Saturday, May 31, 2008

Quick reminder

Deadline for submissions for next carnival is in two days. I only have one submission yet! Spread the word.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Call for submissions for 7th Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival

If all goes well the next edition of the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival will be posted Tuesday June 3, with the deadline for submissions being Monday June 2.

If you need inspiration on a topic to write about, how about sharing about your favorite homeschooling resources - magazines, books, curriculum, people, etc.

As always this topic is merely a suggestion, not a requirement. Please be sure to read the submission guidelines in the side bar.

Please help spread the word about the call.

You may have noticed a new black button in the sidebar of this page. It's a blidget promo badge saying you can get my blog as a widget. This is a new feature I discovered while blog hopping this week and I thought it was really neat.

I have placed the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival blog as a widget on my personal blog. You can check out my blog to see what it's like. Basically it's a widget in the side bar of my blog that shows the headings of the different posts on the blog. Clicking on the widget will bring you to the carinval blog. It's a great way to promote the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival.

If you click on the black promo button in the side bar on this page you are taken to a page where you can get the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival Blog as a widget to put on your blog. You can even change the color of it to better suit your blog. Check it out and see what you think. Leave a comment letting me know if you add it to your blog so that I can check it out.

Now, back to the call. Deadline for submissions is June 2nd. Hope to hear from you before then!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

6th Edition of the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival

We have an exciting trip planned for today with very interesting visits. Let's get started!

We'll start in British Columbia and drop in to visit with Rosina as she excitedly proclaims "Our Butterfly Larvae Arrived" and proceeds to show us everything that came in the package. How exciting!

Next we're off to Alberta for our first visit with actual homeschoolers there! I'm so excited!

First we'll stop in and visit Jennifer, a new comer to the carnival and homeschooling, as she tells us about the regulations and funding available in her province, but that for her there's No Funding This Year, Homeschooling in Alberta as she waits for her oldest to be old enough to be eligible for it.

Before we leave Alberta we'll pop over to visit with Heather, another new comer to the carnival, though not to homeschooling, as she tells us It Was a Winderful Day with lots of challenges recently during an outdoor performance of the military band she and her husband enjoy being members of.

Next we're off to Saskatchewan to visit with Julia as she tell us she sometimes suffers An Identity Crisis as she is reminded of all the things she is not good at, but she's decided not to concentrate on that but to focus on the things that do bring her enjoyment, even if they may sound boring to others.

We skip over Manitoba this trip, as we didn't have any invitations to visit there, so our next stops are in Ontario where we've been invited for a repeat visit and a visit with a newcomer.

Our first stop in Ontario is with Jackie as she shares how she took a year off homeschooling to Get A Life and discovered she liked the life she had when she was homeschooling better, so she's back at it, but she still has a part time job and singing to juggle with her homeschooling.

Next we're off for a first visit with Janet, Homeschool mom of 12 and grandmother of 14, as she asks Don't you love it when a plan comes together? and shares how her faith is boosted by seeing God order the ordinary things of their day to work together.

Unfortunately we have no invitations from Quebec so we travel non stop through the province and head for New Brunswick, where we've been invited for the first time.

Our next stop is in New Brunsick for a first time visit with Andrea, self proclaimed "home educating work at home country frugal back to land kind of mom". Just one of the many things on this busy lady's plate is running homeschooljournal. She share with us "How I do it all and says a very flexible routine, a to-do list, not a master schedule, and everyone pulling together makes it possible. I like her philosophy!

No side trip to Prince Edward Island this time as we have no invitations there this trip. Maybe next time.

In Nova Scotia we drop in to visit with Dawn as she tells us "My Life...It's Homeschooling" and explains how homeschooling is so intertwined with her life that there seems to be no division even while participating in a community choir, doing a course, drawing, blogging, etc.

Next we're off to Newfoundland and Labrador for our last two visits.

First we'll stop in and visit Carla as she explains that she doesn't often get askedWhat do you do in your spare time?? because everyone can see she keeps quite busy with homeschooling 4 children and enjoying all the different things that interest her - scrapbooking, cake decorating, reading. cooking, baking, reading, gardening. She's one busy lady!

Our last visit is with Linda where she entices us with More Chocolate as she shows us lots of pictures of the wonderful creations she makes out of chocolate and tells how she learned to make chocolate and how working with chocolate fits so well into her day.

And that ends this edition of the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival. Thank you to each of you that invited us to visit, and also to each of you that came along for the trip. I think I'll stay at Linda's for a while and enjoy some chocolate. Hopefully we'll see you all again next week for another trip across Canada as we visit with Homeschooling families along the way.

I will be posting a call for the next edition tomorrow, so be sure to check back for that.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Call for 6th Edition

The next edition of the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival will be posted May 27, with the deadline for submission being May 26.

If you need inspiration on a topic to write about, how about sharing about your life outside of homeschooling. Do you have a hobby or pasttime that you enjoy? Tell us about it. Do you have a job or business that you have to fit into your homeschooling lifestyle? Tell us what you do and how you do it.

