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Saturday, December 15, 2012

And the winner is...!

I know. I said I'd announce the winner to the giveaway for the last CM blog Carnival on Saturday, December 15th. And yes, I am aware that it is very LATE on Saturday, but I'd just like to point out that it is in fact, still Saturday, so at least I'm not too late!! ;) I wanted to give everyone enough time to get any last minute entries in... uh huh. That's exactly it. But you don't want explanations, you want to know who won! SO...

Out of 75 total entries...



I'm excited to announce...



the winner is...

Liz from Living Books Library who submitted the post, Our Favorite Christmas Story Ever!



I got to meet Liz (and her husband) and daughter Emily at ChildlightUSA this summer.
And they've sent me books! So, it's especially fun that I get to send them something in return!!
Fun, fun!

::

Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!



::


What I've learned about having a giveaway...

  • It's fun to give things away, but it makes you feel kind of sad that you can't give everyone something, especially at Christmastime.
  • CM discouraged prizes and rewards, but I don't think she ever talked about blog giveaways, so I think I'm okay.
  • It seems like someone who took the time to enter more than ten times would win (Catherine!). I drew a couple of names after I drew the winner just to see what the likelihood would be, and didn't draw one of the frequent commenters until the fourth and fifth draw! weird. Wanna know the names I drew after? Jessica, Lanaya, Karen in Kansas City, and finally, Catherine! 
  • Only a very few people took advantage of the opportunity by actually seemingly trying to 'win'. I wonder if that is because it's not that interesting of a prize, or because it requires too much effort, or for some other reason. It makes me very curious about the psychology of a thing like this. 
  • I'd like to do it again because it's fun, but...
  • It's probably just as fun to surprise someone you already know randomly with a gift in the mail. :)

Friday, December 14, 2012

Christmas Past

A quick look at some Christmases past...


 :: 2009 ::



::



 :: 2010 ::





:: 2011 ::


 
::




:: Today, 2012 ::



Breaking all tradition, we were super late this year in getting our humble Christmas decor & Basket of Delights all set out. Things were way out of control these last couple weeks, with early Thanksgiving, our 16th anniversary, Micah's rivertrip, repercussions (sickness), etc.
But here we are finally, with our Christmas spirit on.  
The books were pulled out in force all afternoon. Yay!
AND, best of all, my parents come to visit in just 8 days!!!!!! 
we. cannot. wait.
 
I hope you too are all enjoying everything good about this holiday season so far! 

P.S. Don't forget tonight is the last chance to enter in the giveaway. :)


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Holidays Edition, 2012!


Happy Holidays! 
for those who celebrate, and 
Happy Normal Days! 
to everyone else! ;)

So normally around this time of year, the fun begins. Of course, at our house we have fun ALL year... yours too, right? ;) Excitement always picks up a little more around Thanksgiving, since that's my favorite holiday (mom's rule)! Then, as we piece together our plastic tree (oh, for the days when we cut down our own...), start marinating our eardrums in Christmas-y tunes, and we set out to follow the trail to Advent, it really starts getting exciting. It's during this time of year more than any other, our days are filled with more meaning than usual as we take time to remember what's good, better and best.

I can't wait for y'all to read the posts this time around. so. much. great. stuff.
And if you can't stop thinking about possibly receiving a 2013 ART calendar for Christmas, let me remind you, 'Don't open til...' you've read to the end of the post where there are more details.
C'mon, you can do it! Just a little bit of 'I am, I can, I ought, I will' practice. :)


happy holiday posts.
Bobby Jo shares... So Very Thankful
Patti shares... about how they celebrate Advent.Catherine shares... Making the Most of the Holiday Season.
Patti shares... Celbrating the Birth of Christ.
Liz shares... Our Favorite Christmas Story Ever.
Sarah shares... Christmas is Coming.
Nebby shares... A Charlotte Mason Christmas {aka Handicrafts}.
Cynthia shares... The Ultimate Guide to Christmas Nature Study.
Nancy shares... On Christmas Traditions and Books.
Bobby Jo shares {again}... At Home with Books: Christmas time.
Carol shares... Room at the Inn.
Jen shares... How we are celebrating Advent this year
Heather shares... Lessons in Holiday Giving.


