Homeschool Coffee Break Reading List - June 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

A long time ago I did an occasional round-up of articles, resources, and just fun things around the web and called it the Coffee Break Reading List, because this blog is the Homeschool Coffee Break, so of course! It included things unrelated to homeschooling too, as it was essentially a collection of the different things I was reading. As I finished the journey through homeschooling my own kids, I did continue tutoring and mentoring homeschool families, and was involved in the homeschool community, but I did this round-up less often, until eventually I left off doing it altogether. After a recent move, I started a new blog which is now the home of the Coffee Break Reading List, but because I still care deeply about homeschooling, I'm still going to try to do a homeschool related reading list here. Here are just a few things I've found during recent coffee breaks that you may find interesting as well.

The homeschool reading corner:

• The Week recently reported about The changing face of home schooling in the US. Overall the home education movement is becoming more diverse, and it's growing. No matter what other reasons are given for choosing to homeschool, the basis appears to be that parents believe it's their right to determine how their kids are educated. Home schooling is legal in all 50 states, but there are varying levels of regulation in the states. One change that's notable is the proliferation of resources to help parents who are homeschooling. These include co-ops, information outlets and groups online, legal representation like HSLDA, and lots of curriculum choices from traditional workbooks to online classes.
• Co-ops and tutorial groups are one way the homeschool families are working together to help each other meet social and education needs. The HSLDA website featured one of these co-ops in this article: 'We're Intended to Rely on Each Other': Urban Homeschoolers Band Together. This story is about a co-op group in Chicago, where homeschooling is a growing trend, that serves a multi-ethnic group of families. The group saw a need for sharing practical information about homeschooling all the way through high school to families who had concerns such as providing education when English is a second language, how to prepare students for college, and how to keep the cost of education affordable. 
• Young people have great ideas for new ways to meet needs address challenges, and home education is one good way to encourage students to really focus on and explore their ideas. The young entrepreneur featured in this Good News Network story is not homeschooled as far as I know, but I share it here because it's good news when this kind of ingenuity and commitment are being used to better the world. This 23-Year-Old Founder is 3D Printing Schools in Madagascar Aiming to be a 'Stepping Stone for the Community'
• Speaking of talented young people, this kid featured in an Upworthy article . . . wow. Again, not a homeschooled kid, but just goes to show that there's so much raw talent out there, and that there are kids who take it upon themselves to learn stuff that they're interested in. 'Spider-verse filmmakers were so wowed by a 14-year-old's trailer remake, they hired him. 
• Last homeschool note to add here is a reminder to visit the HSLDA campaigns page to check on legislation affecting homeschooling in your state and the HSLDA recommendations on those bills.

Yes, I share this every month, I think!

I prefer to make those [educational] choices myself. Not because I think I know 'better' than all those professional educators, but I do think I know my own children best, and consequently which programs and methods would benefit them. Homeschooling is not about rejecting other people and things; it's about making personal and positive choices for your own family. ~Mariette Ulrich

Homeschooled children benefit the community because they are not shaped by peers but by parents. ~Mary Kay Clark

Resource Spotlight:

For most of us, the school year recently wrapped up, but I remember when I was homeschooling, I could hardly wait to get the final report cards done so I could jump into planning for the next year! Even now, I'm itching to work on my lesson plans because I'm tentatively planning on teaching a high school writing class again next school year. If you're looking for planning tools, one source for a great homeschool planner is SchoolhouseTeachers.com. The 2023-2024 Schoolhouse SmartMama Planner is now available free to members. Check it out!

From the archives here at Homeschool Coffee Break: 

With the beginning of July just a few days away, the obvious choice from my archives is this history lesson post that focuses on Canada Day and Independence Day, since both Canada and the United States will be celebrating birthdays. What do you have planned for the celebrations this year?

Celebrating National Birthdays

My personal coffee break reading:

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

Composition As Conversation by Heather M. Hoover

   

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Homeschool Coffee Break Reading List - May 2023

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

A long time ago I did an occasional round-up of articles, resources, and just fun things around the web and called it the Coffee Break Reading List, because this blog is the Homeschool Coffee Break, so of course! It included things unrelated to homeschooling too, as it was essentially a collection of the different things I was reading. As I finished the journey through homeschooling my own kids, I did continue tutoring and mentoring homeschool families, and was involved in the homeschool community, but I did this round-up less often, until eventually I left off doing it altogether. After a recent move, I started a new blog which is now the home of the Coffee Break Reading List, but because I still care deeply about homeschooling, I'm still going to try to do a homeschool related reading list here. Here are just a few things I've found during recent coffee breaks that you may find interesting as well.

The homeschool reading corner:

• Enrollment in U.S. government schools dropped by over one million students from 2019 to 2021, and while some of that shift was certainly due to Covid lockdowns, the trend is continuing. Many parents are finding that public schools are unwilling or unable to provide help for students that are struggling, sometimes stating that scores aren't 'low enough' to warrant intervention. It begs the question, how far behind does a student need to be to prompt a public school to help? As public schools fail to address students' needs, more parents turn to alternatives (from The Lion) explains.
• Since my son was a member of Civil Air Patrol, I found this article very interesting. A Virginia student who had been in Civil Air Patrol applied to an Air Force JROTC program but was told he was ineligible because he was homeschooled. Ryan Carbonel had plans to get into the US Air Force Academy, so this was a setback. Thanks to assistance from the HSLDA, the public school was informed that Carbonel did have the right to join the JROTC and he is back on track. Read more: Never Give Up: How a Teen, His Mom, and HSLDA Cleared the Runway to JROTC.
• Congratulations to these homeschool students and to the Richmond Mall for this colorful art showcase, "Art Around the World", featuring artwork from homeschooled students at a local co-op. See: Homeschool Art Showcase Adds Color to Mall (from the Richmond Register)
• I'm not sure about statistics, but it seems like families that homeschool are more likely to eat meals together. Anecdotally, a large majority of the homeschool families I know do eat at least one meal together on most days of the week. I saved this article quite some time ago, but I believe it's still relevant. Anita Ojeda asked Does The Family That Eats Together Have Better Mental Health? and also offered a few tips for making family mealtime work better. And that's news we can all use, even if we're not homeschooling!
• Visit the HSLDA campaigns page to check on legislation affecting homeschooling in your state and the HSLDA recommendations on those bills.

The home is the first and most effective place to learn the lessons of life: truth, honor, virtue, self-control, the value of education, honest work, and the purpose and privilege of life. Nothing can take the place of home in rearing and teaching children, and no other success can compensate for failure in the home. ~David O. McKay

Dear friend, don't let the bustling culture determine the needs of your own children. You get to choose how they grow up. You can protect their time, energy, and imagination. You are the gatekeeper of the garden of their childhood. ~Ainsley Arment

Resource Spotlight:

This free webinar takes place this evening, so very time-sensitive! Learning to Write: Getting the Right Start! is a free 45-minute workshop Q&A provided by HSLDA. This workshop will help you introduce K-6 students to writing and cultivate their love of writing. 

Speaking of writing, one resource we liked a lot, especially for middle grades was Fix It! Grammar from Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). Their Structure and Style writing method is well-known for teaching composition. Fix It! Grammar is a series of six books that teach grammar skills and knowledge by having students find and correct errors in short daily passages that tell a story. It's an interesting and fun way to practice using grammar skills.

See our full review: Fixing Grammar with IEW

SchoolhouseTeachers.com has a Drivers Ed course! Did you know? I remember that when my kids were teens learning to drive, my state still required new drivers to learn from a driving school, so you will need to check what the laws are where you live. But either way, the Friendly Drivers Ed course will be a big help! It covers how to pass the exams to get the license, basic car science, safety, maintenance, and ownership concerns that every one of us needs to know. 

