Art Book Giveaway

We’re dealing with a family crisis at the moment (the kind that involves surgeons and emergency travel arrangements), so this will have to be brief.  It’s too bad, because I’d love to go on and on and ON about how much I loved your comments about math!  You made me feel so much less alone.  But I’ve got to run, so I’ll just say that the winner of last week’s ancient history homeschool book giveaway is Laura.  Congratulations, Laura!  Send me an email with your address and I’ll get those books out to you just as soon as I can. 

And now for this week’s Help-I’m-Moving-To-Hawaii-And-The-Government-Won’t-Ship-All-These-Books giveaway:

• Altered Art; Terry Taylor
• Urgent 2nd Class; Nick Bantock
• Journal Revolution; Linda Woods and Karen Dinino

I bought these when the Goobs and I were all frustrated with our serious lack of drawing skills.  I thought it might be nice to try something else for a change, and so I brought these books home, hoping they’d be inspired to do something besides sit around and complain that their horses look like dogs and their dogs look like snails, but they weren’t interested.  I was okay with that, and put the books on the art shelf “just in case.”  That was several years ago.  We’re never going to use these books.  If you’d like to try them, just leave a comment telling me how you handle art at your house, would you?  My JellyMan is heading into high school, and he’d like to draw a decent looking horse by the time he graduates!  I’ll announce the winner next Saturday, February 6th, 2010.

By the way, if you were the winner of a previous giveaway and you have not received your books yet, don’t despair.  It isn’t because I don’t like you.  It’s because The Man is pathetic and can’t function properly without me.  I’ll take care of it as soon as I get back home, which should be Monday - assuming we can avoid any additional catastrophes.

Our Saxon Story, Part Two (or) Another Book Giveaway

I promised to write an update to Our Saxon Story (part one) to let everyone know how JellyMan is doing with upper level math.  This is that update.  But first, for the benefit of those who haven’t been breathlessly following our homeschool journey, I’ll very quickly tell you how we use Saxon math.  The rest of you just bear with me.

• We do not use Saxon K-3.
• After I taught The Goobers how to tell time (with a clock), record the passage of time (with a calendar), make change (with money), and perform basic operations (with paper and a pencil), they memorized their math facts (with Math-It) and they started Saxon 5/4. 
• JM started 5/4 in third grade.
• Anemone started 5/4 in second grade.
• They read the lessons themselves. 
• They do the problems themselves.
• They do not skip anything.  Ever.
• I grade their work.
• They re-do missed problems until they are correct.
• I do not allow calculators.
• I do not help. 
• But, since I do not allow calculators, I have to teach them things like how to find the square root of 549.3847 on paper because Saxon does not cover that.  Lame!

These next points came about because The Goobers were yanking my chain back at the beginning of the school year.  Oh, those Goobs.  They slay me.

• If they miss more than five problems, I don’t tell them which ones they missed.
• They go back and do the lesson over again.
• And again. 
• And again.
• And if it happens again, they go back ten lessons to pick up whatever they missed.
• I don’t care if takes 6 months or three years to get through a book.  It’s their time.

Okay, that’s over and it’s time for the update.  JellyMan (my thespian/Latinist/writer) started Algebra 1 in 7th grade and did very well at first, but he fell apart halfway through the book.  It was taking him hours to do his math.  He was making C’s and D’s every day, and he wasn’t getting to any of the rest of his subjects.  There were tears, and I felt sorry for him.  At the beginning of October I said to myself, “Self, Saxon 8/7 wasn’t enough practice.  This boy clearly isn’t ready for algebra.”  And I went out and bought Saxon Algebra 1/2 so my JellyMan could slow down while his little mind developed.  

And he took even longer, missed even more problems, and turned into an ill-tempered, hateful, disrespectful little punk. 

I was pissed, folks.  The beginning of Saxon Algebra 1/2 is basic.  Rock bottom basic.  A fourth grader could do it.  And I’ll be damned if I’ll let some twelve year old who can’t handle fourth grade math talk to me like I’m the only idiot in the room, so in November I put him right back at the beginning of Algebra 1, took away his extracurricular activities (including an opportunity to play Ralphie in A Christmas Story) and generally made his life a living hell. 