happy every day posts.
Barb shares... Taking An Autumn Hike AND Making Time and Space for Creativity.
Lanaya shares... Tractor Refinishing Handicraft.
Angela shares... Reading Lessons
Celeste shares... Squirrel Signs
Dana shares... Our Favorite Christmas Books
Yours truly, shares... O Christmas Tree! (a post from the past)

Thank you all SO much for submitting posts and for taking the time to read/comment!
It might look compact, but there are a whopping 19 posts here for your holiday reading enjoyment!! That's lots! I'm so thankful for all of you who make the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival go. I know that the carnival is such an encouragement to many who don't have a CM group close by, or don't have much time to get out of the house. Thanks for taking the time to share with us!! ;) We hope to see you at the carnival... next year!!


This is the last CM blog carnival of the year. But, we're not sad, because 2013 is a whole new year and we'll fill it full of learning, fun and CM education blogging! :)

AND because we have a fun giveaway planned which will take place as follows...

Now, for the merry-Christmas-maybe-get-a-gift-to-put-under-your-tree part!
(please read carefully, as a few things have changed)

2013 Art Calendar - giveaway!

Drawing will be held on Saturday December 15th
The winner will be announced the very same day! :) That way y'all will have exactly 4 whole days to comment on the other carnival posts, and the calendar will still make it in time to be tucked under the tree!! more time = more comments = more chances to win.
  • Every blog post submitted to the upcoming Holiday edition of the CM blog carnival (all CM-related posts welcome!) – will automatically earn 2 entries!! - EXPIRED.
  • Leave a comment on any of the above carnival posts AND come back here to this post to tell me you did it  - earn up to 19 entries!  I mean, why not, right?!
    (P.S. to be eligible, remember to comment elsewhere and come back and tell me each time in a separate comment, which you will put on this very, right here Holiday edition carnival post. these comments are what I will draw from which will make the drawing oh-so-easy for me. oh, and if you don't have your e-mail address linked to your comment, I won't be able to contact you, and I'll have to draw another name!)
  • Blog about the giveaway (include linked picture from this post), & leave a link to the post in the comments of this here postworth 2 entries!! ...this is intended to make the carnival more famous!
  • Link to the giveaway post on fb AND/OR pin the giveaway pic to pinterest, (and leave a comment in this here post)worth 1 entry!
  • "Like" (if you haven't already) the Fisher Academy fb page or subscribe to Fisher Academy by e-mail – this doesn't earn any entries, but it IS a great way to stay up-to-date with the CM Blog Carnival! :) 
  • (P.P.S. I forgot to say this before, so I'll say it now, US mailing addresses only. If you live overseas, don't worry, you can still play, but if you win, I won't be able to send it directly to you. If you have a family member (or other US address) that will receive mail for you, please feel free to participate!) 
So. There you have it. There are many chances to win! I leave it up to you, if you'd like to participate to win on purpose, or if you simply want to take it easy, submit your post and read and comment on the carnival as usual. Either way, you are VERY welcome, and you might just end up being that one extra happy person to receive the calendar for Christmas!


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Reminder! LAST CM Blog Carnival of 2012 {AND giveaway!}

Alright. It's been WAY too long since we've had a little freebie fun around here! I've been wanting to do a giveaway for months now (a year?!), but have just been WAY too busy.
But, now I say, enough is enough. We won't wait any longer. We've got to have some end of the year fun!

The upcoming and LAST CM Blog Carnival of 2012 will be hosted right here @ Fisher Academy, and we're gonna go ahead and celebrate and make it even MORE fun by giving away a really cool CHRISTMAS gift! Again. (see info below)

Plus, there are TONS of other things worth celebrating. Counting backwards some of the bigger events of the year, we have... the 2012 Holiday season (now upon us); a whole 'nother year's worth of Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival posts; AmblesideOnline's forum debut; 200+ friends connecting with Fisher Academy; old and new friends connecting in persona at ChildlightUSA conference, plus about a million personal things we could all probably name off... and I could just keep on counting!

