tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22329480289121720392012-02-02T08:36:31.841-08:00Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-18992632873545363302012-01-31T10:30:00.000-08:002012-01-31T10:31:39.049-08:00

I am currently homeschooling three highschoolers and, as if the high level courses weren't enough to keep up with, I am spending a significant amount of time putting together transcripts for my two college-bound sons. One of the most exciting dicoveries I've made through this process is that many public highschools have their course descriptions posted online. It's exciting because I've come to

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-47117774085497986562012-01-31T06:57:00.000-08:002012-01-31T08:04:55.003-08:00

My older children have used both Exploring American History and Exploring World History by Ray Notgrass. I thought I did pretty good by purchasing most of their literature books through Paperback Swap. However, I've since found the majority of them are in the public domain and are available as ebooks for free. Even though I had a hard copy of the books, I still ended up downloading several of

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-83646149386688217862012-01-24T04:07:00.000-08:002012-01-24T04:17:55.672-08:00

Innocent fun or free photo op? In this age of digital media, it is easy to get confused about things like copyrights and rights to privacy. For instance, imagine you're out in public and someone snaps a picture of you or one of your adorable little offspring. In the space of one click your image became someone else's property, which they can post all over the web or turn into marketable

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-55993170409174091072011-11-21T09:04:00.000-08:002011-11-21T09:06:10.185-08:00

This activity is a fun way to gain a little familiarity with the periodic table. Click on the picture to download.

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-14993189440423284942011-10-29T11:13:00.000-07:002011-11-02T06:30:49.453-07:00

   I usually spend Saturdays preparing meals for Sunday. But, since I got most of my cooking done yesterday,  I had time to do a craft with CJ instead. I printed out the parts for a cute little owl using free templates from the Lakeshore Learning website. When my oldest daughter saw what we were doing, she said, "He's up to o already?" I explained to her that this not for his abc notebook, it

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-21285571435001181252011-10-17T13:26:00.000-07:002011-10-20T10:01:16.984-07:00

Our homeschool co-op is studying Virginia history this year. Since the co-op mothers also wanted to give our children a chance to improve their writing and speaking skills, we set things up a little differently this year. Rather than having one of the mothers teach the class, we are having the older children (11 and up) take turns giving a presentation to both their class and the younger class.

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-8048909086634656612011-10-13T07:51:00.000-07:002011-10-13T07:51:13.642-07:00

Taffy Apple Dip Recipe

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-11245680378026813982011-10-06T12:36:00.000-07:002011-10-06T12:36:35.697-07:00

When I saw this book on the shelf of my library I thought, "What in the world? Why would anyone read this." At first glance, it looked like a book full of black pages, with text on the left side and nothing on the right. And then I took a closer look.  Above every line of text was a line of Braille.   And on each "blank" page, was an "invisible" textured print illustrating part of

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-74602756514696480222011-09-22T20:44:00.000-07:002011-09-22T20:44:03.643-07:00

One of these days I'll get around to moving some of my blog posts over from my old blog. {I really haven't enjoyed blogging over there since they switched to Wordpress, and I don't like the way things look with the new ads they started using.} But since I seem to be in toddler mode right now, here is one post from last April with a few ideas for keeping toddlers busy. It's been a while since we

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-52341104161615396002011-09-22T13:44:00.000-07:002011-09-22T13:45:49.078-07:00

Here is another activity I put together to keep the toddler busy during school hours. I found this idea at Walking By the Way, the blog written by Ami of Homeschool Share. She even created a grid that you can download. But I don't have any colored ink in the printer right now and I wanted to use different colors than she did. So I made my own. All you need is some paint color sample cards, a

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-19394986311998657352011-09-12T08:12:00.000-07:002011-09-19T10:13:38.485-07:00

I had two problems. First, we were given a five pound bucket of white rice- leftovers from y2k. I know rice keeps for a long time, but the idea of eating food that is more than ten years old doesn't really appeal to me, especially since we try to avoid white rice anyway. Second, I have a two year old who needs to be kept busy while we are doing lessons. What to do? Why not dye the rice and let my

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-51628089635690765202011-08-29T12:40:00.000-07:002011-09-22T13:48:14.047-07:00

My two oldest boys will be doing Apologia's Chemistry this year and my 13 year old daughter will be doing Physical Science. Since both of the boys plan to go into science related fields, we place a lot of emphasis on this subject. I splurged a little and purchased each of them one of the slightly more expensive Avory binders with the clear cover that you can slide an insert into. Then I designed

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-29947867223409673012011-08-29T05:59:00.000-07:002011-08-29T06:57:33.138-07:00

Math notebooking is a little bit more difficult than notebooking a subject like science or history. I do tend to rely on textbooks and workbooks more often than not. But we do still sneak in some notebooking and living math on occasion. This year my 6 older children will be using The Life of Fred textbooks for mathematics. We really enjoy the way the author uses a storyline in these books

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-40708647623520163032011-08-29T05:54:00.000-07:002011-08-29T10:13:28.996-07:00

