January Newsletter: New articles, plus project and conference news

Posted on January 27, 2011 by admin
Everyday Education: Making time for things that matter.

25 January 2011

  • Note, with photo of irresistible granddaughter
  • How are the projects coming along?
  • Conference News

Articles:

  • Beauty isn’t a Size or an Age
  • Set Priorities for the New Year
  • Homeschoolers: What’s the Least You Need to Teach?
  • What is Cultural Literacy? And How Can it Help You Homeschool?

Dear Reader,

Imogen Violet, 12 weeksI hope your year is going well so far. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably starting to think of warmer weather and sunshine. Two of my boys came in today and commented that it’s pretty warm outside. I looked, and bah humbug! 45 degrees and cloudy doesn’t count as warm for me. If I had a plane ticket to a sunny place, I’d go there in a minute!

I’ve been writing non-stop for the past few weeks, getting ready for all the conferences we’ll be going to this year. I’m getting excited about meeting more of you in cities we’ve never visited!

There are so many projects to finish before we start travelling, but I wanted to write and share three recent articles, plus convention news and some interesting links I’ve found. And of course, a recent photo of Imogen Violet;-).

Blessings,

Janice Campbell

www.Everyday-Education.com

P.S. Please excuse the font problem. It all looks the same in my editing window, but magical things apparently happen when I send it. I think I’ll have to make a new template next month!

You asked. . .

How are the projects coming along?

TimeFrame Timeline: The Twaddle-Free Timeline for High School and Beyond

You can thank Bonita, an Excellence in Literature user who has been gently reminding me that TFTL would be really, really helpful if I’d hurry and get it done. At least you can thank her when it’s finally up! It was close to finished when she made her request, so it moved to the front of the line. If all goes well, this should be ready for the printer by the end of the month. The cover isn’t done, so I can’t show you that, but you’ll see it soon enough.

Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers

This is another project that’s been sitting half finished on my hard drive for a few years. It’s in the formatting stage, and I really am going to quit fiddling with it and get it out soon. It’s a collaborative effort (just think Strunk & White, except it’s Johnston & Campbell). Mr. Johnston is a retired college professor who generously granted permission to adapt his wonderful handbook to my audience. I’ve added things, updated examples, and converted usages to standard, current American usage. I hope it will be very helpful.


Making Time for Things that Matter Life PlannerCover concept #2- Making Time Planner

The cover draft you see at left was the run-away favorite of the ones I posted on the blog. If you’d like to see the others, just visit the blog post. There’s so much that is going into this planner that I want to get it just right, so it will probably be the last thing I finish. But I don’t think it will be too long.

If you’re receiving this in plain text and can’t see the images, you’ll find them posted at the blog, janice-campbell.com.


Articles

We received a sweet, encouraging article from homeschool mom and writer, Michelle Welsh. In Beauty Isn’t a Size or an Age, she observes society’s obsession with youth and says, “May you see your true beauty as our sweet Jesus sees your beauty.” Don’t miss this thoughtful article!

Michelle’s article is posted in our brand new Articles Library section, which is where we’ll be posting all of the Everyday Education articles on this site, as we believe it will make them more easily found.

Since I last wrote, I’ve added a few articles to my personal Taking Time for Things that Matter blog. I think you might find some of them helpful.

Set Priorities for the New Year: Ask yourself a few strategic questions, then set priorities and routines for 2011, all without losing sight of “the better part.”

Homeschoolers: What’s the Least You Need to Teach? Do you ever feel a bit overwhelmed at having to teach your student everything he or she needs to know for life? Here’s an alternative way to look at it that just may help you feel better.

What is Cultural Literacy? And How Can it Help You Homeschool? Focusing on the fundamentals can help you stay calm and on-target, knowing that the basics are being covered.

Next week on the blog: Should You Teach Literature and History Chronologically?

If you’d like to reprint any articles in your newsletter, you can find my reprint guidelines at the blog.

Conference News

Here are the conventions we’ll be speaking or exhibiting at during 2011. We may add a couple more, but this is it so far. We always enjoy connecting with readers and answering questions about writing, high school transcripts, teaching literature in context, and making time for things that matter. If you’ll be at any of these conferences, please stop by our booth to say “hello.”

