Homeschool Showcase #26

Welcome to the (delayed) June 29, 2009 edition of Homeschool Showcase, where we spotlight all the the encouraging, inspiring, hands-on, and just plain fun ways that homeschooling families live, learn and enjoy life together.

I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful summer with your kids. It seems that we haven't slowed down since ours began. Thankfully, neither have the wonderful ideas shared by your fellow homeschoolers for this edition of Homeschool Showcase.


To start us off this week, Jimmie suggests a great alternate use for one of lapbooking's favorite tools, the mini-book: Minibooks for Reference posted at Jimmie's Collage.

photo by jimmie

With another great lapbook-related idea, Paige Hudson presents Summer Review: Science Lapbooks posted at Elemental Science.

Offering a review of her own, Rational Jenn takes a look back at her family's first homeschool year in her post, Homeschool Wrap Up. Check it out at Rational Jenn.

Got any budding scientists out there? Anybody besides me love shows like CSI and Forensic Files? These next post submissions might be right up your alley.

Nancy Miller presents Top 50 Forensic Scientist Blogs posted at Forensic Science Technician.

Pankaj Gupta presents How to Become a Real Private Detective, posted at Best masters in criminal justice.

James Larson presents Top 5 Open Courseware Collections for Scientists posted at Best forensic science schools.

Maybe, like me, you dream of becoming an author some day. I'd say Amida's boy, Zee, is a step or two ahead of me. He's already written and illustrated his first book, If You Give a Parrot a Berry. It comes complete with rave reviews and even a barcode on the back! Love it! Check out, If You Make Yourself a Book, posted at Journey into Unschooling.

photo by amida

Giving us another creative idea involving berries is Silvia's daughter, who made Sugar Cookie Tarts. The recipe, the steps, and pictures, can be found at Po Moyemu--In My Opinion. Silvia says, "My daughter made these cookies--grabbing an egg from under one of our hens and collecting black raspberries from our own backyard plant. I wonder how many different things she learned from the baking, the hens/eggs, and the raspberry bush!"

So many kids (and adults) are involved in social media today, but many don't think about the possible negative effects of the things they share online. Sarah Scrafford offers some practical tips for both building a positive online presence and avoiding a negative one in her post, Networking 101: Tips and Tools for Online Students presented at Rated Colleges.

Gerard offers his suggestions For Raising Happy Children posted at Happy Kids For Life.

Rounding out the tips and tricks ideas this week, Nesher offers some ideas on How to arrange proper home environment for online studying, posted at Online MBA Study.

In a post that reminds me of one of my favorite books, Picture Book Activities, by Trish Kuffner, Michelle Sweeney presents some themed fun about Trains, including books, activities and printables. You can find them at Always Learning.

Leah Courtney, of The Courtney Six, wonders something that I find myself thinking about during our busy summer days: Where Have the Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer Gone?

Jolanthe is always so generous with her time and talents. She has created another wonderful preschool printable, free to print and use with your preschoolers. Check out Preschool Corner: Three Letter Word Printables posted at Homeschool Creations.

photo by jolanthe

How cool! Jenafer, of Cage Free Monkeys was interviewed about homeschooling by her local news station. Check out, Our News Interview Promoting Homeschooling!

I can relate to Robyn's concerns in her post, Reading Troubles? Check the Eyes, posted at Our Homeschool Home. My own daughter had vision problems, so I agree completely with Robyn when she says, "This is such a near and dear subject to my heart. So many children suffer from this problem without anyone realizing the cause until it is too late. Homeschoolers have the advantage of working closely with their children in an educational setting to assess the situation and seek help."

Jennifer Schmidt, of homegrownmommy.com, shares her excitement and the benefits of scheduling in her post I Had Unexpected Company AND a Day Off - All Because of My Schedule.

Double Latte Mama's Blog's PJ Kaiser shows us photos of her son's art project -- before, during and after -- in her post, Art Project for Father's Day. She also offers some great tips on enjoying potentially messy art projects with kids because, let's face it, the messier, the better as far as the kids are concerned, right?

photo by pj kaiser

I recently did an interview with homeschool graduate, Morgan, who is currently in college pursuing a degree in education. Do you have a budding teacher in your home? Alvina Lopez answers the question, Where Can I Find Teacher Scholarships? posted at Smart Teaching.

Emma Taylor presents 25 TED Talks That Will Change Your Life posted at Online Degree Hub. She doesn't have my favorite listed, though: Schools Kill Creativity. It's an excellent, thought-provoking, and just down-right funny talk by creativity expert Ken Robinson.

One of the things that I'd really like all my kids to learn before they leave home is how to handle basic home repairs. Of course, they'll have to learn them from my husband because I never really learned basic repair tips myself -- or, better yet, we could learn together! We can use some of the sites shared by Shoune Smith in Top 10 DIY Home Repair Reference Sites, posted at Construction management degree.

If you'd love to learn to read or play music, but can't afford outside lessons, maybe you'll be able to find something on the list of 100 Free Music Lessons You Can Take On YouTube, presented byBrooklyn White of Online University Lowdown.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Homeschool Showcase, scheduled for July 13, using our carnival submission form. If you've never participated before, or it's been awhile, please read the Homeschool Showcase guidelines before submitting your post. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.