It's totally a year worth remembering.

In celebration of a year's worth of living, I'll be giving away a really cool art calendar as a kind of earnest money on this coming year, that I'm certain will be just as good. Who knows, maybe it'll be THE year of all years that Jesus comes back?! Wouldn't THAT be amazing.


2013 Art Calendar - giveaway!

So before this year's over, one happy person will be the proud new owner of a 2013 Art Calendar! OR if you don't want to wait, you could buy yours here: Art 2013 Gallery Calendar (Page a Day Gallery Calendar)!

Because we're in the midst of celebrating the 2012 holidays, and because we're talking about the last CM blog carnival of 2012, and because it would be so much fun if lots of people participate, I'll draw and announce the winner on the day after the carnival, December 12th (just in time to get or regift the calendar for Christmas!!), on 12/12/12!!  Wow. cool.
Read the following carefully to know how you can go about trying to win. :)

Earn one entry for each of the following... (earn up to SIX entries!)

  • Every blog post submitted to the upcoming Holiday edition of the CM blog carnival (all CM-related posts welcome!) – will automatically earn 2 entries!!
  • Leave a comment on any of the carnival posts AND on the CM blog carnival post which will be posted @ Fisher Academy on December 11th - earn 1 entry!
    (P.S. to be eligible, remember to comment elsewhere and come back and tell me in your comment on the Holiday edition carnival post on 12/11. Oh, and if you don't have your e-mail address linked to your comment, I won't be able to contact you, and I'll have to draw another name!)
  • Blog about the giveaway (include linked picture above), and leave me a link in the comments of this here post – worth 2 entries!!
  • Link to this giveaway post on fb AND/OR pin the giveaway pic to pinterest, (and leave a comment in this here post) – worth 1 entry!
  • "Like" (if you haven't already) the Fisher Academy fb page – this doesn't earn any entries, but it IS a great way to stay up-to-date with the CM Blog Carnival! :)

So. There you have it. There are many chances to win! I leave it up to you, if you'd like to participate to win on purpose, or if you simply want to take it easy, submit your post and read the carnival as usual. Either way, you are VERY welcome, and you might just end up being that one extra happy person to receive the calendar for Christmas!

UPDATE:
Drawing will be held on December 12th (the day after the carnival)
Drawing will be held on Saturday December 15th and the winner will be announced the very same day! :) That way y'all will have more time to comment on the other carnival posts!! more time = more comments = more chances to win. ;)



Coming soon!
Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival Holidays edition,
December 11th @ Fisher Academy
 
Quoted from last year:  
"You might want to post what Charlotte Mason-y things you do during holidays... maybe you could teach us about how Charlotte Mason might have had us use our holidays.  You might post about whatever holiday traditions you have in your family!  If you have a favorite holiday post you'd like to direct us to... do it!  It's up to you :)  Seems to me that you could include Thanksgiving and/or Christmas holidays! Or any other holiday during the months of November/December for that matter!  The only stipulation you must keep in mind however is, that this is a Charlotte Mason blog carnival!  Which of course we all know just makes it that much better fun! ;)"

Submit your carnival post here.

 
Have I ever told you how much we LOVE our Art Calendar?!


Do I look like I love it?! Or, do I look WEIRD?! ...don't tell me. 
The calendar sits on our table, and the kids change it daily.
It is also useful for copying the day's date :)


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Hymn Study: Dear Lord and Father of Mankind



Scheduled in October...  Sung in November... Posted in December... :)

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Highschool Math! {HSHS carnival edition #4}

Is anyone else shaking in their boots thinking about how to do math with older kids?! Today we'll have a look at how to handle math in the upper years. Thanks to others who have gone ahead, those of us who are just coming into the highschool years have much help and encouragement.
"...math appeals directly to the mind and, although it's as challenging as scaling a mountain, it can be just as rewarding. Good math teachers know not to drown lessons in too many words."
Charlotte Mason



Willa shares what her 4 grown homeschoolers did for mathematics in the homeschool and what her current high schooler is doing. With or without outside help, your students can be successful in college prep math!