As always this topic is merely a suggestion, not a requirement. Please be sure to read the submission guidelines in the side bar.

Please help spread the word about the call.

I am adding blogs to the side bar as I get permission to do so. In order to have your blog included in the side bar you must be featured in an edition of the Carnival. You will notice that presently there are a number of provinces that do not have any blogs listed. I am waiting for permission from some previous participants to include their blog in the list. Some provinces I have had no submissions for. Be sure that your province is represented in the list - submit a post for the next edition, or if you have already been featured in an edition let me know that you don't mind your blog being included in the list.

I look forward to reading your submissions.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

5th Edition of the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival

Are you ready for our 5th trip across our country as we visit with home schooling families along the way? We have to do a bit of province hopping this time around as we didn't get invitations to visit in all provinces, but we'll still have some fun. Let's go!

We're going to leave from my house, Jacqueline, in Newfoundland and I'm going to share about the support groups I've had the privilege to be a part of, because We all need somebody to lean on.

Before we leave Newfoundland we'll drop in to visit with Linda as she shares with us that her about her Homeschooling Support and tells us that her biggest support came from the internet through online discussion groups.

Hopping over to Nova Scotia we'll drop in on Michelle as she shares her Thoughts on how her faith brings her through some rough times.

We'll stop in to visit with Dawn before we leave Nova Scotia as she tells us about My Homeschool Mentors and has a revelation while she shares with us! Check it out.

Next we'll hop over to Ontario and visit with Mama Squirrel as she tells us a story In which Crayons reaches the high-water mark of Year One and shares about some favorite books in Ambleside Online's Year One.

When we leave there we'll hop over to vist with Julia in Saskatchewan as she tells us about how her Homeschool Support locally seems to change each year, so she's thankful for the many different online support groups and blogs to carry her through.

Our next, and last hop, is into British Columbia to visit with Rosina where we'll check out A Robin's Nest her family has been enjoying watching. They discovered the nest in a hanging basket right outside their window and they have a perfect view of it and have great pictures to share.

I don't know about you, but I've really enjoyed this hop across the country, though it would have been nice to not have had to make such long hops without stops in some places. :)

Thank you to each of you for the invitations to visit with you this week. We look forward to visiting with each of you again.

Also thank you to each of you that participated in the poll last week. The majority of people liked the idea of the drop down menu and nobody was against it so I will be working on getting that in place this week.

I don't know if any of you noticed, but I've created a new graphic for the Carnival. I really didn't like the big old button that I first made so I've been anxious to change it. I finally got it all worked out today. If you had already added the button to your blog you don't need to worry about changing it because I worked it so that it automatically changed to the new one wherever the old one was posted.

The next edition of the carnival will be posted May 27th, with the deadline for submissions being May 26th. I will post a call, with a suggested theme tomorrow, so be watching for it and please help spread the word.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Call for Submissions for 5th Edition

Our next Canadian Home Educating Blog Carnival trip is planned for May 20th, with the deadline for submissions being May 19th, though I don't really know why I bother to set deadlines because the fact of the matter is that I will accept submissions right up to the time I post. The earlier I get them the easier it is on me to get the edition posted on time. I sure hope we get more invitations to visit with more Canadian home educators all across the province this time around.

As a kind of extension on the suggested theme for the last edition, this edition I'd like to hear more about the different support systems that are available for Canadian Home Educators. Tell us about your local support groups, if you have any, or about any online support systems that have helped you on your homeschooling journey. You may have already written a post about this. If so, send along a link to it. If not, maybe you will find the time in the next week to write a post and send in the link.

Once again, the suggested theme is simply that, a suggestion, not a limitation. if you'd rather send a post along a totally different line feel free to do so. We'd just like an invitation to visit with you for a while.

Please take the time to answer the poll in the side bar. I'd like to add a new feature to the side bar of this blog, like a feature that you can see in the side bar of the Canadian Scrappers Blog Carnival. You can check out what I'm talking about on that blog if you like. Basically I'd like to add drop down menus in the right hand side bar of the blog and list the blogs of the people that have participated in the Carnival sorted according to the province they are residing in. I will not add this feature unless it is something that the readers think is a good idea, and even if most of the readers do like the idea and it does get added, anyone that didn't want their blog listed would just have to let me know. I already had the poll up for a week but only had two people vote. I've decided to extend the poll for another week.

I'd love it if you'd leave a quick comment if you stop by and please continue to help get the word out about the carnival. If you have any questions or suggestions you can either post them in the comments below or email canadianscrapbookerscarnival@gmail.com

4th Edition of Canadian Home Educators Carnival

First of all, apologies for being a little late with this edition. Life has been crazy around here and I've been doing a fair bit of real life travel, from one side of our island to the other, and it's cut into my travel time on the internet. :) I also kept hoping that more submissions would come in, but I've finally decided to post this Island only edition. :)

We've only been invited to visit with island living Canadian homeschoolers this edition - two in Newfoundland and one in Prince Edward Island. This is our first invitation to visit PEI. Hopefully it won't be our last.

