(on) The Road (to becoming a) Scholar: May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

Live Blogging at the MN Catholic Home Educators Conference

We are at the blogger's chat at Minnesota Catholic Home Educator's Conference. What a great turn out!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

In Praise of the Blogger Mobile App and iOS 6.x

I wanted to take just a few minutes to tell you how impressed I am with the Blogger Mobile App and iOS 6.X using my iPhone. I created the last blog post in about two minutes using the camera on my iPhone, Siri and the Blogger Mobile App. This is a great opportunity for people that have special needs to use technology to be able to communicate to the rest of the world. So easy, so powerful!
And I dictated both blog posts, then edited with the keyboard.

Games For Learning

My daughter and I took a trip to the Dollar Store to see what we could get inexpensively to make games. We love making games at our house and my daughter is the chief maker. Enjoy our little video visit.

Here is our local store. We found almost every supply we needed from poster board to stickers, page protectors to markers! They also had flash cards, workbooks to use for designs and coloring books.

So if you come to my workshop expect to here the praises of the Dollar Store and I will show some more pictures. I promise!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Short Blog Vacation

Folks, pray for me. I volunteered to take on our church's Catholic Vacation Bible School program which usually has 200+ participants and 40+ volunteers. It takes place in less than two months and I need to get things organized.

And, I am preparing for the Minnesota Catholic Home Educator's Conference where I will be giving my Beginning Homeschool talk and my Games for Learning talk. I will also be facilitating the Special Needs discussion.

My dance card is full at the moment, so I will have to declare a blog vacation for a short time. I will be back when I can come up for air!

God bless you all!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Catholic Readers

Brand new - Old books!

Folks, it has come to my attention that I have been disappointing my audiences with a lack of good CATHOLIC material. I intend to correct that situation immediately!

I have been pouring over the free books at books.google.com and have found a wealth of Catholic school books! I think one of the most exciting finds is that there are ENTIRE series of readers available from Primer level to Fifth level (middle school). They are FREE. They are Catholic. What more could you ask? Because they are public domain, you can download them and then print them (have you ever seen FinePrint?) OR read them on your tablet or PC.

The three I recommend are:
Young Catholic's Illustrated Readers by the Catholic Publication Society
The Ideal Catholic Readers by Sister Mary Domitilla
Standard Catholic Readers by Mary E. Doyle

They are filled with virtue stories, biographies of Bishops, Saints and Martyrs, science and history. Enjoy!

The Road Scholar

Cathie and her husband are blessed with six children and have home educated them since 2003. Before children, Cathie developed curricula and taught classes for adults around the world on a variety of topics in the computer industry at the corporate and technical school level. She loves to develop curricula, teach homeschool co-op classes and organize book clubs. For five years, she held board positions on a large homeschool support group such as general coordinator, membership coordinator and advisory member.

Workshops, Presentations and Seminars

To arrange a presentation for your homeschool group or convention contact me here.

Topics:

Beginning Homeschooling - Beyond the Basics

Are you new to homeschooling? Where do you start? How do you ensure a very good (not just adequate) homeschooling experience, especially in that important first year? This practical how-to session will help you determine the appropriate first steps on your homeschooling adventure. We'll talk about picking a curriculum, scheduling and strategies for developing an independent child as well as strengthening your family and social relationships.

Get Your Game On!
Using EASY, Almost No-Fuss Games to Help Keep Learning Fun

Kids love games and so much is gained by playing games: learning to taking turns, good sportsmanship, patience and development of relationships. By using games, we can tailor to the needs of the child - not just academically, but socially, too. Come join in the fun yourself and learn how easy it is to put together games for your children—and you don't have to be creative to do it, either! Besides learning how, you will walk away with instructions, tips and resources to make your own games at home.

How to Get Your Kids to See the Light (or Feel it or Hear it)!

Teaching different learning modalities requires different tactics. Learn how to determine which modality your child uses and find ways to present material so that it sticks the first time, especially if it is different than your own learning modality.

This Old Schoolhouse

The school marms and school masters of yesteryear taught several children at different levels and formed many of our favorite American heroes. We will look back at how those school marms ran their one room schools and take some tips on making our school days more successful. We’ll talk about schedules, curriculum, discipline, independence, character development and motivation for the one room school in your home.

Socrates Meets Homeschool Mom

If Socrates could teach you one thing, it would be to use his method (the Socratic Method) for literary analysis. This presentation addresses the fundamentals of literary interpretation from within the accessible world of children’s literature, so even young students can easily identify the language of literary analysis. As they mature they will readily spot these fundamentals in more difficult works, enriching both their understanding of the literature and their appreciation for the author’s handiwork. Learn the aspects of literary analysis and how to help kids appreciate and find the meaning in all the great books they read.

The Motivation Myth

What do sticker charts, time-outs and spelling bees have in common? They are examples of “Carrots and Sticks.” Over the last 40 years, study after study has shown that "Carrots and Sticks" don't work for long term motivation, especially when thought is required in the process. How are you motivating and inspiring your kids to study, do chores and reach goals? Learn about what truly motivates kids, how to mentor them and help them become successful in their endeavors. I will dispel the myths and reveal truths about human motivation and mindset. And here’s a hint. It’s you, not them. I hope you will join me to find out what that means.