Otter: Our wiggly 7th grader
Homeschool Graduate Bear: Our big bear in the Army who works on Chinook helicopters
Homeschool Graduate Emily: Our froo-froo daughter with a psychology degree & writing up a storm
September 15, 2011 - Amazing Freebie!
Head over to Scholastic's Teacher Express, put something in your shopping cart and then enter the code: 10THANKS. You'll get $10 worth of free credit!
They are having a one week Back to School Dollar Deals Sale (hurry, it ends September 20th) with over 800 workbooks and other downloads for only a dollar each! I just ordered and downloaded 10 items. You don't even have to put in any credit card information if you don't go over the $10 worth of items. Hurry, because I don't know how long this coupon code will last!
August 23, 2011 - Siege Tower
I like to include a variety of projects and extras for most of our school subjects. As one mom who recently wrote me put it...it's the "whipped cream and cherry on top" of our studies! Here's a recent project Otter made for history:
It's one thing to read about a siege tower. It's quite another to actually construct one and see how it works first hand. 
That's some major whipped cream and cherry action right there.
You can order your own siege tower from Pathfinders here.
We are moving out of the middle ages now and heading into the Renaissance. My Awesome Timeline History Schedule has been a great success and I look forward to continuing with it. If you'd like a copy, send me an email.
August 22, 2011 - NASA IT Summit and some freebies
My husband was asked to be a photographer for the NASA IT Summit held in San Francisco and I got to come along. I met some interesting people involved in some education projects and got permission to post a free curriculum on my website. Stay tuned and I'll have more details about that soon!
During the summit, NASA had a special education day where students attended a special 3 hour session. Students got to meet the astronaut Leland Melvin, watch a live microgravity experiment via teleconferencing, listen to motivational speaker Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour and participate in a variety of activities and exhibits. Registration for the event was free and a similar event may be included in the 2012 summit. As soon as the info for the 2012 summit is released, I'll post it here so that anyone close enough to attend (it may be held in a different part of the country next time) can get the registration link.
Kids interacting with a person attending the conference via a robot:
Lori Beth Bradner from Central Florida's Aerospace Academy shares some teaching strategies:
Kids, educators and parents watching one of the presentations:
Playing with a flight simulator:
I also was able to meet some of the people and see some amazing projects from the company Autodesk. They offer many of their products for FREE to educators and students as well as free training complete with videos, instructor materials and even, in some cases, student workbooks. Some of the programs you can access are:
- AutoCAD
- Maya
- 3ds Max
- Sketchbook Pro
- Lots of others!
Check it out if you have a creative student who would like to enter the design, animation or engineering fields!
August 8, 2011 - Handwriting fonts
No matter which handwriting style you've chosen, if you want to make your own penmanship worksheets, you are going to need the correct font. Here are some places you can go to online to get a variety of fonts for your homeschool:
- Startwrite $39.95
I used to use Startwrite when I first started creating handwriting worksheets. It features fonts similar to all the major handwriting fonts (D'Nealian, Handwriting without Tears, Zaner-Bloser, etc.) plus additional features like clipart, colored ruled lines, letters that show arrows, dots, guides and more. I stopped using Startwrite because I like to work in other programs like Microsoft Word and Photoshop. Startwrite fonts can only be used within the Startwrite program. I also thought their Handwriting without Tears font was a teeny bit "off", but that is only my own personal opinion and not a scientific observation! - Educational Fontware $49.95
I currently use EF for all of my handwriting font needs. These are fonts that get installed on your computer as any other normal type of font. The CD of fonts also has small programs that get installed to link and unlink cursive letters. I like EF's fonts because they are the MOST like the actual fonts used in handwriting workbooks. EF actually worked with Ms. Dubay to develop their version of the Getty-Dubay Italic. Although it's a little more expensive than Startwrite, it's more useful to someone who wants to use handwriting fonts across multiple computer programs. - D'Nealian Fonts FREE
You can download some D'Nealian fonts at Fonts 101. These are fonts you install on your computer that can be used like any other font in all your different programs. - ZB FontsOnline Plus FREE (for the limited version)
You can create worksheets online in both cursive and manuscript Zaner-Bloser font. The limited free version allows you to print your worksheets, but not save them. The paid version with more features, is 29.99 for a one year access. The online program adjusts the font size and ruled lines depending on which grade you choose in the options. - Fonts for Teachers 19.95
You can order a CD that has 31 fonts that are D'Nealian style plus some extras. - Free Handwriting Fonts for Teachers FREE
This About.com page features a variety of fonts, including some based on dots for early letter tracing. You won't see anything like D'Nealian, HWOT or Zaner-Bloser here, but what you do find might do in a pinch if you want a manuscript style font and don't care much about the exact style.