From the archives here at Homeschool Coffee Break: 

Curious about Civil Air Patrol, which I mentioned in one of the news stories? Here's an article I wrote about the organization in 2016 when my son graduated from high school: From the High School Lesson Book - Civil Air Patrol

Our daughter just graduated from university, and this is the season for graduations! Got me thinking about many of the graduation traditions like the cap and gown, and I remembered mentioning a few of those traditions when I wrote about my son's high school graduation a few years ago. I suppose I should share about my daughter's latest achievement here - watch for that post coming soon! For now, you can check out: From the High School Lesson Book - Graduation

My personal coffee break reading:

Fair As A Star by Mimi Matthews

The Keys to Gramercy Park by Candice Sue Patterson

A Perilous Perspective by Anna Lee Huber

American Cozy: Hygge-Inspired Ways to Create Comfort & Happiness by Stephanie Pedersen

   

   

Find out more at my book blog Just A Second.

Found anything interesting on the web lately? Read any good books? Leave a comment and let me know!

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

From the High School Lesson Book - Happy Mother's Day

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from HS Coffee Break helps fuel this blog. 

Motherhood is the greatest thing and the hardest thing. ~Ricki Lake

I'm one of the lucky moms that gets to be with my kids this weekend―the Maryland kids anyway―so it's a good day for me! We are in Maryland for the weekend to celebrate our daughter's graduation from Mount St. Mary's University, and we had our Mother's Day dinner out on Friday evening. We're heading home sometime after church on Sunday, but will probably get back too late to see my Ohio family. I sent a card and letter to my Mom that I hoped would arrive on time, but I'm not counting on it. Sometimes it takes three days for my mail to reach its destination in Canada and other times it will take three weeks. But either way I'll call.

For some, Mother's Day is not a good day for various reasons. If it brings to mind pain or sorrow for you, I pray that you will find healing and peace.

Mother's Day 2021

Mother's Day 2019

Some form of Mother's Day is celebrated around the world, in more than fifty countries. The second Sunday in May is the "big day" in the United States, Canada, Australia, and many European countries. United Kingdom and Ireland celebrate in March, and Mexico and El Salvador celebrate on May 10th (so their "big day" was yesterday). France and Sweden celebrate later in May. Argentina celebrates in October, and Russia in November. 

Setting aside a day to honor mothers goes way back in history and at least a couple of very early traditions are related to religious practice. The ancient Greeks had a festival to honor the goddess Rhea, whom they believed was the mother of the gods. Early Christians honored Mary, the mother of Jesus, on a specific day during the Lent season. And the earliest version of Mother's Day in the United Kingdom was actually a Sunday during Lent on which everyone was supposed to attend their mother church. 

If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been. ~Robert Brault

There are three suggested narratives for how our modern Mother's Day came about. In 1872, Julia Ward Howe, the writer of Battle Hymn of the Republic, pushed for a day dedicated to peace that would honor mothers. Another origin story involves Mrs. Juliet Calhoun Blakeley, who stepped into the pulpit when her pastor son left abruptly and called upon other mothers to join her. This was on the second Sunday of May in 1877. Her two sons made a practice of returning to their hometown to honour her and encouraged others to set aside the second Sunday of May to honour their mothers.

I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars. ~E.M. Forster

The story most of us have heard is about Anna Jarvis who began the movement to a national Mother's Day in 1907. She wanted a day to honour all mothers, living and dead, and felt this would help in bringing the country back together during the ongoing healing process following the War Between the States. In a church service on the second Sunday of May, she handed out her mother's favorite flowers, white carnations. She and her supporters wrote letters to clergy, businessmen, and politicians, and the movement and practice spread to most of the states by 1911. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday of May in 1914 a national holiday in honour of mothers. 

Since President Wilson's proclamation, Mother's Day has continuously grown in popularity and is now a huge occasion for giving gifts and cards, and it's been said that Anna Jarvis was angry at how quickly the day became commercialized. 

