Due to technical difficulties (such as me having health issues all week) I’ve been unable to post as regularly as I wanted the past few days.  I’ll return ASAP when I’m feeling a bit better!

Never fear - whilst languishing on the couch this afternoon, I’ve been making notes on upcoming ideas.  Once my brain fog clears up enough for me to be sure it isn’t all medication and illness induced nonsense, I’ll be able to hit publish!

See you soon!

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Last week marked a couple of memorable firsts for Lunablog.net that lead me to wonder, “Am I officially a real, true, bona fide blogger, now?”

Milestone #1 - For the first time, I accidentally wrote a duplicate post. For some reason I’d thought it would take much longer than 8 months to get to the point where I pretty much said exactly the same things I’ve already said (on the topic of homeschool stereotypes in case you are curious).

I thought I’d been meaning to get around to writing about the subject, but forgot that I’d already done it back in December. Sigh. I realized my mistake shortly after spending about an hour on the post and then clicking publish. I quickly “un-published” it, but for some reason it went out on my email subscription list and rss feeds anyway. So, if you got a post that you already remember reading about . . . well, that’s why. And if you didn’t get the post . . . well that just goes to show you the kind of excitement that you miss out on around here by not subscribing!
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Good News

I’ve gotten the Lunablog Mosaic Yahoo Group set up and ready for new members! This group will be a place where anyone who wants to discuss the free Mosaic homeschool curriculum can sign up and join in.

You should also feel free to discuss any other resources that you are finding to be helpful. Anything learning related is on-topic and fair game, as far as I am concerned. I’m giving the Mosaic curriculum away, so I’m not worried about trying to make a living here at the expense of the other fine curricula out there! - The main concern I have is that everyone finds something that helps them meet their needs, whatever the source may be.

I’m especially looking forward to getting some input on the best direction to take part two of the program. Be sure to sign up if you want to share your thoughts on that, or if you just want to hang back and see what happens! The more the merrier, and all that! (No pressure, though - you can always unsubscribe if it gets boring, with no hard feelings :-))

Click to join LunablogMosaic

Photo Credit: literature mosaic by Christa Richert

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My customary Friday post is a little late this week - I succumbed to an unfortunate respiratory virus a couple of days ago, and yet somehow decided it would be a good idea to drive to the coast with my family yesterday. Now that I’m sitting by the ocean, and feeling much better today, it turned out to be a great decision. But yesterday was a little touch and go . . .

I’m preparing to start work on part 2 of the Mosaic free lesson plans in March, and I wanted to give everyone a heads-up that (when I’m back in town and healthy again!) I’ll be opening a Yahoo email group for the purpose of discussing the curriculum and my plans for continuing the series. I’d like to get as much discussion and feedback as possible from anyone who might be interested in using any or all of the materials, so that I can tailor the ideas that I have to the needs of the users and potential users. You could consider it a user’s group, as well as an informal “advisory board”. Some of the issues I’d like to discuss include:

• setting up the progression of the series, year by year.
• evaluating the resources to include, including whether to aim towards more resources that are available for free or low cost.
• evaluating the balance of hands on activities to reading
• discussing the format of the lessons

Of course, the group would also be a great place for users and potential users to discuss how they use the curriculum, as well as other curricula and resources, in their families.

If you are interested in participating or just curious to lurk and hear what others have to say, send me an email. I’ll send you an invitation when I get the group up and running.

Photo Credit: “Funky Girl 2″ by Jef Bettens

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If you are a parent looking to bring a little intellectual stimulation to your own life of learning, you should know that this week marks the beginning of a new online math study group. The free study group is an offshoot of the peerless Living Math YahooGroup, and they will be undertaking to work their way through Harold Jacob’s Mathematics: A Human Endeavor. The project is expected to take a year or more, as we parents are pretty busy most days!

Last time I checked, the group was up to 100 participants! Some parents are working through the course in order to kindle (or rekindle) a heightened appreciation for math. Others have anxiety about math, and are hoping that working through the chapters with a supportive and positive group will help them develop competence and confidence. Some are planning to work through the book with their older children, while others are doing it on their own. [Read more]

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Looking for more ways to spice up your homeschooling? There’s a great opportunity for almost everyone in North and South America this month - an event that provides a creative way to integrate science, history, and a fascinating true story (plus one made-up story, too, if you like). And, it won’t even cost you a dime!

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Some of you will remember that I told you about the Hands of a Child Black Friday sale back in November. If you remember that, you might also remember that their servers were promptly overrun and the whole site crashed for several days!

Well, as promised, the Hands of a Child crew is offering a second chance sale starting tomorrow, Friday, January 18, 2008. They’ve changed servers, retooled the website, and are ready to give it another try!

They’ve given permission to share the coupon code online, so here are the details you need to know if you want to participate:

The sale is valid for all lapbook project packs. (Ebook, CD, or printed) The discount schedule is as follows: [Read more]

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In recent years, cases of abuse, neglect, or even (as in Washington DC last week) murder by homeschoolers or persons claiming to be homeschoolers have prompted some journalists and government officials to call for increased regulation and supervision of homeschooling families. Each time abuse like this comes to the attention of the nation, the obvious first response is to reign in the autonomy of homeschool parents, so that they are unable to slip through the cracks of the social services system.

In this most recent case of apparently gruesome and heartbreaking murder, such a reaction is certainly understandable. The innocent children involved appear to have been at the mercy of a distraught and deranged parent, and everyone wants to know how this could have happened, and how it could be prevented in the future. [Read more]

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As promised, the first installment of my free curriculum is ready! (Did you think I wouldn’t make it by New Years? I was starting to wonder, myself, lol.)

The Mosaic Introduction to World History, Part 1: Myths, Maps, and Marvels coordinates many popular history books and resources, as well as adding in plans for reading great literature, poetry memorization, map work, timelines, and more.

This Beta version will be a great way to test out people’s responses, to determine what you all want, what your unmet needs are, and what you would like to see in a curriculum. Feel free to download it, poke around, and let me know what you think! I want to expend my energy in a way that will be useful to others, so it will really help me if you can give me any feedback or ideas about the program. Even if you’d like to see me go in a totally different direction, I’d like to hear about your ideas!

I just wanted to take another minute to thanks you so much for reading over the past 6 months! I’ve had so much fun here, and feel like I am just barely getting started. I have lots of ideas to flesh out over the next year, and I’m excited to get to share my thoughts and resources with all of you.

Happy New Year!

Click here to visit the Free Curriculum page, and download your very own copy of Myths, Maps, and Marvels.

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Well, I completed my beta version of the Mosaic Introduction to Timelines this evening! You can download your free copy of this 26 page eBook here.

This is one unit from the Free Curriculum Project that I’m working on, and I thought I’d go ahead and give you an early sneak peak! (The rest of the first year program will be available on January 1st!)

The Introduction to Timelines has lots of discussion and “how to” sections, plus 3 complete projects for introducing timelines to young children in ways that will be meaningful to them. The projects include all templates and figures needed for the special activities. There are also instructions for making your own Time Scroll.

Do check it out, and let me know what you think!

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