And guess what?  It turns out he was more than ready for algebra.  What a shocker!  He managed to finish the book by the end of his 7th grade year with an average of 89%.  (It would have been higher, but I only counted test grades - he received no credit for all those hours of daily lessons.  Payback, you know, for all the angst I suffered over not letting him be in that play he was so excited about.  Aren’t you glad I’m not your mother?)

He started Saxon Algebra 2 at the beginning of his 8th grade year.  The Man was deployed at the time, and we were not ourselves.  Grades slipped.  I didn’t much care.  The Man came home.  He cared much.  Balance was restored.  JellyMan is just short of halfway through Algebra 2 (agreeing to let him do a half lesson a day was stupid, but that situation has been rectified) and most days he does a fine job.  Of course, he also has days like yesterday.  Yesterday was …

Let’s just not talk about yesterday.  Let’s talk about who won last week’s book giveaway!  The winner is Rayann!  Congratulations, Rayann.  Email me your address and I’ll have The Man send those to you straightaway.  Well, maybe not straightaway.  But soon.  Very soon.

This week’s The-Air-Force-Won’t-Ship-All-These-Books-To-Hawaii giveaway focuses on ancient history:

• Gilgamesh the King; Ludmila Zeman
• What Do We Know About the Egyptians?; Joanna Defrates
• Make it Work: The Roman Empire; Andrew Haslam
• DK Eyewitness: Ancient Rome
• The Ancient Greece of Odysseus; Peter Connolly
• Black Ships Before Troy; Rosemary Sutcliff
• The Wanderings of Odysseus; Rosemary Sutcliff

Leave a comment telling me how you do math at your house to be entered in the drawing.  I will announce the winner next Saturday, the 30th of January, 2010.

Oh, and if you were worried about the effectiveness of Saxon math, stop worrying.  My Goobs took their first standardized tests last month.  Trust me, it’s effective!

Take my books, please!

I wish I could write a blog post today, but The Goobs are down in the basement rotting their brains with Wii games and zombie movies and I am busy listening to all of Susan Wise-Bauer's homeschooling workshops.  I'm so glad she has made these available for purchase - I have been feeling the need for a little homeschool support lately, and the garbage being posted at the Well-Trained Mind forum isn't doing a thing for me.  Did you know that kids self-teaching just doesn't cut it?  Or that girls should read girl books and boys should read boy books?  Or that kids who use Saxon math can't think mathematically and can't solve a math problem unless it is written in Saxon format?

NEITHER DID I!

Okay.  The winner of last week's giveaway is Tressa of Tressays!  Congratulations, Tressa.  Send me your address and I'll have The Man send them to you.  Maybe.  He's been having a little trouble keeping up.  Trena, you'll get your encyclopedia soon, I promise.

This week I'm giving away three science books:

• Science For Fun Experiments; Gary Gibson
• DK Pockets: Space Facts
• DK Pockets: Gemstones

As always, these books have been used by real, live homeschoolers - don't expect glossy perfection.  To enter the drawing, leave a comment telling me how you're teaching your kids to work independently.  I will announce the winner on Saturday, January 23, 2010. 

My Goobs work much more independently when they can't see each other (it's harder to poke people you can't see with sharp objects) and have easy access to sugar.

Saturday Mom Confession #22 (or) A Book Giveaway

  

I yelled at my Goobs about school every day this week.  Not about their crappy attitudes or their messes or their poor hygiene or their lousy taste in cartoons, but about school.  Ugh.  School is just not worth that much bad energy.

But I don’t feel like dwelling on my shortcomings, so here’s this week’s Too-Many-Books-To-Haul-To-Hawaii book giveaway:

• Creative Home Schooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families; Lisa Rivero
• Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education; Laura Berquist

I’ll be honest - neither of these books did me much good.  The Creative Home Schooling book would be great for a new homeschooler who has bright elementary school aged kids but doesn’t quite know what to do with them.  That isn’t me.  I have elementary school covered.  I was hoping to find helpful suggestions for bright high school aged kids.  You know, something a little more detailed than “hand them What Color is Your Parachute? and find them a mentor.”  Yeah, okay.  I’m homeschooling, remember?  When it comes to academics, I am the frickin’ mentor.

Berquist’s book is fine if your homeschool is more religious than academic.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that (she said in her best Jerry Seinfeld voice); it’s just that ours is the other way around.

