Product Review Monday: Giving Credit

Today I completed and printed my oldest child's final high school transcript.  (Big sigh!)

It was easy....really.  I used Homeschool Tracker!  And before you think this is one giant ad for Homeschool Tracker, I do not work for them or receive compensation in any way.

We often complain of bad service or products.  But what would happen if we filled our time promoting the really good things out there?  Isn't it great when someone shares a great product, class or book?  I love finding a deal, but a quality product is even better in my mind.

Homeschool Tracker is by far the best homeschool record keeping software around.  If you are even thinking of homeschooling high school, this product is a must.  I am serious when I say it took all the headaches away from the college application process.  In a matter of mere minutes I was able to print a transcript in the proper form required by each individual university.  One university wanted a combined transcript listed by subject, while another school wanted subjects and courses listed by date.  And finally the whopper of them all wanted a transcript listing all courses take listed by subject to include a course description and a list of all materials used notated alphabetically by author.  Yep, eleven pages later and less than ten minutes, they got their transcript as requested!

Homeschool Tracker allows you to even try a free version before you buy the plus version.  I started with the free version and used it years ago before our high school years.  It was great for the first year, but then I wanted more!  Homeschool Tracker Plus, does everything I need it to do, and more!

I as a curriculum developer I look for tools that help me do my job better.  This program saves me time and money, and last but surely not least, it saves me frustration.  Oh, and did I mention they have the BEST customer service in the industry.  Katie goes out of her way to make sure to offer support to you and your needs.  The forum on the site is available to everyone - not just those who pay for the plus version.  So check it out and make planning for next year easy as pie!

The Joy of THE Homeschool Convention

For us veteran and even newbie homeschool moms convention season is upon us!  This is one of the most encouraging events that I attend each year.  The Florida Parent-Educators Association holds the best Homeschool Convention in the States.  Now, I am biased because, well, this is MY convention.  Sure, I have travelled to and attended many conferences and conventions as a vendor and speaker, but THIS convention is the granddaddy of them all!  You can check it out here: FPEA Convention.

If this is your first year to attend the FPEA Convention, or any homeschool convention for that matter, I thought I would set you up with the Convention Survival Guide!

1. Make your reservations early!  If your convention is being held in a hotel and you need to spend the night, stay in the convention hotel.  This helps the organization tremendously. Sometimes there is a contract for a specific amount of rooms to be sold.  By staying onsite you help your organization cover the costs of this event.  Trust me, once you attend your state convention, you always want to go back!


2. Get your convention guide and see what workshops you want to attend.  This year it took me two days to run through all the workshops for the FPEA Convention!  With a 120 workshops to choose from, I needed to read each and every description to make sure I wasn't missing something!


Here are the workshops on my "Don't Miss List":

1. The Apprentice:Getting High School Credit for Internships
2. Margins for Moms, Limits that Liberate
3. The Five Finger Paragraph
4. Asking the Right Questions: Teaching Literature with Socratic Discussion

Of course there are other workshops on my list, but these are the ones I don't want to miss.


3. Plan your time wisely!  Keep your watch and your convention guide handy.  Here are some don't miss opportunities that are on my "Don't Forget List"

1. Leaders Forum on Thursday
2. FPEA Annual Business Meeting - I want to stay connected to my state organization.  They work so hard for me all year, I want to be informed and support my district!
3. Musical Theater Production: The Shopping Cart
4. Keynote Address!!!!!
5. Graduation

4. I am a list maker and a planner at heart. Some years I attend with friends, sometimes I attend with the family.  Some years, I do both!  So do all your planning before you arrive!  This way you won't miss a thing!


5. Pack good shoes, a jacket and some dollar bills....Shoes because you will be walking all day! A Jacket well, because sometimes that air conditioning is cranked! Dollar bills for the tipping the gentlemen that help with the luggage and for buying your bottled water!  Gotta stay hydrated!


6. Bring your shopping list/browsing list and stick to it!  Staying on budget will make attending next year all the more easier.


7. Take the opportunity to look over all your choices that you have researched before buying.  If you have the opportunity to speak to the author of a particular book then purchase from him or her!  They have invested in you and answered all your questions so purchase from them.  Taking their time up and then walking to another booth to purchase just to save a few bucks is simply disrespectful.  So do the right thing!


8.  Enjoy and soak in all the encouragement you can get!  Keep a notebook.  Write down your thoughts and then read it again after you have returned home.  Missed a workshop?  You can order the CD!  Just visit FPEA's website at www.fpea.com and order.  Or better yet, you can order before you even leave the convention.


9. And for those of us who have been numerous times to our state homeschool convention, we have a motto: "What happens at convention, stays at convention."  Look for an update and more photos after the FPEA Graduation!

The Joy of Project Wednesday!

Having a High School Senior in the house lends itself to lots of projects.  This is my latest project. This is for a Senior Signing Event.  Yearbooks are not in yet, and he needed something to have his classmates of the Homeschool Graduates Class of 2010 sign.  So I'll fill this little book with pictures of their senior activities from this year and then they can sign near their pictures.  What a great memory maker!

Supplies: Bo Bunny My Word Chipboard Album, Making Memories Vintage Findings binding rings, DCWV Paper

The Joy of Finding Your Passion

We have always taught our children to "think outside the box".  As a homeschool family, we are anything but traditional.  We saw homeschooling as a way of opening up the possibilites for education outside the traditional classroom setting.  Now, here we are 14 years later and our oldest child is graduating in just a very few short weeks from now.  We have taught our children to be non-conformists.  We have taught them to seek out their passions- the ones God gave them and seek God's will while fulfilling your dreams.  It never hurts to try something new! Now, wouldn't it be grand if we could find a college or university that truly taught that message as well?

Today we had the honor of being part of an Open House event at the university where our son will be attending in the Fall.  It was incredible to hear from faculty and staff on numerous occassions that the key to success in college and furthermore in life is following your passion.  It was nice to see that this message will continue with our son as he pursues his filmmaking career. 

So what is your passion?  For many years my passion has revolved around the homeschooling arena.  Being a conference speaker, homeschool author, co-op teacher and support group leader has used my passion in different ways.  I often talk of my cup being filled.  My cup is filled when I am doing something that uses my passions, my strengths.  Sometimes as stay at home moms we loose that passion for something. We become something else entirely. Don't get lost in the expectations of what you "should" be doing.  Embrace a passion, a hobby, a place of service and be an example of success to your children!

The Joy of Sharing Creativity!

In an effort to be more creative, I am going to share my creativity!  I am hosting a workshop for Lapbooks/Questbooks at my home on March 18th.  All homeschooling moms are invited to come and learn all about Lapbooks/Questbooks.  You will even get to make your very own Lapbook/Questbook!

You can email me to get the address and all the details.  This is a free workshop and all the supplies are included!  Can't wait to share this creativity with fellow homeschool moms!

I'll post more about Lapbooks/Questbooks soon!  If you want more informaiton now, visit ExcellentQuests.

The Joy of Documenting a Journey

It is obvious that I enjoy scrapbooking. I follow scrapbooking blogs and find inspiration from many different types of scrapbooking.  One of my favorite scrapbook artists is Stacy Julian.  She is author of Photo Freedom.  Of course she can inspire a person on so many different levels, but for me it was the freedom from being an "event" scrapbooker.  Of course I will still scrapbook our birthdays and vacations and holidays, but no longer will I negate the every day.  I could not believe that my scrapbooks had failed to show one of the most life filling acitivities in our home: homeschooling. And you can see that we have homeschooled for many years!  I am trying this year to tell more of our/my story.  I find scrapbooking to be my outlet for telling this story.