As a writer and freelance journalist, probably 90% of what I do is on the computer – research on the Internet, interviews via email, writing on the word processor, number crunching with spreadsheets, promotion on Facebook. If you go in a college classroom today, you’ll find laptops have replaced notebooks, professors’ websites have replaced handouts, and a student who isn’t fluent with standard programs and specialized applications is in for a hard, hard time. In fact, eleven states require computer science courses before a student can graduate from high school.

If you can read this, obviously you’re “computer literate,” but you might not be able to explain the finer points of Microsoft Excel to your high schooler, or help your student debug an HTML problem on their blog. Maybe you’re looking for a good, structured curriculum to help them get started and develop the basic skills that change them from just a “user” to someone who really understands how their computers work. Maybe you’d like more skills yourself! Phyllis Wheeler of Motherboard Books has what you need, and she gets you started with an audio session called “What Homeschool Mothers Really Need To Know About Computers”. To help us celebrate the release of Raising Real Men, she’s offering this as a free download! Plus, just for fun, she’s also giving away her Internet Scavenger Hunt, a $10 value, to introduce your kids to interesting facts on animals and geography while searching safely.

Click here to download both freebies!

Really understanding your computer is more than being able to use email and Facebook, and really understanding writing is more than just forming words and sentences, isn’t it? We all expect our kids to be able to read and spell, but what we really want is kids who can express their thoughts clearly and convincingly in writing. Kim Kautzer has a curriculum to do just that – WriteShop is a full K-12 program, with all kinds of helps to inspire successful writers, showing them how to create everything from simple stories to persuasive essays. She even tells you how to write and publish children’s books!  WriteShop’s step-by-step approach lets you teach with confidence, so your children learn to write with confidence.

For one of those who comment on this post, Kim is giving away your choice of WriteShop Primary Teacher’s Guide w/Activity Set Worksheet Pack – w0rth up to $37.90!  Plus we’ll give extra entries for posting on Facebook, Twitter, your blog or other places – help us get the word out that Raising Real Men is officially released tomorrow!

But WriteShop has so much to offer, Kim is also giving away a $35 gift certificate, so you can pick the level and the focus you need!  We’ll give this prize to one of our Facebook fans. If you haven’t joined Facebook yet, give it try – there are all kinds of interesting things happening, not to mention our own rapidly growing “Raising Real Men” community!

(While you’re there, why not join WriteShop’s fan page, too!)

Hal