So now that I’ve done my best to make this week’s giveaway completely unappealing, I’ll tell you what to do to enter the drawing - leave me a comment telling me your favorite homeschooling how-to book by 10:00 P. M. on Friday, January 15th, 2010.  (My favorite is The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer, followed by The Latin Centered Curriculum by Drew Campbell.)  I’ll announce the winner on Saturday, January 16th, 2010. 

Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you that the winner of last week’s e-encyclopedia giveaway was Trena of Sew Blessed!  Congratulations, Trena!  Send me your address, and The Man will mail those to you just as soon as he can.  (Don’t despair, Kristy, your field guides are coming soon - The Man has been having car trouble.)

A Very Rushed Book Giveaway

I’m on my way out the door, so this will have to be brief.  The winner of last week’s field guide giveaway is Kristy of Kristy’s Corner!  Congratulations, Kristy!  Just send me your address and I’ll have The Man drop those off at the post office for you.

This week’s HELP-I’M-MOVING-TO-HAWAII-AND-I-HAVE-TOO-MANY-BOOKS giveaway is for this Google/DK E-Encyclopedia.  As usual, the book jacket is a little banged up, but the book itself is in good shape.

To be entered in the drawing, just leave a comment telling me about your most outrageous New Year’s resolution by Friday, January 8th, 2010.  I’ll announce the winner next Saturday, January 9th, 2010.

My outrageous New Year’s resolution is to whip up matching muumuus for Anemone and myself.  They will feature flamingos, and we will be smashing. 

Saturday Mom Confession #21 (and another book giveaway)

I confess that I’m more excited about Rock Band 2 for Wii than my Goobs are, and that is saying a lot.

Applie won last week’s Japanese book giveaway, but since she ever-so-graciously requested that the books be given to Lisa if she won again, that’s what will happen.  Congratulations, Lisa!  Please send me your address, and I’ll send The Man to the post office.

This week I’m giving away four Peterson field guides:

• Peterson First Guide to Caterpillars
• Peterson First Guide to Wildflowers
• Peterson First Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians
• Peterson First Guide to Rocks and Minerals

Giving these little books away won’t do much for getting us within the shipping weight limit for our upcoming move to Hawaii, but my library already has them and I hate to throw them out. You may enter the drawing by leaving a comment telling me what your favorite Christmas gift was this year.  Or last year.  Or ever.  I don’t care - just tell me by bedtime on Friday, January 1st, 2010.  

2010! 

I’ll announce the winner on Saturday, January 2nd, 2010.

2010!

My best Christmas present ever was about 23 years ago when I received a set of two - TWO! - Cabbage Patch Kids.  I never dreamed in a million years that I would ever have a Cabbage Patch Kid, and then each of my grandmothers hooked me up.  My second best Christmas present was the Kitchen-Aid stand mixer The Man gave me about six years ago.  I used to hate and despise making Christmas cookies, but now I only mildly dislike it.  My third best Christmas present was my 18-200mm camera lens The Man bought me last year.  Those are all great presents, but they just might be surpassed by this year’s big ticket item.  I can’t know for sure, though, because I’m afraid to open the box.

Another Book Giveaway

Oh, it’s been a crazy week!  I really love that my Goobs are involved with the arts, but jeez!  Artistic people annoy the CRAP out of me.  Listen up, all you artistic directors out there!  You are not that good.  You have limitations, just like everyone else.  Please, please, PLEASE take a little bit of that mountain of money you’re sitting on and hire just one person who knows how to make a plan and stick to it!  Every artistic endeavor needs somebody who is grounded enough to know what the hell is going on.  And no, I’m not volunteering, so stop asking me.  

Okay, now it’s down to business - the winner of last week’s I’m-Moving-To-Hawaii-And-I-Have-Way-Too-Much-Stuff-Please-Help-Me ASL giveaway is Rose of CelticMuse!  Let’s hear it for Rose! Just send me your address, Rose.  You’ll probably get your books way before Michelle gets hers.

This week I’m giving away a Japanese language package:

• Learn Japanese in Your Car (3 CD set); Penton Overseas, Inc.
• Teach Yourself Japanese
• Kanji Pictographix: Over 1000 Japanese Kanji and Kana Mnemonics; Michael Rowley
• A Guide to Learning Hiragana & Katakana: First Steps to Reading and Writing Japanese; Kenneth G. Henshall with Tetsuo Takagaki

The Goobs and I had a love affair with the Japanese language back in the day, but they lost interest when we moved away from their Japanese sensei.  I was going to keep these (just in case!) but I have to be honest - it’s never, ever going to happen.  No, not even in Hawaii.  