We'll start this trip with Linda in Newfoundland. She and her family are enjoying Nature's Traveling Art Gallery as they admire the icebergs that are passing by their house. I couldn't help but think about Linda when I was traveling from one end of the island to another and I kept an eye out for icebergs to tell her about.

Before we live the island we'll stop in at my place for a while and I'll tell you about My Homeschooling Mentors - two ladies that have played an important role in my homeschooling journey.

Next we hop over to another beautiful Canadian Island and visit with Molytail in PEI while she also tells us about her Homeschool Mentor who just so happens to live on an island half a world away from her.

And so ends our very short island trip in this edition of the Carnival. Thank you to Linda and Molytail for inviting us to visit.

Be watching for the call for submissions for the next edition very shortly.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Call for submissions for 4th Carnival

Since a little more than half of the responders to the poll last week said that they would like to see topics assigned for the editions of the carnival, an attempt will be made to do so. If anyone has ideas for possible topics for upcoming editions feel free to share them in either the comments or through email. I'd love some help in coming up with topics. Although topics will be suggested, you will not be limited to only sending posts on the topic suggested. The topics are simply to give people ideas on things to write about, not to limit what does get written about.

In light of upcoming Mother's Day my mind has been on Homeschooling Mothers or Mentors. Do you have a mentor or someone that encouraged or inspired you to began to home school, or someone that is inspiring or encouraging you to continue in your homeschooling? Why not write a post about it? Please, however, be respectful of people's privacy. Do not use a person's full name without asking permission to do so.

That brings up something else I've been meaning to address. I tend to use first names in the carnival. If you would rather I not use your name, but refer to you by a sort of "pen name" or just use your blog name, I am quite happy to oblige. Just let me know your preferences in your email with your submission.

Along the same lines, I have been organizing the submissions according to the province that the posters are residing it. I realize that some people value their privacy and that this may be a deterent to some people participating. If anyone would like to participate but would rather not have their residing province indicated I am again happy to oblige. Once again simply let me know your preferences in your email.

I will be posting a new poll shortly. I'd like to add a new feature to the side bar of this blog, like a feature that you can see in the side bar of the Canadian Scrappers Blog Carnival. You can check out what I'm talking about on that blog if you like. Basically I'd like to add drop down menus in the right hand side bar of the blog and list the blogs of the people that have participated in the Carnival sorted according to the province they are residing in. I will not add this feature unless it is something that the readers think is a good idea, and even if most of the readers do like the idea and it does get added, anyone that didn't want their blog listed would just have to let me know. The poll will be up for a week.

Now, back to the call. :) The next edition of the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival will be posted May 12th. Deadline for submission is May 10th. Please be sure to read the submission guidelines in the right hand side bar.

Monday, May 5, 2008

3rd Edition of the Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival

Welcome to the 3rd edition of the Canadian Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival!

In our journey across the country this time around we have a number of places to visit on each end of the country and one lone place to visit in the middle of the country. Ready! Let's start the trip.

First we stop off in Newfoundland where we have three visits to make.

The Robinson Family share a gorgeous picture of a bird that they recently discovered is a Mourning Dove.

Linda's family moved to Newfoundland a few months back and she tells us about Making Friends - Jake Style. Her son sure blows the myth about homeschoolers lacking socialization skills.

This time around I am sharing a recent Fun Get Together homeschoolers in a part of Central Newfoundland had as we celebrated National Wildlife week.

Now we skip over to Nova Scotia where we have a couple of visits to make.

Betty suggests alternatives to Robert Munsch in her post Book Look.

Penelope shares some wonderful pictures and a write up about how her family celebrated Earth Day.

Next we make a short stop in Ontario to visit with MamaSquirrel. She tells us how You know you're a homeschooler when...they HAVE to hear the Real Thing instead of a shortened version of a classic.

This time around we didn't get any invitations to visit in the next few provinces so we fly right over them and head to British Columbia for our last three visits.

Miranda shares a wonderful post about how homeschooling allows her children to experience the Real World and use their musical talents to bring comfort to someone needing it.

Rosina invites us for a quick check in at two of her blogs. On the Huber Hof Academy homeschool blog she shares details, pictures, and video if their ongoing Chicken Mummy Experiment. At the Nature Notes from Above blog she tells about Butterfly Larvae and Free Butterfly Unit Study.

Cheryl shares her thoughts on a text they used to study Marine Biology and shows pictures of the neat project they made following the text's instructions to Make an Ocean Box during their studies.

And that brings an end to this edition's visit with home educators across our country. I don't know about you, but I really enjoy this little glimpse into the homeschooling lives of people all around the nation. Thank you to each of you that invited us to visit. Be sure to take a moment to let people know that you visited. It would even be neat to let them know what province you are in so that we can see where the different visitors are from.

I'd also like to thank those of you that have already partcipated in the polls I have posted on the blog. It is encouraging to know that others think this is a worthwhile venture.

I will be posting a new poll and a call for submissions for the next edition shortly, hopefully before the day is through. I'd love to hear from as many of you as possible.

Please help spread the word about the carnival and hopefully we'll see you all again in the next one. Happy Home Schooling!