The National Restaurant Association says it's the most popular day of the year to dine out in the U.S. with about 62 percent of Americans going to a restaurant. (This is why my family chooses a different day other than Sunday to go out!) 

The age of your children is a key factor in how quickly you are served in a restaurant. ~Erma Bombeck

It's the third largest card-sending holiday, with an estimated 150 million cards exchanged each year, according to the Greeting Card Association. And about 65 percent of card sales happen in the week leading up to Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is the busiest phone day of the year, with over 120 million calls placed. (Remember when the volume of calls slowed everything down and your call might not go through because everyone else was also phoning home? I sure do.)

There are more internet searches for 'flowers' leading up to Mother's Day than leading up to Valentine's Day. (Personally, I suspect this is because more people need to send flowers, while Valentine's flowers are more often given in person.)  One Mother's Day tradition is wearing a carnation. A colored carnation if your mother is still living, and a white carnation if she has passed away.

Mother's Day is the third largest retail holiday, according to the National Retail Federation. This year it's estimated that American consumers will spend over 21 billion dollars overall on Mother's Day. Wow!!

Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help mom do the dishes. ~P.J. O'Rourke

When I was growing up, our church often opened up a time for anyone attending to say a few words about their mother. Of course there were many very heart-felt and moving statements of love and gratitude for moms, but there were always at least a few people who seemed overly sentimental and I had the impression it was a rehearsed speech so a box could be checked off. Annual obligatory statement about mother? Check. I always thought, and still do, that while it's absolutely wonderful to shower mothers with gifts and special treatment on this one day, but if that's the only day you call your mom or treat her right, you're doing it wrong. If you love your mom, you shouldn't need a Hallmark holiday or a big restaurant promotion to remind you to express your devotion.

Mothers are not the nameless, faceless stereotypes who appear once a year on a greeting card with their virtues set to prose, but women who have been dealt a hand for life and play each card one at a time the best way they know how. ~Erma Bombeck

While all old people have been young, no young people have been old, and this troubling fact engenders the frustration of all parents and elders, which is that while you can describe your experience, you cannot confer it. ~Andrew Solomon

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple. With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. ~Jenny Joseph

No purple hats but we're wearing red! My sister
and me with our daughters.

The experience of motherhood sure changes as you get older, doesn't it? I guess that's a question for moms who have been at it for quite a few years. The things that were once a big deal might not be so any more, and sometimes things that seemed trivial earlier take on new meaning. With a first baby, many of us are meticulous about recording every milestone, no matter how tiny. But there are plenty of jokes about how third, fourth, or fifth children don't even have a baby book to record their early years. I was kind of like that, starting a baby book with high hopes for each of my children, but just finding it hard to write everything down. But like most moms I know, I have lots of memories of my babies. Sometimes I just need something to jog that memory out of the mental filing cabinet. I do wish I'd written more down, of course. But I think it's safe to say that moms can keep memories in their hearts, where they mean the most, even if the dates and specific details get lost over the years. 

Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's secret hope outlives them all. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life. ~Sophocles

I think that's what Mary was doing. Storing away all the precious memories of her experience of her very unusual pregnancy, Jesus' birth story and his childhood, and all the prophecies and teachings that she had to ponder and fit everything together.

Then he [Jesus, at about twelve years old] went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.

~Luke 2:51~

And though her son was God himself, she and Joseph were obedient in raising him right and in the faith. What an example of a good mother! Timothy's mother and grandmother were heroes of faith as well, and examples to me.

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

~II Timothy 1:5~

Wishing a very happy Mother's Day to all the homeschool moms out there! 

Sooner or later we all start quoting our mothers. ~Anonymous

This post is adapted from WQ - Happy Mother's Day!, which appeared on A Fresh Cup of Coffee in May 2023.

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 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Moving Updates

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from HS Coffee Break helps fuel this blog. 

By now you might know that we recently moved from Maryland to Ohio and I've been working on getting my place here to look and feel like home. And this post does have an update about that project. But it's also about another project that I just started, and that is a new blog. 

