The Carnival of Homeschooling - the Baby Bop edition

Monday was a special day for my family. Janine and I, along with other family members, went to a local court house. Baby Bop was officially made a part of our family. We had a big shindig in the evening.

As I put together this carnival, foster care and adoption are heavily on my mind right now. It seems natural to work this week's carnival around our new son: Baby Bop.

Janine first wrote about him last July. Janine and I have been doing foster care now for two years. We've had eight children come into our house. Seven were able to move back to family extended family. Baby Bop came to our home November 2007. We thought he would be going to live with his father, but it didn't work out. Now he will stay with us forever.

I've joked a bit that with most people it takes nine months to have a child, but we're slow, it has taken us nineteen months. A few have commented that Janine must be very glad not to have carried Baby Bop those nineteen months.

Here are a few aspects of Baby Bop's life:



The beginning

Every child is new and different. In some ways I feel like a first time parent. We are starting back at the beginning.

Alasandra looks back on how she became a homeschooler in Reflections on Homeschooling Part I.
From Delighting in His Richness is some good advice for homeschooling beginners on Where to Begin.


Books

Bed time routines help children know when it is time to settle down. Almost like Pavlov's Dog their bodies can be trained to relax and get ready for sleep. Part of our bed time routine is to read to Baby Bop. He has developed a great love for books.

Kim posts her book review of Henry the Impatient Heron at Wild About Nature.

Making Money Keeping Money has found a great free Preschool e-book!

Alvaro Fernandez is excited to announce his new book “The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness,” on his blog SharpBrain.


Videos

Baby Bop loves to watch videos. We limit him to around an hour a day, four or five times a week.

Home Spun Juggling has a great take off of Princess Bride in Revisiting the Fire Swamp.

Mia writes about Another fun and educational video site at her blog MiaZagora’s Homeschool Minutes.


Summer

Now that summer is almost here, we've been thinking about how the rhythm of our life will change with school wrapping up. For Baby Bop this mostly means he'll continue to play a lot, and his sisters will be more available to play with him.

Sherene encourages parents to consider Running their own ooey, gooey, messy, homeschool, summer art camp. She writes “Summer camps are pricey and when you have more than one child, the cost of camps can be prohibitive. Why not run your own summer camp?” on her blog the Norfolk Homeschooling Examiner.

The billeater has some ideas about Summer entertainment for families on a budget.


Boys and Girls

One of the things that was clear about Baby Bop from day one is he is very much a boy. We started with our three girls. They love dolls and horses. Baby Bop couldn't find a car or truck in the whole house, so on his first day in our house he took a shoe, moved it around on the ground, making truck noises. His love for powered vehicles only blossoms as time has gone on. He loves motocylces, big trucks, red cars, pickup trucks, vans, and trains. Janine and I have learned at a deeper level just how different are boys and girls.

For our entry I’d like to encourage all of you to take our Survey on how many boys and girls do you homeschool? Part of the reason for this survey was an article in USA Today about homeschoolers. A teacher attacked homeschoolers across a number of fronts and referred to the article.

With a bit of humor, Spunky rebuts a public school advocate and teacher's case against homeschooling.

Andrea likewise provided an answer to the case against homeschooling, at her blog Notes From A Homeschooling Mom, and has some thoughts to Homeschooling mothers who may be feeling bullied at the Atlanta Homeschooling Examiner.


Games

Baby Bop loves to play. He'll sit and move toy cars around for hours. Last week he and I went for a walk. There was a Little League game at the local park. We just sat and watched. He was totally captivated. I think games and sports will be a big part of his life.

Homeschool Bytes reviews Timez Attack! The best and FREE multiplication game ever!

Lara, a Texas Homesteader, ponders some of the Life Lessons in Baseball.


Down the road

Baby Bop won't even be three for a couple months, yet Janine and I talk about what we'll do when we formally start homeschooling him, and even farther down the road, what about college.

Renae reveals that Homeschooling can happen When No One is Around on her blog Life Nurturing Education.

Molly writes about the kind of information she includes in a year-end evaluation of my children's school year at her Counter-cultural School.

Dana’s son recently told her that she had failed as a homeschool mom. Pop over to Principled Discovery and see if you agree that his report really counts as a success.

Elena tells us about Explore, Plan, ACT - achievement tests homeschoolers should be aware of on her blog My Domestic Church.

Susan writes about Reinventing Higher Education at her blog The Expanding Life.


Advice

Janine and I have been very lucky. We've gotten lots of help and support from family, friends, the social workers, and many others. Life is so much easier when we can learn from the experience of others.

Here are a few who are willing to share what they've learned:

Awesome Resources for Curious Teachers has a tip to see if your students are writing on grade level.

Kris shares some things she recently learned at a seminar in Notes from Joyce Herzog, on her blog Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Barbara Frank writes about Great Tool for Financial Literacy and how she’s work with her children.

Meaghan has 10 Tips to Improve Your Math Skills Everyday at TutorFi.com.
At About Homeschool Beverly Hernandez has a good tip on Stretching the Food Budget - Potato Tacos




If you have enjoyed this carnival, please spread the word. Please mention the carnival on your blog, and other appropriate places.

Go here for the archives of previous carnivals.

Next week the carnival will be held at Principled Discovery.

If you are interested in submitting a post for a future carnival, click here for information.

We thank everyone who has helped out. Thank you to all the participants in this carnival. And thanks to all those who help promote the Carnival of Homeschooling.





----------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling