(I just found out about this fund-raiser, so I apologize for not giving you more advanced notice.)
The Estes Family at HandsandHearts.com are wrapping up a big, huge, wonderful looking package sale TODAY. Over $340 worth of excellent homeschooling AND PARENTING (not just for homeschoolers) resources from well-known homeschool authors and publishers for a tiny fraction of the value. Great stuff!
Here’s our added incentive to you to take a look at this and consider getting it TODAY, the last day this will be available:
If you do purchase this package * TODAY * (and this applies ONLY to folks who purchase this package TODAY) … just email the Erksine family a copy of your Paypal receipt ALONG WITH your snail mail address … let me just put their original email in there so that I don’t mix it up:
To claim your Audio CD “thank you” from us, you just need to email us (homeschooltime_@_gmail._com) your paypal receipt AND your snail mail address. The Audio CD offer is good ONLY for purchases made TODAY. (If you’ve already purchased this, that is terrific, thank you… but we can only make this offer – which comes from US and not the Estes’ – for today’s orders.)
Maestro Classics is a wonderful program designed to brng classical compositions to life by coupling them with traditional stories such as The Tortoise and the Hare (the CD selection that I received) as well as Peter & the Wolf, The Story of Swan Lake, Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel, to name but a few of their offerings.
There were a few things about this musical program that really appealed to me. For one thing I loved the illustrations that were used on the CD case as well as in the instructional booklet that is included. And speaking of instructional booklets, this one is a winner. Although it is small (to fit inside of the CD case) it is chock full of activities, information and discussion points for the entire family.
In The Tortoise and the Hare booklet they have information on the musical instruments that were used on the CD as well as a basic intoduction to musical notation and how it relates to math. My youngest daughter loves animals so the section on the difference between turtles/tortoises and rabbits/hares. There is are crossword puzzles, word scrambles and memory exercises to test how well the listeners were paying attention to the story.
The music is beautiful and played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. So needless to say, the music is of excellent quality and very pleasing to listen to and sing along with for the kids. My almost ten year old daughter (who initially thought this was for the younger children since she’s such an old lady) really enjoyed the “Pretzel Vendor of Paris” song and played that one over and over again. My six year old daughter just loved the whole experience (for her it was an experience!) because it hit all of her pleasure buttons: music, singing and storytelling. Even my three year old son took time off from his job of dismantling my home to sit and listen while the CD was playing. So, the kids give it a definite 5 out of 5 stars.
This is a wonderful addition the family regardless of your educational choices. Hearing and connecting to fine music really is an often neglected activity in today’s hurried world. The stories are narrated in a very funny and entertaining way, but for me it was the music that made it all worthwhile. I love the way that music can change the mood of the story so quickly and expertly. No need for long explanations because you just feel it inside and it resonates with your soul.
Maestro Classics Stories in Music series can be purchased at their website as well as in retail stores. The best deals seem to be on the home website, so I’d recommend going there first. This is a high quality, high class introduction to classical music for the entire family at a very affordable price of $16.98 for single stories and gift sets cost $24.99. They are also adding Spanish language stories to their catalog for all those budding Spanish students and native speakers.
Music IS the universal language and Maestro Classics makes it one that you’ll like to listen to again and again.
Do you consider your home education to be a success if all the check boxes of “what a child should know by 12th grade” are completed or do you have another concept of what would make your homeschooling journey a success? When it comes to educating the children what is your goal?
I have been homeschooling for a number of years and have never really thought past the academics of it all. However, in October 2009 I went to my first homeschooling retreat down in Destin, FL. And one of the speakers, Rhea Perry of Educating for Success, talked about the importance of “Success Education.” It was great! This lecture made a huge impression on me because I don’t feel this gets discussed in the homeschooling community let alone the world at large. And it should.
Living in one of the more highly regulated homeschooling states it is very easy to get caught up in making sure that your children hit all of the artificial benchmarks set by the educational system. You know, “Let’s study for that PSSA so that you can get promoted to the next grade!” or “Let’s get that portfolio ready for the evaluator to tell us what a good job we’re doing this year.”
That’s all fine and dandy, but what about the benchmarks of life? What about knowing how to be financially self-sufficient? What about having an understanding of how economics works and using that knowledge to create a financially sound lifestyle? What about developing the skills and experience your children need to fulfill their passions and interest in the secular world? How about not just getting by but prospering so that you can freely devote time to helping others? Isn’t that even more important?
The form of education that is dispensed in schools (and unfortunately in many homeschooling curricula) is designed to create workers for the workforce, not to inspire or encourage original thinking and experimentation. It trains people to get the right answers, do what you’re told and keep your head down or you might standout. The goals today are a world apart from the way people were educated in early America. John Taylor Gatto, author of “Underground History of American Education” states:
“In early America young people in America were expected to make something of themselves, not to prepare themselves to fit into an established hierarchy. Young Americans were allowed close to the mechanisms of things. This rough and tumble practice kept social class elastic and American achievement in every practical field superb.”
As discussed at the seminar, a parent’s purpose is to:
Prepare our children for their life’s work so that they can make a comfortable living and be self-sufficient
Their education should have practical real life education and apprenticeships
We need to start with the end in mind and plan appropriately for each child
Our program should provide not only be academic, but include spiritual, emotional and financial education
We’re also here to help them prepare for the future so that they can help others make a difference in their lives.
And most of all not just get by or fall into a job, but to be proactive about structuring their own lives.
So what does all of this mean to us as parents? Our children are NOT too young to begin their life’s work. We need to stop and think about what our goal of home education is. Is it just to complete the “boxed curriculum” that generates worker drones who watch TV and complain about their lot in life? Or is it to train our children to have lives that make a difference in the world?
When we limit them by saying things like, “Oh let them have fun because they’ll be working for the rest of their lives” aren’t we condemning them to the lifestyle of financial struggles that we’ve experienced. Why not encourage them to take what they’re learning and find ways to use it to make their adult lives a balanced journey to be enjoyed and shared with others?
Children have the capacity, and indeed the desire, to contribute to the family’s well-being. Nowadays we think it’s “cute” when they say they want to open up a lemonade stand to help earn money, but in the past they were expected to be an asset to the family. Looking back on history we’ll see:
Abraham Lincoln was 8 when he helped his father build a brand new log home;
Thomas Edison by 14 had hired, fired, motivated and managed more people than 99% of the college graduates of his (and our) day;
When Mary Young Pickersgill was asked to make a flag so big that “the British have no trouble seeing it from a distance.” Her 13-year old daughter helped her. And now that flag is in the Smithsonian in the Museum of American History;
Alexander Graham Bell only attended school for five years from ages 10 to 14, but never stopped learning. He read books in his grandfather’s library and studied tutorials about teaching the deaf;
Sir Isaac Newton was called “a poor student” by his teachers because he was more interested in making mechanical devices than in studying. Amongst his many inventions he made a windmill that could grind wheat and corn, a water clock, a sundial and left the world Calculus amongst many other things.
These children had not only the knowledge that comes from books, but real life experience and application of the information that they learned. And those that can apply knowledge become wise and prosper. For my part, my goal is to provide my children not only with the academics that they need, but to help them find their life’s path through real life experiences. I don’t want them to have to learn about finances through trial and error like I did, but have that education at a young age so that they can begin making wise decisions right now. So what would you choose?
Please feel free to comment on what you think about this type of “success” focus. And if you’ve already been using this as your goal post, what types of things are you doing with your kids to help reach it.
I'm a homeschooling mom with seven children: 3 human, 2 feline and 2 canine. I'm also the wife of one very patient husband who seems to like the role of ringmaster to our circus. I am a virtual assistant who enjoys writing, crafts, music and laughter. I hope you'll visit often. Please be aware that this blog is supported by affiliate links, although every link isn't necessarily an affiliate program.
