Author Archives: Barb

The New Rainbow Resource Catalog is Here!

Posted on by
8

Yesterday was the annual event that always threatens to give the mailman a hernia: the arrival of the latest Rainbow Resource catalog 🙂

That’s right, over 1300 pages of homeschool books, curriculum and assorted goodies. I’ve been receiving Rainbow’s catalog for many years, but this one must be the biggest yet.

Especially exciting for me is that this is the first year The Imperfect Homeschooler’s Guide to Homeschooling has been in the print catalog. The review is on page 11:

If you’re going to take the time to read a book about homeschooling, don’t you want it to be the wholesome, practical advice of a mom who has “been there and done that?” Author Barbara Frank’s warm conversational tone leaves the reader of this book with the feeling that you’ve just finished a coffee chat where you’ve been able to ask all your questions and each was met with a knowing smile that implied she knew exactly what you were asking. And each was met with a no-frills answer that empowers the hearer rather than overwhelms. She covers all the basic topics – getting started, teaching techniques and specific subjects, covering the bases, and home organization. Two chapters were particularly helpful – overcoming obstacles and coping with challenges. In these she not only looks at personal habits that can get in the way but also personality-driven roadblocks. Don’t be fooled by the “plain Jane” cover or the lack of detailed information about homeschool philosophies or educational approaches readily available elsewhere; this is a must-have book that will help you start out or “regroup” your homeschool into a livable lifestyle. 192 pgs, pb. ~ Janice

Got your Rainbow Resource catalog yet? If you’ve never seen one, you can sign up here for a free copy. I’ve been buying from Rainbow for 20 years, and you can’t beat their prices or their service.

Letterman Should Be Fired

Posted on by
7

Imagine this:

“First Lady Michelle Obama took a second swipe at David Letterman on Wednesday, calling the CBS “Late Show” host’s jokes about one of her daughters “disgusting” and “sexually perverted.”

In an e-mailed statement, Obama said: “Laughter incited by sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 12-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/N.Y. entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands – that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone’s daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.”

Riffing on Obama’s trip to New York last weekend, Letterman joked Monday night that during the seventh inning of the Yankees game “her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.”

Letterman followed up on the line Tuesday night, joking that “the toughest part of her visit was keeping [former New York Gov.] Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter.”

“I doubt he’d ever dare make such comments about anyone else’s daughter,” the first lady added in her statement.

She responded to another Letterman line during a radio interview Tuesday, calling him “pathetic” for joking that she made a stop during her trip and “bought makeup at Bloomingdale’s to update her ‘slutty flight attendant look.'”

What do you think? Awful, isn’t it? What’s wrong with a man who publicly makes sexual references about the young daughter of a public figure? He should be fired.

Surprisingly, this hasn’t gotten much media coverage. You’d think it would. But maybe it’s because of who it happened to.

You see, David Letterman did do this on network television the past two nights, but not to Michelle Obama. He did it to Sarah Palin.

A Great Source for Homeschooling Supplies

Posted on by
7

Over the years I’ve spent a lot of money on new homeschooling books and curriculum, and it was worth it, no question. But I have to admit that I often found some of my best stuff while browsing at garage sales.

One year I saw an ad in the garage sale section of the newspaper classifieds that said, “Teacher retiring, many years’ worth of books and teaching supplies for sale.” I turned up in her driveway early the first day of the sale, and was it ever worth it! She had beautiful old textbooks, lots of children’s literature (mostly hardcover), and reproducible masters of worksheets from the 1960s that I couldn’t resist. I was like a kid in a candy store.

And how many times at other garage sales did I find unused workbooks, like-new boxes of flashcards and untouched educational games bought by well-meaning parents who planned to help their kids hone their skills over the summer or on weekends but never got around to it?

At garage sales, I’ve bought educational computer games, like-new art supplies and classic literature and movies (Moody science videos!) sold for pennies on the dollar. The beauty of all these purchases is that, once we were through with them, I resold them at my own garage sales.

These days, many support groups sponsor used curriculum sales, and I highly recommend them. But don’t forget to hit the garage sales, too. With money tight these days, finding something wonderful for a few bucks (or cents) can be very encouraging.

Improv Everywhere: A Clever Concept

Posted on by
3

My dd18 first showed me this video a while back. It was my introduction to Improv Everywhere, a group dedicated to spontaneous public performances and pranks. Check out their site for more of their hijinks.

This clever concept now has its imitators, not surprisingly. Here’s a very nicely done public performance in Belgium (you’ll especially enjoy this if you’re a fan of “The Sound of Music”):

Summer and Homeschooling

Posted on by
13

Do you homeschool during the summer? Some years we do, others we don’t. It depends on what’s going on with our family each year.

I enjoy both schedules, but I have to admit that summer is a great time to not think about homeschooling. Letting the whole family enjoy downtime gives everyone a break from the homeschool routine and gives me some breathing space. Besides, after being cooped up a lot during a very long winter, we’re really enjoying the beautiful weather.

This summer we won’t be doing school other than a weekly review for my son, who has developmental disabilities; there are just too many other things going on in our lives. But one thing I’ve learned in the past is that no matter how much I don’t want to think about homeschooling by the time June rolls around, come August I’ll be drooling over homeschool catalogs, hanging out at the teacher store and plotting my purchases.

So if you need the summer off, go ahead and take it. Let yourself be refreshed. You’ll have plenty of time to think about homeschooling later this summer.