Raising Real Men is pleased to bring you the

February 9, 2010 edition of the

     Carnival of Homeschooling!

Welcome to Raising Real Men! We’ve done 14 radio interviews in the past week from eastern North Carolina to Los Angeles, so I know there are many people visiting here who don’t know us yet. I’d like to take a moment to explain a few things. The Carnival of Homeschooling is a weekly event that moves around the blogosphere. Bloggers contribute posts and the host blogger gathers all the links together for your reading pleasure. We don’t choose the entries: some we love, some we don’t! 🙂

And a last word before we get started. Homeschooling is not the only way to raise boys, but it offers some serious advantages for parents who want to train their sons for manhood in a way that the common culture  simply doesn’t any longer.  We devote a chapter in Raising Real Men to the very real differences in the way boys approach education, compared to their sisters.  How we respond, as teachers and parents, will make a difference in how they respond as students. 

We’ve been thinking a lot about what we love lately: A year ago our precious Katie was born the day before Valentine’s Day. How appropriate since we’d spend the next year thinking about her heart. At two weeks, we discovered she was in SVT (dangerously fast heart rhythm) at 278 beats per minute. They had to stop her heart six times that night. We were hoping she’d be one of the 25% who grow out of the condition by a year old, but we just found out her heart is still in danger.  Not only that, but my best friend, husband and co-author, Hal has stage four Hodgkins lymphoma. We are thinking a lot about what we love – Christ, our family, and so much more!

So, we dedicate this Carnival, in the week before Valentine’s Day to Things Homeschoolers Love. Homeschoolers are an incredibly diverse bunch, but it is safe to say that homeschoolers:  

Love to Think

legendswife reminds us not only that Home School Families Need Vision: 3 Reasons Why but how we can pass it on to our children at Christian Homeschool Resources. Note: Link Repaired

Susan Gaissert in writing Why We Need to Ask ?Why?? at The Expanding Life reminds us why inquiring minds really do want to know.

Alasandra thinks Anti-Science Fundamentalist Fruitcakes give homeschoolers a bad rap on Alasandra’s Homeschool Blog Awards. We’ve probably all gotten to the end of our rope at some point.

Christina Strickland wrote Homeschool Burnout: Now What? at the LessonPathways.com blog to encourage us.

Homeschool graduate Natalie Wickham points out 3 Characteristics of a Person of Influence at Pajama School that should serve as a model for our children – and ourselves.

Pamela Jorrick interviewed veteran homeschoolers in Following Their Own Path and came away impressed. Posted at Blah, Blah, Blog.

Renae presents a great Introduction to Biblical Poetry at Life Nurturing Education. It’ll make you think!

Michelle Miller at TruthQuest History submits an audio entry on the way mothers unwittingly block the role of fathers in homeschooling … making it Mission Impossible.

Love to See Our Children Taking Their Place in Adult Society

We have always loved to mark special events in our children’s lives. Avivah at OCEANS OF JOY is not only Making Graduation Plans, but explains why.

25 Essential Open Courseware Classes to Learn About Health Administration by Wendy Blue tells us how open courseware can let our children test drive a field of study at Masters in Health Administration.

Harold Gelien encourages us to check out Do Yale, Harvard Or Other Ivy League Schools Offer Online Courses / Degrees? and mrs laughton presents How To Use Facebook: Facebook 101  at  How To E-D-U.

Alan Crosby presents 7 Essential Free Web Apps for Career Management posted at Online Career Schools.

Camille Hensley presents What’s a College Degree Actually Worth? 20 Good Answers. posted at College Stats.org.

Love to Learn

Kim Kautzer of WriteShop, talks about  Helping kids find an audience for their writing at In Our Write Minds.

Heather L presents EASY Visual Exercises for home! posted at Special Needs Homeschooling, saying, “Here is a get pre-reading exercise or visual therapy excerise. Fun and easy to right at home!”