Conventions we plan to be at in 2011:

February 4-5, 2011: Heart for Homeschool Conference in Wake Forest, North Carolina

Heart for Homeschool is celebrating its 10th anniversary and 8th convention with Thinking Back Looking Forward. You’ll enjoy this friendly little conference with all the encouragement it provides. Advance registration is recommended, as lunch is provided: Contact them at heartforhomeschool@earthlink.net or call 919.872-2782

Keynote speakers are Derek and Cheryl Carter of Foundations for Family Success Ministries, and I’ll be offering the following workshops:

  • “Homeschooling Boys, or “Momma, wanna see a snake?”
  • “Teaching Language The Easy Natural Way”
  • “Get a Jump Start on College: Make Those Teen Years Count!”

March 3-5, 2011: Mid-South Homeschool Convention in Memphis, Tennessee

March 17-19, 2011: South-East Homeschool Convention in Greenville, South Carolina

March 25-26, 2011: Virginia Homeschoolers Conference in Glen Allen, Virginia

  • How to Build a High-School Transcript: It’s Easier Than You Think!
  • Beat-the-Clock Essay Workshop Lite

March 31-April 2, 2011: MidWest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio

May 16-20, 2011: The Old Schoolhouse Expo held online

  • “Get a Jump Start on College: Make Those Teen Years Count!”

Right now, you can buy your ticket to the live 2011 Schoolhouse Expo for anamazing price! Purchase your ticket by February 9th, and receive a $20 discount and gifts (valued over $419.87) for only $19.50!

In addition to the privilege of attending approximately 20 live, hour-long sessions, you will receive a one-year membership to the Homeschool Legal Advantage and a free will, valued at $65; 21 downloadable gifts worth more than $200; access to MP3 files of the sessions, for future reference; door prizes; access to a virtual vendor hall jam-packed with the market’s most outstanding vendors; and a whole lot of fun!

June 9-11, 2011: Home Educators Association of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia

  • Homeschooling Through High School
  • Evaluate Student Writing: You Don’t Have to be an English Major
  • Decoding the Classics: How to Read, Enjoy and Teach Great Literature
  • Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Essay?
  • Homeschooling Boys: Momma, Wanna See a Snake?Imogen Violet, 12 weeks old

June 23-25, 2011: NorthEast Homeschool Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Donald and I are looking forward to meeting you!

Word Trippers

My friend Barbara McNichol has created an amazing little guide that will help you keep your words straight. She asks, “Do you get confused knowing the right word to choose? Do pesky pairings like imply vs. infer, accept vs. except, convince vs. persuade trip you up? Can you prevent these naughty gremlins—mixed-up spellings and confusing meanings—from affecting (or is it effecting?) your writing?”

If things like that tend to cause you or your student difficulty, you may want to check out Barbara’a Word Trippers book and newsletter. It’s small enough to keep on your desk, and it even comes in a Kindle edition (so you can consult it on your iPhone, iPod, or iPad.

(c) 2011 Everyday Education, LLC

You’re welcome to forward this newsletter in its entirety to anyone you think might enjoy it. Just be sure to include your own name, e-mail, and a brief message so that they’ll know who to thank!
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Beauty isn’t a Size or an Age