Having the appropriate font on hand really opens up options for making your own worksheets and can save money over time, especially if you have several children. Another great benefit to having a handwriting font on hand is that you can customize your children's penmanship work. You can have them copy all kinds of sentences that have to do with their other studies like history, Bible memorization, sentences about character, science and even Latin!
*P.S. Prices listed are what each site had posted as of 8/8/2011 and may or may not be accurate when you read this!
August 3, 2011 - Supporting this site
For a long time now, this site has been supported by affiliate links through Amazon and also by donations through Pay-Pal. The greatest revenue by far though was received through Amazon. However, Amazon recently dumped all of its California affiliates due to a new tax law passed by my state of California. California's new law requires online retailers (such as Amazon) to collect sales tax if they have in-state affiliates. In an email sent out to affiliates, Amazon stated,
"We oppose this bill because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive. It is supported by big-box retailers, most of which are based outside California, that seek to harm the affiliate advertising programs of their competitors. Similar legislation in other states has led to job and income losses, and little, if any, new tax revenue. We deeply regret that we must take this action. As a result, we will terminate contracts with all California residents that are participants in the Amazon Associates Program..."
According to cnet Amazon is trying to fight the new California affiliate tax law with a referendum. A petition was recently filed and now Amazon has to collect signatures to try and get it on the ballot. I support Amazon's decision (the new CA law is indeed unconstitutional, in my opinion, based on interstate trade laws), but unfortunately this whole situation means a loss of income for Guesthollow. 
If you would like to support our site, the only current option is to make a donation through Pay-Pal.
Thank you so much to all of you who have contributed over the years through your Amazon purchases and donations. Your generosity is really appreciated and helps keep this site operational with everything FREE. I really hope this Amazon situation gets rectified in the future.
August 2, 2011 - Amigurumi
I've been on the lookout for projects that Otter can work on during the new school year - things like recipes, crafts, and other fun things for him to accomplish. During the process I found something fun for ME to do: amigurumi. Amigurumi comes from the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. These things are CUTE and some of the simpler ones are pretty easy to make. I think they'd make great stocking stuffers or presents this Christmas for kids and anyone else who likes cute things.
I went from not knowing how to crochet at all (unless you count crocheting a chain stitch when I was in about 5th grade) to making this bunny in about about 2-4 hours worth of practicing and learning the proper crochet stitches (that includes hunting around on the Internet for the proper instructions).
CUTENESS WARNING !!!
If you have daughters (or sons!) who are looking for a fun craft, (or if YOU yourself simply can't resist the cuteness) here are some great tutorials to get you started as well as the link for how to make the bunny.
What you'll need:
- Some yarn -I used a worsted weight acrylic from Wal-Mart.
- A crochet hook - I bought a very small crochet hook, as these are what is recommended for making amigurumi. I got a size E, which is 3.5 mm, but you might also want a larger hook to first learn with so you can better see how the yarn is being grabbed, etc.
- Stuffing - I bought a $2.50 pillow and took the stuffing out of it
- Something for eyes - I bought rounded, black buttons, but you can use any buttons you have on hand OR you can use thread/embroidery floss to sew some eyes.
- Needle and thread for sewing on button eyes
- Tapestry or yarn needle for attaching amigurumi body parts
- Scissors
- Optional: embroidery floss (for sewing on a mouth and/or eyes), or another color of yarn to use as a mouth. If you use yarn as a mouth, you'll either need to sew it on or glue it on.
What you'll need to do/learn:
- How to crochet This very clear video shows you how to make a slip knot, make a chain and then how to do a single crochet, how to add an additional row, how to fix a mistake and how to finish. These are the very basics that will get you started on your amigurumi journey.
Once you have the basics down you can start learning the next few skills:
- Learn how to make a magic ring (If any of these instructions don't do it for you, google a video. I watched several videos before I got the knack for it. As with anything, people have their favorite ways of approaching it.)