MrsMamaHen shares in pictures just how excited her daughter was to be doing her first biology dissection in “Biology: The Worm.”

Lara DeHaven develops her own Natural Approach to Biology in high school at Texas Homesteader.

Devildogwife knows we ask ourselves Are We on Track? at Marine Corps Nomads and helps us to know we are.

NerdMom answers a new homeschooler’s question in Starting to Homeschool: Academics posted at Nerd Family.

Wondering what the other moms are doing? ChristineMM presents Homeschool Curriculum List for My Fourth Grader 2009 to 2010 at The Thinking Mother.

Tom DeRosa in Pentago Board Game Spins Me Round (Like a Record) at I Want to Teach Forever tells us about “a great family board game that promotes higher order thinking.”

Dana Wilson at Epi Kardia Home Education teaches us about graphic organizers to make learning more interesting in Make a Lapbook!

Stop feeling guilty and get outside! Check out the getting started guide by Tonya called  Nature Study: At Home and on the Road at Live the Adventure.

Helping the Dysgraphic Child Succeed by Betty Eisenhour has some great ideas for dealing with what has been one of the most difficult things in our homeschool adventure at Peace Creek on the Prairie.

Love to Laugh, Because Sometimes It’s All You Can Do

Henry Cate has a hilarious plan in his Looking for idea for a “socialization” video at Why Homeschool. Let’s give him some more ideas!

Have you ever been Threatened While Homeschooling? Barbara Frank keeps her sense of humor while having “just another day homeschooling a teen with Down syndrome.”

Dana shares her angst and finally comes to a point of peace (and laughter) in This is NOT a homeschool room. I don’t WANT a homeschool room. posted at Roscommon Acres.

hall monitor presents ‘Joke’ letter from principal sent to parents posted at DetentionSlip.org, saying, “I guess public schools have a different sense of humor!”  Watch out for that SEND button, sir.

Brenda Sain sweetly expresses the ubiquitousness of Dirty Little Feet at The Tie That Binds Us.  

Love to Save Money

NerdMom clues us into an Awesome Book Sale from Scholastic on her Making Money, Keeping Money blog.

Mrs. White reflects on How the Old Time Mothers Survived Poverty at The Legacy of Home. Makes you realize times aren’t as tough as they could be! 

And, Love Our Families

A chapter of Raising Real Men deals with risk-taking and adventure in boys, so we were glad to see some really interesting posts on that topic: Rachel Lynette recommends Allowing Children to Take Risks at Minds in Bloom and Tiana Krenz points out the very real differences in Over-Protected, Under-Sheltered at God Made, Home Grown.

Teaching our children to stand on their own feet often means giving them the space to do so. Our Kid’s Pursuits Are Their Own posted by Laura Grace Weldon tells us that keeping children’s motivation alive has a lot to do with letting their interests be their own.

Michelle Dennis Evans and her daughters enjoy The Lady Beetle posted at Michelle Dennis Evans.

Karen DeBeus started her day right in Walking in Truth at Beautiful Feet Bring Good News.

Kerry Fletcher suggests a fun activity in How to make a candy topiary posted at Examine, but I’d buy a good bit of extra candy if I were you, so you don’t end up with a half-naked tree!

Here’s a contest for everyone: Beverly Hernandez tells us about the Homeschool friendly 2010 Doodle 4 Google Contest on Beverly’s Homeschooling Blog (About.com)  

And finally, Katherine Collins of No Fighting, No Biting  takes a Slacker Day which sounds like a great idea to me today!

That concludes this Valentine’s edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

We’d love to have you come back! We are celebrating the official release of Raising Real Men with giveaways, contests and fun – check back often or subscribe to our RSS feed in the footer.

Thanks to Chordboard for the great Valentines on Wikimedia Commons: Puppy, Plums, Astronaut, Football, and Apple,

Technorati tags: carnival of homeschooling, blog carnival.