With 3-D animation, video clips, and other fascinating multimedia, Switched-On Schoolhouse for grades 3-12  may be the perfect homeschool curriculum for today’s generation. With this flexible, best-selling curriculum, parents can customize student learning to fit individual educational needs.

Switched-On Schoolhouse 2008 (see coupon at bottom of page) is a useful curriculum published by Alpha Omega Publications. It is a complete Bible-based curriculum CD-ROM homeschool curriculum where students do their schoolwork on the computer. The core subjects included in Switched-On Schoolhouse are Math, Language Arts, Science, History, Geography, and Bible. The SOS program guides the rate of a student’s progress, incorporates drill, and sets achievement levels for students. The program includes built-in review which is so important for long term retention. (We parents can all recall our school days, how easily we allowed ourselves to forget what we had studied so hard to remember for a test. The built-in review attempts to overcome this tendency.)

Unlike traditional textbook curricula with dry, one-dimensional lessons, Switched-On Schoolhouse (SOS) has a diverse, vibrant mix of entertaining lessons, assignments quizzes, and more! Fun-filled lessons are created to captivate students’ attention and engage them in learning. Available for grades 3-12, Switched-On Schoolhouse offers five core subjects and a wide variety of electives. With features that enhance content and functionality, this award-winning curriculum offers ease, accuracy, and quality academics.

Betsy, a homeschooling mother (not her real name), is using SOS for Language Arts and Bible for her two children. She describes the two major parts of the program- one for the parent and one for the student. She tells how easy it was to set up each of her students in the teacher section. Also, she set up the number of attempts she wanted to give her children to try to answer questions correctly (she started this at 3), the number of assignments she wants them to do each day, whether to take off for spelling, the grading scale she wants to use, the calendar year. These kinds of options allow her to fine tune the curriculum to her own family’s needs. Betsy also likes the way the curriculum allows the parent to review the children’s answers. The automatic grading and record-keeping makes keeping track of each student a breeze.

Read the rest of this entry »

Vision Forum Books and Materials for Homeschooling

Dear Friends:

For five days only — August 26-30, 2008 — receive a free $50 gift certificate (passport) for every $95 of Vision Forum merchandise you order!

$95 Order = 1 Free $50 Gift Certificate
$190 Order = 2 Free $50 Gift Certificates
$285 Order = 3 Free $50 Gift Certificates
No Limit!

These free gift certificates may be redeemed between October 15th and December 24, 2008, and are good toward our entire product selection at Vision Forum

We hope that this special opportunity will permit you to purchase important resources for your family now, and also provide you with gift certificates for future occasions (a new product, a special gift, etc.). If you place a qualifying order online, your free gift certificate(s) will be issued electronically and immediately e-mailed to you. Or, order by calling us toll-free at 1-800-440-0022, and your gift certificate will be mailed to you independently of your order (please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery).

Some happy customers had this to say about Vision Forum materials:

“I would just like to say thank you for such a wonderful ministry to boys and men…It is wonderful to see a ministry that stands along side what we teach our boys. My boys love the Jonathan Park stories. The Ballantyne books are sure to be a hit. My husband enjoyed listening to CDs by S.M. Davis. Your ministry is strengthening our walk with God and I thank God for you. “—Mr. and Mrs. David M.

“Thank you for allowing God to work through you and your ministry. My family [members] are beneficiaries of the blessings God has given to us through you. We especially love Jonathan Park and G. A. Henty.” —Barbara

This special offer is not valid for wholesale orders, is not retroactive to purchases made prior to August 26, 2008, and expires at midnight on Saturday, August 30 (CDT).

It is time to begin a new year of homeschool (unless you homeschool year round, but that’s another post).

Homeschooling moms must juggle teaching with housework, cooking, shopping, mothering, being a good wife.  My best advice is for you to PLAN & PRAY…

Here is a list of planning tips:

1.  Write out goals for the family as a whole and for each child. Make sure that the goals are realistic and not idealistic.  They are to aim for, but not to cause discouragement.  Keep in mind, the beauty of homeschooling is its flexibilility.  These goals will allow you to be focused in your planning.  You will be able to achieve more with goals than without.

2.  Declutter the house. There are excellent books available to help you with this task.  Basically, you need to throw away, give away, or store enough stuff to make your home easier to keep in order and more peaceful to live in.  It is great to have a “clean out” day with the whole family involved.  With some children, though, this is difficult when they don’t want to let any of their possessions go.  If you have room in the attic, let your child pack a box of toys to store there rather than having to give them away or throw them away.  (My daugher-now 18-still remembers and reminds me that I got rid of some of her dearly loved stuffed animals years ago!  I learned my lesson and never again did I make a decision about her things without letting her be involved!!)

3.  Work up a new chore chart, post it, and make sure everyone is doing their part. If the children have gotten rusty on completing chores over the summer, or if moms and dads have been slack on holding them accountable for their work, then it is time to get the chore routines back in gear!  This is essential for me to have time for homeschool.  These days it is so easy to make chore charts on a word processor.  When we started homeschooling, over 20 years ago, I made them with paper, pencil, and ruler.  My children always enjoyed marking off chores and receiving a  sticker to mount on the chart when all their daily chores were completed.

4. Plan for meals;  keep them simple. We mostly have cereal for breakfast.  Sometimes one of the children cooks breakfast.  I always encourage them to take on more responsibility and learn how to do new things. Lunch is usually sandwiches, leftover pizza, soup, and/or fruit.  As soon as the kids are old enough, they make their own lunch.  They really enjoy being able to decide what they want and fix it themselves.  Then occasionally, I make lunch for everybody.  Supper is the meal that needs to be planned for.  You will feel twice as burnt out if you are scurrying around in the late afternoon trying to make a good supper for your family without a plan in place.  I recommend once a month cooking to supply 2-4 meals weekly from the freezer.  Oooo….that takes so much pressure off of your daily schedule.  Cooking one or two meals that take a substantial amount of time is a lot easier than cooking like that every day.  Plan some quick menus to fill in the rest of days a week.  Again, be realistic in your meal planning…but plan you must.

5.  As good as planning is, it falls far short without prayer and seeking wisdom from the Lord.  As I tell my children, reading the Word and prayer ALWAYS has priority over homeschool academics.

Proverbs 16:9 says “The mind of the man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.