I have really been enjoying the Ultimate Homeschool Expo. Yesterday we had 5 great chats. The two that were the best were called "Homeschooling a Developmentally Challenged Child" and "Father-Led Home Education: The Pathway to Freedom for Weary Moms." The first one I listened to because I know the speaker, but I did not think I would get to much out of it because my children are not developmentally challenged. Boy was I wrong. It seems, the chats I do not think I need are the ones that touch me the most, both educationally and spiritually. It was just wonderful.. Get you ticket so you can hear them both. The launch of the UHSE site is only one day away... GET YOUR TICKET TODAY... or at least come check out todays free previews to convince you of the "Ultimateness" of this event!

Get your ticket here:

http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=hsmomof4&pid=1

Hey!

I just got an email from my friend, Cindy Rushton. She is "pumped" about her upcoming Ultimate Homeschool Expo. Actually, she is so "pumped" that she has just shared a sneak peek into her Membership Site.

You see one of the neat things about the Ultimate Homeschool Expo is that everything is ONLINE. Cindy builds a private, exclusive Membership Site that includes everything from the UHSE in one place--it has audios (from all of the sessions and from the bonus gifts that her speakers give to us), ebooks, complete unit study guides, articles, printable notebooking pages, cookbooks, on and on. I can't believe all of the things that we receive for only $40. It is truly ULTIMATE!

Anyway, back to the reason that I am sharing with you...

Cindy just sent me permission to give you a sampler of one of her free gifts that is included on the Membership Site. I am so excited to give it to you! It is a audio that she actually sells on her website, but she is giving away on the Membership Site. Here is the link:

Scheduling ABC’s Audio Workshop with Cindy Rushton

Let Cindy take you by the hand and show you secrets to
developing a schedule that works for you and your family!

Download by Mp3
http://tinyurl.com/2cpsb9


Isn't that FUN?

You know the saying that a picture captures a thousand words,well...what about a a gift like this??? And, just think...this is only ONE of the awesome gifts included on the Membership Site. There are hundreds more!

Take my word for it, you will WANT a ticket to this event and access to all of the wonderful resources. Grab your ticket here:

http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=hsmomof4&pid=1



and here is an article from Cindy for you to read (reprinted with permission)

It is Spring! Why Not Begin a Science Notebook?
by Cindy Rushton

http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=hsmomof4&pid=1

Today being inside just tortures me! It is STUNNING outside! Even the little birds are begging us to go outside.

Are you like me, dying from "cabin fever" and ready for spring? This is the perfect time to begin Nature Notebooks! Not only will you have an abundance of treasures awaiting your exploration, but these are perfect days to try something fresh. Ready? Let me help…

Chances are you already have many things that could be included in a Science Notebook around your home. Look for those "goodies" that do not have their own special place and add them to your Science Notebooks. This is the perfect opportunity to develop "a place" for those "goodies" while developing a nice product for displaying all the growing knowledge of nature all while your children are keeping special memorabilia! One of the things that I like about using supplies intended for scrapbooking is that there are so many products that enable us to keep bulky materials safely inside of our notebooks. Not to mention, scrapbooking makes EVERY notebook so much cuter! J And…to imagine that we call this "school!"

Want some ideas of things to include in your notebooks???

· Sketches...Don’t forget to include date, time, place, Latin name, and common name. Oh! Don’t forget to document where you found it.

· Snapshots…Don’t forget to journal about your snapshot!

· Pressed flowers, leaves, feathers, butterflies, etc.

· Glossary of terms studied…

· Artwork… (Nature art, original drawings, coloring pages…)

· Diagrams…

· Poetry…

· Information about discoveries…

· Lists of new findings…

· Handouts from trips…

· Narrations from trips, outings, hikes, nature walks, books read about nature or scientists/naturalists…

· Timeline…Mark your excursions, inventions, famous men and women, so on!

· Instruction Sheets on "How to Care for..." or "How to Collect..." etc.

· Booklets...

· Project data...

· Bible verses...

· Journal entries…

· Details from outings…

· Favorite quotes about nature…

· Reading list…

· Research...

· Reports...

· Essays…

· Science experiment logs…

· Notes from any Science study…

You can add a lot of life to your Science Notebooks with special supplies you find along the way! I have found that the little touches have made our notebooks so much more fun and in the process hooked my children.

Encourage your children to use die-cuts, frames, stencils, shapes, and edgings galore to make their notebooks fun and beautiful! My children now beg each weekend to work on our binders/scrapbooks. We have taken these simple skills into other projects for our Science studies such as creating books or booklets…making cards with pressed flowers, sketches, poetry and Scripture verses…and displaying our collections. The key is to just have fun and enjoy making your notebooks all yours!

Happy Notebooking!

Cindy

**************************************************

About Cindy Rushton…

Cindy Rushton is the hostess of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo, the very first online homeschool convention. She is recording Preview Chats for the Ultimate Homeschool Convention RIGHT NOW! Join her wonderful guests FREE for the next weeks as they count down to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo (April 28-May 3, 2008--BUT! NEVER ENDING because it is an ONLINE Convention!). Get your ticket NOW and receive her awesome A Quick Start for Notebooking Mini-Set FREE today! Check out all of the details here:

http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=hsmomof4&pid=1
Sincerely Yours,
Debbie

Spring

We have been really enjoying the spring weather here on the east coast, especially at a local estate and garden where we have a membership. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.