Notebooking has always played a large part in our homeschooling. I love how something so simple can still be versatile enough to work with a variety of curiculums and subjects. Notebooking gives me the flexibility I need to accomodate the various learning styles and personalities of my  large brood, without spending a fortune on curriculum and workbooks. Notebooking allows my children to exercise

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-23857573800603153682011-08-26T07:56:00.000-07:002011-10-27T08:23:22.665-07:00

I've been using memory clues to help my children remember the sounds of the alphabet since I started teaching the oldest one how to read. Since I've always associated the letter c with a birthday cake (minus one piece) I decided to depart from the example at Totally Tots for our letter c craft. My son had a great time coloring "fire" on a plain sheet of paper, from which I cut little flames

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-39920491497709804742011-08-12T11:17:00.000-07:002011-10-27T09:21:27.414-07:00

We won't be starting school for a couple more weeks, but that hasn't stopped me from working on a couple of projects with my two year old son. CJ is still a little young for phonics, but he's old enough to want to do what the older kids are doing. So when I saw the Crafty ABC's at Totally Tot's I decided we HAD to make our own. He really didn't do anything besides apply glue to the "a is for

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-50377443685865279902011-07-01T10:08:00.000-07:002011-07-01T12:38:58.431-07:00

It's Dollar Days at CurrClick and it's your opportunity to purchase Lilliput Station products at a great savings. Almost all our titles are marked down to $1.99 each! Our Medieval History notebook sets are on sale for $4.25 a set. That's a $3.00 savings! And our two brand new Math Notebooking sets are still on sale for $3.00. The sale ends on July 10th, so now's the time to stock up for next

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-30275123184899134412011-06-23T06:33:00.000-07:002011-06-23T06:33:52.355-07:00

 Includes fifteen pages dealing with various aspects of geometry.  Includes twenty-one pages dealing with various aspects of numbers and counting We have two new math notebooking sets for sale at Currclick, Geometry and Counting & Numbers. Regular price is $5.00, but they are currently on sale for $3.00! Here are a few examples of the Geometry pages, completed by my seven-year-old

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-20292023969775235502011-05-05T19:09:00.000-07:002011-05-05T19:09:56.748-07:00

 Purchase Memorial Day Minibooks from Currclick 

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-59940008637060011762011-03-10T09:05:00.000-08:002011-05-05T19:12:05.065-07:00

 A Pi pie created by Meg. See her profile on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/megpi/861969/  Pi Day is a holiday commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 (or 3/14 in month/day date format), since 3, 1 and 4 are the three most significant digits of π in the decimal form. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-87821342076152630652011-02-24T13:56:00.000-08:002011-02-24T13:56:02.421-08:00

A powerful earthquake struck New Zealand's already-bruised city of Christchurch on Tuesday, collapsing buildings, burying vehicles under debris and sending rescuers scrambling to help trapped people amid reports of multiple deaths. CurrClick and several publishers have teamed up to raise funds to aid those affected by this earthquake. Currclick has compiled a bundle of products donated by 27

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-60583050895883379682011-02-17T11:31:00.000-08:002011-02-17T11:31:21.999-08:00

I added a few things to the freebies page. There are a couple of schedules for next school year and some George Eastman minibooks. There are also a couple of new math notebooking pages. If you want more information on how we are using the notebooking pages, check out my newest Squidoo lens. It is a review of the book Go Figure! by Johnny Ball.

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-44681418567984182522011-01-11T13:52:00.000-08:002011-08-29T11:59:52.453-07:00

I've started a new blog to organize our family's favorite recipes. Please come see what's cooking at Lilliput Station. Lilliput Station Cooks

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-66674022974530595102011-01-11T08:24:00.000-08:002011-01-11T08:24:08.961-08:00

I didn’t set out to be a "Charlotte Mason Homeschooler." I’m not one of those moms who researched all the various methods before choosing the perfect one. In fact, following someone else’s method of teaching goes against what I believe is one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling- education which is tailored to the needs and styles of the learners. But over time I have discovered that many of

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-90397037726164376862011-01-11T08:21:00.000-08:002011-01-11T08:21:08.436-08:00

Oral narration is one of the most effective methods of education, and yet one of the simplest. In the past it has been refered to as the Socratic method. In the Church, it is known as catechising. But what is it? Narration basically involves asking questions and listening to the answers. When you are reading to your child or speaking to them about something, stop often to ask questions. Ask them

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-90460357453272297362011-01-11T08:16:00.000-08:002011-01-11T08:16:12.080-08:00

On my Squidoo page, Homeschooling, Six Things You Should Know, I remind mothers of the importance of continuing to be a MOTHER in the midst of all the teaching. This is something I often need to be reminded of myself, and recently God used one of my own blog posts to do this. August 28, 2007 I was sorting through some papers this morning and came across a few quotes I had collected on the

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-68795573208872062742010-11-22T07:34:00.000-08:002010-11-22T07:34:42.189-08:00

Head on over to Currclick during their A Season of Giving Sale where you'll find all Lilliput Station products on sale for 25% off. Plus, 5% of the profits from this sale will be donated to World Vision. You can also make your own donation of $2, $5, $10, or $20 to World Vision.