A little background about this blog might be helpful as I explain what I'm doing. Years ago, I started a homeschool blog after a few online homeschool friends had done the same, and it was mostly a little record of how we spent our days. I thought maybe those friends and some of my family might be interested and that's about it. That blog had changed platforms a couple times before I settled here with the title Homeschool Coffee Break, and started reviewing homeschool curriculum and products for The Homeschool Review Crew. That gig helped grow the blog audience well past what I had originally expected as well! I also started a separate blog called Just A Second where I put my personal book reviews and other bookish things.

Fast forward a few years, and my youngest child was nearing graduation, and I had to give up reviewing curriculum. I realized that her graduation would also mean my retirement from my homeschool mom career. I've written about this whole process here quite a bit, and for a couple of years I continued writing homeschool content here, as I was still teaching at a homeschool co-op after she graduated. The direction and focus of this blog was changing though, obviously. I've been wondering for at least a year what I was going to do with a blog created for a homeschool niche audience now that I was no longer homeschooling. This winter, I seriously entertained the idea that maybe I should create a new personal blog and just keep this one here as sort of a resource for homeschooling interests, but only add new material occasionally. Our move to a new state in November brought a lot of changes my way, including leaving my teaching position at the co-op. And so, over the holidays, I was reminded of my idea to move my blogs, and I finally did it this week!

A couple of days ago, I put on the coffeepot and invited friends to join me for A Fresh Cup of Coffee.

Welcome To My New Coffee Break Project!

I wish I'd launched the new coffee break spot right at the first of the year, but my plan was still too nebulous at that point. Even now I'm still figuring it out, and it will be a bit of a gradual process, not unlike my move into a new home. When we first moved in, it was obvious where some things would go and what we'd need to buy. As we got settled and start acquiring new furniture, I changed my mind about a few things and reorganized other things. I suspect I'll do some of the same with the blog move. I know what's moving from this room to the other, but I'm sure I'll adjust things a little as we get settled.

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Or I guess I should say, STAYING here at Homeschool Coffee Break! This will still be my hub for all things homeschool, and I do plan on updating information here and on adding new content related to home education. Material like the High School Writing Tip Sheets series. Some new and some updated and renewed content from earlier in my blogging.

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Most of my new content will be at A Fresh Cup of Coffee! That will include the following link-ups and features:

Scripture and a Snapshot weekly on Saturdays.

Five Minute Friday weekly on Fridays.

The "Currently" link-up on the first Wednesday of each month, and the Share Four Somethings link-up on the last Saturday of each month. Both of these are hosted at Overflowing With Thankfulness.

The More Than Just A Mom link-up hosted by these bloggers on the second Monday of each month. (I just published my first article for this earlier this week, and it is on both blogs)

And I often share individual articles in other link-ups such as Inspire Me Monday hosted by Anita Ojeda, Let's Have Coffee hosted by Joanne Viola: Days and Thoughts, and others. The 2023 version of the Write 28 Days challenge is coming soon, for example, and I plan to participate on A Fresh Cup of Coffee.

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My Just A Second book blog will continue as usual, except that the Scripture and a Snapshot weekly link-up I've been hosting there will be moving to A Fresh Cup of Coffee. The two blogs will co-host for a few weeks to give others a chance to switch.

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I did not forget about an update on moving into the new house. Here are some photos of the progress - we started out about six weeks ago with this:

And now the dining room and living room look more like this:

I have pictures to put on the walls, but can't decide where they go until I get another loveseat or chair and a side table, and decide where those things go.

I finally have a new dresser in the bedroom, but haven't filled it yet, so the closet is still slightly chaotic (sorry - no photo of that!).

And the spare bedroom/office went from this:

to this:

So things are coming along!

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I hope you'll continue to enjoy your virtual coffee breaks with me here, or at A Fresh Cup of Coffee. Thank you especially to those of my readers that have stuck with me through the last few years of adjustments!

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.