Crocuses

Pansies

Daffodils

Magnolia (large white tree on right)

The estate had handouts of the flowers that were currently blooming in the gardens and we made them into a mini book for our Biomes/Plants/Animals lapbooks.

I will put pictures of our lapbooks in soon.
Have a Blessed Day!
Debbie

Henty

I love to read aloud to my sons for History. One of our favorite authors is G.A. Henty. I would love to have a complete set of G.A. Henty novels. I have not been able to afford them. You can find a complete list, in chronological order, here... http://www.robinsonbooks.com/henty-dates.phtml I always check my Henty list to see which titles are coming up soon and then I downloaded them have them ready for read aloud. Because they are available online it has been hard to justify buying them, but I would like to because then they could be read individually as well as for read aloud.


Henty's books are great for History, especially for boys, because they are Historical Fiction, about events in History, told in a story form, with great heroes, that have good morals. It not only teaches about the event in history but gives the boys someone to look up to, to admire, to strive to be like in some way. The heroes are brave, courageous, defend the weak, and sometimes come to the rescue of "damsels in distress".

There are a bunch of pdf, and other downloads, online here... http://www.archive.org/index.php search by specific title it is easier.

I like the above site better because you can download pdf's

but you can also get the books here as a text file... http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/h#a1032
scroll down the H page until you get to Henty.

You can also get audio's of some books, check here: http://librivox.org/
just search for Henty, two are available now, more may come later.

I hope this is a help to you in your homeschool journey.
Debbie Phillips

Free Gift from Cindy Rushton of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo

Hey!

I just got an email from my friend, Cindy Rushton. She is "pumped" about her upcoming Ultimate Homeschool Expo. Actually, she is so "pumped" that she has just shared a sneak peek into her Membership Site.

You see one of the neat things about the Ultimate Homeschool Expo is that everything is ONLINE. Cindy builds a private, exclusive Membership Site that includes everything from the UHSE in one place--it has audios (from all of the sessions and from the bonus gifts that her speakers give to us), ebooks, complete unit study guides, articles, printable notebooking pages, cookbooks, on and on. I can't believe all of the things that we receive for only $40. It is truly ULTIMATE!

I have been attending her Ultimate Homeschool Expo Preview Chats. Talk about great! They are just A-m-A-z-I-n-G...or shall I say ULTIMATE?

There is truly "no stone unturned" with this convention. Every topic you could fathom is being addressed.

Wonder what it is all about? Oh! Let me share what Cindy is doing...

For a long time, Cindy has had a vision of setting up a homeschool convention online. When she began teaching her Talk-a-Latte Online Seminars, she knew that she had everything in place to go for the dream. So, last year she gave it a try to host the very first Ultimate Homeschool Expo. It was so fantastic. But, even that event pails in comparison to this year's event. It is truly the ULTIMATE event. Now, we are counting down the days until the big event!

Well, we say till the big event, but Cindy is actually offering Preview Chats featuring her 2008 speakers. Those are free each week. If you have never joined an online class, don't toss this offer! Join us--I will be there! You will love it!

Each session features a free seminar by one of the speakers. You can listen to the speaker on your computer or you can also "text chat" with other moms.

Anyway, back to the reason that I am sharing with you...

A Quick Start for Notebooking Mini-Set!

Need ideas for encouraging your young writers and QUICK? Ready for a FUN way to encourage your most reluctant writer to write AND like it??? This fun-filled, hands-on workshop is one that you simply CANNOT miss!! Cindy Rushton, who has become known through the years as THE BINDER QUEEN, uses Notebooking for EVERYTHING! She will show you how to begin whether your child is a toddler or the most skeptical high schoolers. This workshop is sure to light a fire that will equip YOU to help your children deepen their studies and document learning all along the way! TOPICS FOR THIS WORKSHOP INCLUDE: Hey! Do I Have A Chance At This??; Why On Earth Notebook???; Down to the Nitty Gritty...WHAT Do I Need and HOW Do I Do It?; Step-by-Step Through Notebooking; Scrapbooking! YES! You CAN Have Fun Homeschooling; Hey? What is Legal? What All Goes Into A Notebook???; Developing FUN Studies That Teach and Inspire!!; Copywork...Answers to ALL of Your Questions; Taking the Writer From Reluctant to Researching; Ideas, Ideas, Ideas, There’s Gotta Be One for You; PLUS Much, Much More! PLUS! Cindy doesn't stop with the workshop, she also includes the Q/A Session after the workshop AND her handouts/samples of student notebooks. Awesome!

Let’s Try Notebooking Audio Mp3:
(Cindy's Workshop)
http://www.cindysdesktop.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/TALNotebookingPartOne.mp3

(Questions and Answers)
http://www.cindysdesktop.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/TALNotebookingPartTwo.mp3

Handouts:
http://www.cindyrushton.com/Ebooks/LetsTryNotebooking!.pdf

Samples of Student Notebooks:
http://www.cindyrushton.com/Ebooks/SamplesofStudentNotebooks.pdf


Isn't that FUN?

You know the saying that a picture captures a thousand words,well...what about a a gift like this??? And, just think...this is only ONE of the awesome gifts included on the Membership Site. There are hundreds more!

Take my word for it, you will WANT a ticket to this event and access to all of the wonderful resources. Grab your ticket here:

http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=hsmomof4&pid=1

Sincerely Yours,
Debbie

Welcome!

This is the future site of "Debbies Digest" where you will see helpful information about homeschooling, family, and just about anything. Stop back in the next few days to hear more about me.

-Debbie