- How to increase (scroll down for the video)
- How to make an invisible decrease
This is an important skill for keeping your stitches looking good without gaps when you decrease. You have to learn how to decrease to make a ball shape (like bunny's head). - How to read patterns and your first project of making a ball
I had a little bit of trouble wrapping my brain around reading patterns at first, but things clicked after awhile. This video helped! Like anything, it just takes getting familiar with it and having your brain learn how to do the translating! - Your second project: Chibi animal - I made the bunny, but you can also make a kitty, bear, dog or alien following the same basic pattern.
- Additional amigurumi video tutorials I haven't gotten to these yet, but these tutorials should be helpful for more difficult patterns!
If you have a younger child who might be interested in crocheting, you may want to have him/her crochet a dishcloth or something a bit more straight forward to get the ball rolling. Just do a chain stitch and single crochet a square.
Making amigurumi is a lot of fun once you get the basic crocheting skills down and there are LOTS of free patterns on the web. It's great to see a finished project that is so darn cute and really wasn't that hard to learn and do. I am NOT a crafty person, so if I can do it, I'm sure you can too!
August 2, 2011 - Visual Latin
I've become somewhat of a connoisseur of Latin programs. We've tried quite a few and I definitely have my favorites (along with some real duds). One of the best programs I've recently seen and tried out with my son is Visual Latin. Visual Latin breaks out of the usual Latin program mold and interjects a much needed dose of fun, humor and solid Latin instruction that sticks!
While I have loved learning Latin ever since we started, Otter has been a much more reluctant student. Latin has almost always elicited groans and a general disposition of one attending a funeral, or at least having to eat a heaping plate of brussel sprouts (no offense to you who love that vegetable). It's always difficult when you love a subject and your child doesn't. I've wanted to somehow inject the my own soul-felt knowledge that Latin is AWESOME, beautiful and a worthy pursuit of time. He wasn't buying it. He was learning (painfully), but not liking.
Enter Visual Latin on the scene. I was skeptical. "Laugh through Latin..." Hmmm, I doubted it. As much as I love Latin, I've certainly never run into any program or material that makes me want to laugh while learning it. Let me tell you right from the beginning, it's true. We have been laughing through our Latin lessons and for the first time, Otter is ENJOYING them! This program is a gold mine in that regard. He actually wants to....continue. You know that parent's dream of seeing your homeschooled child who hates a subject change his opinion to actually wanting to spend time doing it, without pouting and even, *gasp*, looking forward to it... That's what's happened in our house thanks to Visual Latin. I've even caught my college-aged daughter peeking at a lesson and laughing along.
Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think all learning has to be fun. There are certainly some things you just have to do, whether you like them or not. How much nicer it is though, when a way to learn something kindles that fire in you and makes you hungry for more. Provides you with a little humor and smiles to boot? That's a really special bonus!
While Visual Latin delivers with the laughs, it also delivers with content. From the very beginning you are exposed to grammar concepts, vocabulary and the way Latin works. We've just finished with the 10th set of lessons (each set has 3 videos with 3 corresponding worksheets) and Otter is translating controlled vocabulary paragraphs with ease. Visual Latin also has a knack for presenting things in a way that seems so natural and easy to learn. Nothing ever feels overwhelming (think of endless drills/chants/tables that are a drudge with other programs). There really is an easier way. This isn't to say that Visual Latin is too easy (Otter rates it at a medium level of difficulty), but the creators of the program have a terrific insight to how kids learn and offer up lessons of the perfect duration and presentation (at least for us!). Maybe that's because the teacher and producer have 8 homeschooled children between them. 
For the purpose of this review I was able to obtain the first 10 lessons. Each lesson has 3 videos and 3 worksheets. So with the first 10 lessons you get 30 videos. Each video is usually about 8-10 minutes long. Each worksheet is usually just a single page (with the exception of later translation exercises that may span two pages to make room for a box of vocabulary words). We usually take 15 to 20 minutes to finish our entire Visual Latin lesson, although it can sometimes run a little shorter. You get the idea.