Wait!  Wait a minute!  Yes! Yes, it could totally happen!  I can’t!  I can’t give these away!  No!  No! You can’t have them!  No!  Never!  

The Man just told me to get a grip - I can always buy new books.  So.  Even though his being right is killing me, leave a comment telling me whatever it is you think I need to know by 11:59 P.M. on Friday, December 25th.  I’ll announce the winner on Saturday, December 26th.

Saturday Mom Confession #20 (or) Yet Another Book Giveaway

Today I confess that we are in our 8th year of homeschooling, and I’ve never had my Goobs take a standardized test.  Why bother?  I know what they’re studying because I’m the one assigning the work.  I know how they’re performing because I’m the one grading the work.  I know what they’re learning because I’m the one leading discussions about the work.  Ppphhfffbbbt.  Standardized test scores - who needs ‘em?

The sunny state of Hawaii, apparently.  I sure hope my Goobs “test well.”

Now, let’s move on to the important stuff!  The winner of last week’s DK Illustrated Oxford Dictionary giveaway is The One and Only Applie of Applie’s Place!  Congratulations, Michelle!  Send me your address and I’ll mail your book to you.  Eventually.  (It’s okay, readers.  I can tease Michelle.  Michelle and I go way back.)

The Man just reminded me that our weight limit for household goods is a measly 9,000 pounds.  Well, we’ll probably be able to shed a couple of thousand pounds over the next few months, but I’m not sure it will do us much good since our new home in Hawaii could be as small as 1,040 square feet.  Have you ever seen 9,000 pounds of household goods crammed into a 1,040 square foot home?  Neither have I, but the thought makes my brain hurt.  So I’m giving away a few more slightly used homeschooling books this week:  The Joy of Signing by Lottie L. Riekehof and Signing for Kids by Mickey Flodin.

My Goobers and I studied ASL for about two minutes back in 2002?  2003?  I don’t remember.  But I’ve been carrying these books around ever since, just in case.  (Anyone who homeschools understands the words “just in case.”)  But now I’m ready to admit that ASL just isn’t going to happen, so I’m giving them away to some lucky person who leaves a comment telling me which languages your own Goobs are learning (or which languages they’re supposed to be learning, or which languages you wish they would learn, or which languages they’re not even remotely learning) by 9:45 P.M. next Friday, December 18th, 2009.  I’ll announce the winner on Saturday, December 19th.

Saturday Mom Confession #19 (or Another Book Giveaway)

My confession is this:  I was a good mom this week.  I don’t think I made any bad decisions or caused anyone any emotional trauma or contributed to future diabetes diagnoses.  I wasn’t too lax or too strict, and I did my Christmas shopping.  I.  Rock.

And so do you!  So quit being so modest and tell me what you’ve done right by 11:32 P.M. on Friday, December 11th, and I’ll enter you in a drawing for this DK Illustrated Oxford Dictionary:

My Goobs LOVED this dictionary when they were little, but it was so heavy for them that they didn’t want to cart it all over the house.  They kept it at the table, which means it’s in great shape for a book owned by a bunch of homeschoolers.  And it’s so heavy that it has to get out of my house before the government packs us up and ships us to Hawaii.  I’ll announce the winner next Saturday, December 12th, 2009.

Oh, one more thing - the winner of the Famous Men giveway from last week is The Family of Once Upon a Family!  Congratulations, Family!  Use the contact form (the link is at the top of the page) to send me your address, and I’ll get that it the mail for you.  

Saturday Mom Confession #18 (or) A Giveaway

I haven’t seen The Goobs drink anything other than Coca-Cola since Thursday morning.  Shocking.

And now for the winner of the Horses: The Visual Guide giveaway:

Melora at The Accidental Blogger!

Congratulations, Melora!  Just send me your address through the “Contact” link up at the top of the page and I’ll get that in the mail.  Thanks to everyone who commented on Anemone’s human thorax cake - you made her day!

And now for this week’s book giveaway:

To enter the drawing for the Famous Men of Rome and Famous Men of Greece (along with their respective teacher’s guides) package, leave a quick comment with your own Mom Confession by 10:45 p.m. on Friday, December 4th.  I’ll announce the winner on Saturday, December 5th.