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-20087330509456167762009-06-19T12:54:00.000-07:002010-10-11T06:59:46.643-07:00

War of the Roses to the Spread of the Protestant Reformation One hundred and five pages covering more than fourty-eight people and events. This set includes notebook pages for each lesson, plus some coloring pages.

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-87175277918379766662009-03-07T12:25:00.001-08:002010-10-11T06:59:30.995-07:00

Pentecost To Fall of Rome Sixty-five pages covering twenty-one topics. This set includes notebook pages for each lesson and activity/ worksheet type pages for each lesson, plus some coloring pages. Daily Life In the Dark Ages to Alfred the Great Sixty-eight pages covering twenty-one topics. This set includes notebook pages for each lesson and activity/ worksheet type pages for each lesson,

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-16202407462817131972009-03-07T12:24:00.000-08:002010-10-11T06:59:18.433-07:00

Nursery Rhyme Notebook Notebook pages with black and white illustrations. Lined, unlined, and primary lined pages for 30 popular nursery rhymes including: Humpty Dumpty, Simple Simon, Mary Mary Quite Contrary, I'm A Little Teapot, Mary Had A Little Lamb, Hey Diddle Diddle, There Was An Old Woman, Jack and Jill, Rub A Dub Dub, Wee Willie Winkie, Ole King Cole, Twinkle Twinkle, The Queen of Hearts,

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-47064937396224869152009-01-26T11:47:00.000-08:002010-10-11T06:59:05.189-07:00

Creation To Gideon Sixty-nine pages covering twenty-seven topics. This set includes notebook pages for each lesson and activity or coloring pages for each lesson. The Ten Plagues Coloring Book This coloring book includes a cover page and a page for each plague with picture and KJV verse related to the plague. There is also a page with a minibook that can be added to a Bible lapbook. Great

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-64758330801753963272008-02-16T06:43:00.000-08:002011-01-11T07:23:40.928-08:00

Mothers too often use their busy schedules to excuse themselves from any mental excersize. But just as muscles atrophy without use, so a mind that is not excersized soon turns to mush. Continuing to learn new things will not only benefit your family by making you better equipped to fulfil your duties, but it will also send a message to your children that learning is not just something one is

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-34592641664874113092008-01-22T06:18:00.000-08:002010-10-11T06:58:31.531-07:00

Let's face it, life is hard. There are people all around in need of encouragement. But how often in life do we really take time to tell those around us that we love them? How often do we neglect the opportunities we have to be an encouragement to others simply because we don't know how? And yet, we as Christians are commanded to minister encouragement to others: Therefore encourage each other

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-69497327909191530292007-08-02T11:10:00.000-07:002010-10-11T06:58:13.058-07:00

Have you noticed lately how it seems as if everyone is training their daughters for careers? Even the daughters who desire to be wives and mothers spend most of their time preparing for something else, just in case. The idea of a woman being on her own has become the norm, both for Christians and non-Christians, when really it should be seen as something which rarely occurs, and that under less

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-50262151454476446592007-07-05T11:15:00.000-07:002010-10-11T06:57:56.411-07:00

We've been "notebooking" almost as long as we've been homeschooling, yet it was only a couple of years ago that I realized it had a name. But I've got to be honest with you: I really don't like the name. While "notebooking" is technically a good description for what we do, it's only a good description if you already know what you are doing. You can't just walk up to someone and say "Yes, we use

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-11144812486499303702007-07-05T11:02:00.000-07:002011-01-11T07:42:19.647-08:00

I've noticed a common theme among questions asked by those new to homeschooling. For lack of a better title, I'll call them "should I" questions. Should I use this curriculum? Should I do notebooking or stick with workbooks? Do you think my seven year old should be reading by now? What should I do when my kid won't sit still? I find it puzzling that someone would ask me what is best for their

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-62356701534196041912007-07-05T10:54:00.000-07:002010-10-11T06:57:26.739-07:00

Even though homeschooling has become somewhat "normal" these days, it still receives more than a normal share of attention. Questions about legality and socialization have been replaced with questions about ability. "How will you teach them when they get to highschool?" "You must be really smart. I don't think I'm smart enough to teach my children." "You must have a lot of patience." I hear these

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232948028912172039.post-23688290286359195172007-07-05T10:52:00.000-07:002010-10-11T06:57:04.775-07:00

Our time has come, the pressure is on. We look back and remember how many times our mothers told us that we needed to do a little bit better, try a little bit harder and behave ourselves in public because we were home schoolers and we had to prove ourselves to the world. And we have! Home schooled children have consistently done better on achievement tests and have excelled in all areas,

Melissa Tellinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10285808638728829759noreply@blogger.com0