The lessons are broken down into 3 bite-sized pieces of material. First Dwayne Thomas (that's the guy teaching the lessons in the video) introduces a grammar concept. The 2nd day you see these grammar concepts illustrated in sentences. The 3rd day has you working from a Latin text (abridged stories from the Latin Vulgate). Otter just recently (and easily) translated the following from worksheet 10 C (30 days worth of lessons for us) after first watching it being read in the video and repeating it out loud:
"Est dies septimus. Caeli et terra sunt perfecti. Opus Dei
est completus. Deus est laetus. Opus est bonus. Terra
est bella et bona. Caelum est bellum et bonum. Adam est
laetus. Hava est laeta. Hortus est bonus et pulcher.
Animalia sunt laeti. Est multa herba in terra. Herba est
cibum bestiarum in terra nova. Cibum Adami et Havae est
fructus aut holus. Omnes sunt laeti in terra nova. Opus
Dei est bonus. Deus complet opus. Deus requiescit."
Compare this to what was being translated after nearly a year with a different program when you FINALLY get to a chunk of text vs. the sentences and phrases you've been dealing with all year long:
"Lavinia femina est. Lavinia agricola est. In terrā laborat.
Equī et taurī in terrā habitant. Sunt gallinae et gallī et porcī.
Est frumentum in terrā. Sempronia amica est. Hodiē Sempronia visitat. Heri Lavinia laborābat. Hodiē Lavinia nōn laborābat.
Hodiē amicae in silvīs ambulant. In silvīs explorant. Lavinia et Sempronia in fluviō natant. In silvīs cenant. Crās Lavinia in terrā laborābit."
Don't worry if you don't understand a word of Latin in the examples above. What I wanted to show you is that with Visual Latin you are translating large chunks of text every 3 days from the beginning and understanding what you are reading without spending tons of time trying to memorize vocabulary. The vocabulary is learned in context and retained without a lot of effort. It's a very similar approach (the immersion approach) that is found in Lingua Latina, a program Dwayne Thomas of Visual Latin recommends, and one that Otter and I have also been working through very slowly. In fact, Visual Latin has really enhanced our study of Lingua Latina and added a bit of insight that has made it easier and clearer.
Another great thing about Visual Latin is that it employs a variety of ways to get the material in your head. You listen, watch, read, say and write Latin. It's also very approachable. It doesn't feel like some stuffy Latin scholar is force feeding you lessons. Dwayne Thomas makes mistakes and catches himself and just comes across as real. I think it's reassuring to Otter to see a teacher make a mistake and then correct it. You can also tell that Dwayne loves Latin. It really comes across in the lessons and is infectious.
Latin is one of those subjects a lot of people aren't sure how to approach. I'm happy to say that Visual Latin has made it not only very approachable, but even entertaining. It's given Otter a confidence I've not seen with any other program we've tried and it's made our Latin time something we BOTH look forward to. I'm happy to report that we have the rest of the lessons that are available and are looking forward to the next batch (Visual Latin 2) as soon as it is out. I'd be ecstatic if they would consider continuing on and creating even more lessons beyond that!! We'll continue to use every last scrap of what is created because quite simply, it works and we really, really like it.
If you are thinking about purchasing a Latin program, take a look at Visual Latin! The website has some freebies for you to try (4 introduction lessons and 2 "real" lessons). The program gets even better as you move through the lessons beyond lesson 2. Also, so you know, we were provided with the first set of lessons for free in exchange for this review. All of the above is my real opinion and I'm not pedaling their program because I received a freebie. I'm sharing a real and true love for Visual Latin of my own accord. Check it out!
*Note: The above comments reflect our personal opinion(s) of materials. We aren't experts! We're just a homeschooling family with ideas of our own about what works and what doesn't for US.
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Current Projects:
Awesome Timeline History Schedule
Physical Science
Learning to use my Nikon
Digital Scrapbooking
Learning how to make Amigurumi
...and other various assorted things!
Blogs & Stuff I love:
Pioneer Woman
Sites with freebies I visit:
Homeschool Share
Curricula Otter is using:
Awesome Timeline History Schedule
MCT Grammar & Vocab.
Writing with Skill
All About Spelling
Holt Literature
Holt Math Course 2
Singapore Math
Life of Fred
Visual Latin
Lingua Latina
Otter's Physical Science
The Art of Argument
and a bunch of other stuff!
Homeschooling for me:
Lynda.com
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