How do you keep maths interesting when the high school years look like screeds of formulae to be memorised? The only answer I could come up with was similar to what we've done in the primary years; follow the child's lead and pace, but give the topic breadth with living books and other fun activities.  Catherine shares with us, Does math have to get boring during the teen years?

Many parents fear homeschooling through high school because of math. This article is for them. Lori Havens discusses the concerns that homeschooling parents have about high school math (and science), and shares how these fears are common, sadly, but unfounded. Get a dose of encouragement and reality from this veteran homeschooling mom, who considers herself barely average (at best!) in math, with one son now successfully graduated from college, the other now a student in electrical engineering at one of the top 5 engineering schools in the country!

I share very briefly about one way to use narration in math in, Keeping a Math Notebook.

Sue explores the questions, Do high schoolers really need to learn higher maths skills? If they do learn maths, what contributes to their success? And can structured maths courses play a part in the education of unschoolers? in When Will I Use All This Maths, Mum?

Updated!! (somehow these posts were originally omitted, please accept my apologies):
Erin shares how they strive to foster math thinkers in their home and search for the balance between meeting expectations and yet supporting each child in their varying talents, in the Maths Equation.

Sally talks from the perspective of the non-math person about different curricula for different students, and her friend Anne-Marie talks from the perspective of the math person about the same in Homeschooling High School Math.

And then on another note, we have some more general encouragement from our friends...

Jimmie Lanley shares her daughter's recovery from a spinal fusion surgery, Jimmie realized yet another layer of how wonderful homeschooling is in The Beauty of Homebound Homeschool.
This free printable notebooking page is designed for listening to presentations or speeches. Great for co-op classes. She shares, Keeping it Real You are Not Alone in your Homeschool Struggles about the chaos I see sometimes in my home also happens in the homes of others.

Connie shares some Encouragement of a Friend. I would like to submit one of my posts that was a part of the HomeSchool High link up. It had lots of views~ the encouragement to encourage one another resonated well with my readers and on social media.

As the end of the term comes to a close, I take a few minutes to record the achievements my son has accomplished. Recording these things as we go along makes the building of a narrative report card much easier at the year's end. Barb shares Homeschool Grades versus Achievements.


Charlotte Mason talks more about Mathematics.
"Arithmetic and Math don't appeal to most children, either, no matter how intelligent. Most children are baffled by math, although they may love reasoning out questions of life in literature or history. Since so many dislike those subjects, maybe we should take that as a hint and stop putting so much pressure on those subjects. It would make sense to push grammar and math if children's reason was waiting for us to develop it. But when we see that they have plenty of ability to reason in other subjects, we have to face the fact that they have plenty of reason. They have as much ability to reason as they have ability to love. They don't need us to give them subjects to develop their reason. Our job is to give them lots of material for their reason to work on. If their reason gets sharper, it will be a side effect as they learn their other subjects. (...)  A child who understands how immutable the laws of math are will never divide 15 pennies between five people and give them the wrong amount. He will understand that math answers aren't arbitrary, they're logical, and even a child can use reason to come to the right answer. Math can be enjoyable for a person who loves perceiving a law of nature and figuring out the law behind why things work the way they do. But not every child can be a star wrestler, and not every boy 'takes' to math. So perhaps teachers should make it their duty to expose the child to as many interests as possible. Math is just one subject in education, and it's one that not everyone excels at. So it shouldn't monopolize too much time in the school day."
Read the quote above in its context here (scroll down to page 151ff).

More helpful math-related links:
  • MEP is a K-12 math program designed and used in Europe available free online here.
  • Brandy hosted a 'Math Week' series on Afterthoughts last month, have a look!


This has been a highschool carnival post! Hasn't it been fun?! Please check in here for more of the same! The next Homeschool High School Carnival on January 1st will be hosted by Gae at Cherished Hearts at Home. The suggested topic will be Finding our Stride... You are most welcome to join us. Thank you to all our contributors and to our readers for taking the time to read and comment:)
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