Posted on January 25, 2011 by admin
By Michelle R. Welsh
Mother and daughter reading by Berthe MorisotIt seems that many people want to be twenty-something, preferably the early twenties. Teenagers are trying to look older, and the older folk are trying to look younger. The twenties seem to be a time of healthful vigor, a time of new adventures such as graduating college, starting careers, traveling and doing things just because you have the time and freedom to, getting married, and starting families. As women, we have a slender body and pretty skin and hair. Our muscles are taut from being young and active.
But then as the decades pile up, our calorie intake is supposed to decrease just as our physical activity decreases. The hours in the day are filled with our work and caring for our families. Few of us are as active physically as we were in our teens and twenties. Then one day, we wake up to take on the day and discover that we have gray hair, wrinkles, and extra pounds. Some of us get discouraged because from many directions we are told what we need to do to look like someone we are not anymore. It may be through the visual or written media, through fashion, and even through people we know.
I’d like to stop this spiral. I wonder if the women of years gone by have felt the same, or if this is just a recent cultural phenomena. I even wonder if women in third world countries have been brainwashed this way, or if they are free to be confident in who they are regardless of age or weight.
I believe that the Lord wants us to be healthy so that means eating properly and getting some exercise, but we should not become obsessed with this and be ashamed of who we are and how we look.
I wonder who comes up with the sizes anyway. Have you ever wondered how a person can be a size zero since zero is nothing!?
In 1 Peter 3:3-5, it says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.. . . You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.”
True beauty is being the woman God made you to be, walking in His ways, doing what He has set for you to do to the best of your ability.
Proverbs 31:30 says, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” This is from Isaiah 52:7. Romans 10:15 also speaks of how beautiful are the feet who bring good news.
James 1:11 says, “For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.” Our youth also fades away while we go about our business.
Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 says, “Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.”
Youth and vigor are desirable, but they disappear through the years, slipping unnoticed. There are benefits of age, one of which is wisdom learned through a long life.
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones,” says Proverbs 3:7-8.
We are given one body in this life, so we should take good care of it, but if it doesn’t look as it once did, we should remember that true beauty shines forth from within. Beautiful is the woman who works hard and brings up godly children, who stands with her husband and does her best to follow the Lord’s teachings. When she meets her Maker, He isn’t going to look at the size of her dress or her gray hair, but He is going to look at what she did, whom she touched.
May you see your true beauty as our sweet Jesus sees your beauty.  Do your best to not listen to the devil’s lies. God LOVES you because you are His beautiful creation.
Michelle Welsh, the mother of five, has been home schooling for 12 years. In her spare time, she enjoys walking, reading and writing. She and her family reside in Brodhead, Wisconsin.
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Invitation to Write for the Everyday Education Articles Library

Posted on January 25, 2011 by admin

I’d like to expand the website to embrace more of the learning areas I believe to be important. In order to easily do this and to keep things findable on the site, we’ve added this new Articles Library.
We’re adding more articles about homeschooling, home education through high school, early college, college alternatives, microbusiness, and more. We’re also including articles on “Life Management,” because those are things we teach our children as well.
* Home
* Home and Garden
* Time and Organization
* Money
* Meals
* Health and Weight
* Clothing and Beauty
* Travel
* Arts and Crafts
* Caregiving

I have many articles I want to write for this section, but I know that there is a great deal of accumlated wisdom and knowlege among my readers. I’d like to offer you and your older students the opportunity to contribute articles, recipes, patterns, book reviews, or other helpful information to the new Article Library. Think of things that would be helpful to others and are in keeping with home and family values, and submit them, following the guidelines below. We’ll publish as many items as possible.

Submission Guidelines

Articles can be of any length, but they must be written by the person submitting them. I ask that each article be spell-checked and proofread before submission. Please submit in.rtf or plain text format, or even pasted into an e-mail message. Please do not submit anything in Microsoft Word. Format should be web-style, with a space between paragraphs, rather than an indention. As always, there should be only one space after each sentence.
If you would like to submit a photo with your article, recipe, pattern, book review, or other submission, please save it as a .jpeg or .gif and attach it to your e-mail submission. At the end of each submission, please include a brief bio of yourself with a link to your blog or website if you have one, and if you like, a small photo. As a sample, here’s the bio I include at the end of my articles:

Janice Campbell homeschooled her four sons from preschool into college. She is the author of Transcripts Made Easy, Get a Jump Start on College, and Evaluate Writing the Easy Way, as well as the Excellence in Literature curriculum for grades 8-12. Be sure to visit her website, www.Everyday-Education.com, to get a free writing evaluation rubric and sign up for her free e-zine.

Just write something similar about yourself, and add it, so that readers can read more of your work, or at least know a bit about you. You needn’t provide . Thank you to all those who have submitted articles so far!
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Hello world!

Posted on January 25, 2011 by admin

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment