic. If we can get 25 orders for any combination of the guitar bundles in the next two weeks, we can each get 30% off list price; with 50 orders we can get 40% off!! The same goes for the DVD packages. This is a special Co-op Exclusive. You won't get a better price for these products anywhere!

Place your order today!

The Votes Are in And We're Off to Niagara Falls!

Make your reservation today for the 2006 African-American Homeschoolers Family & Friends Vacation.

When: Wednesday, August 2 - Monday, August 7, 2006 -- 6 days and 5 nights.

Where: Rock Point Provincial Park, Dunnville, Ontario, Canada.

Activities: At campsite -- Hiking, canoeing, wildlife viewing, activities for children and homeschooling round tables. Campsite is 1hr South of Niagara Falls.

Cost: Reserve your family's space at the campsite by making your $75 payment via PayPal by April 30, 2006.

Space is limited and on a first come, first served basis.

For 9-12 year olds, an alternative guide to maths which introduces One Finger Jimmy, Chainsaw Charlie and their ghastly gangster friends, who are living proof that maths really can be murderous. Among the items featured is how to rescue someone in deadly peril, and how not to shoot yourself with a cannon.



Even if you didn't know that maths could be murderous, read on. It's guaranteed to have no nasty exercises and boring sums! Yes, One Finger Jimmy and the rest of the gang are back to show you just how catastrophically dangerous maths can be.