The Homeschool Handbook is an online magazine, which is free for your perusal. Filled with resources, support & inspiration for a successful at home education & lifestyle. You can also view the previous editions.

Find the home page at Homeschool Handbook

The Homeschool Handbook™ has a goal - to present articles written by established authors in the homeschooling and educational fields that maintain an independent viewpoint and enrich the homeschool life style.

Features articles in the following categories: Solutions, Lifestyle, Organisation, Health & Hearth, Curriculum, Christian Corner, extra curricula Activities, Special Features and more!

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Theresa Lode and I have been online friends for about five years. Not only is Theresa a fellow homeschooling ‘mom’ to three, she is witty and ridiculously funny. But wait, there’s more! She is also a writer, amongst many other things. And she has written a book or two on parenting the ADHD child.

But wait, there’s even more!

Theresa is also incredibly generous. And she has given us a copy of her 26 page ebook to give away to our readers.

How To Win Your Free Copy of A Parent to Parent Chat on ADHD

• You have to be a registered member of the AussieHomeschool community website.
• Leave a comment on this post- use your AH member-name so we’ll know how to contact you.
• The winner will be notified by email, so make sure you type it correctly in the comment box.
• A winner will be drawn on Friday, 18th May 2012

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Theresa shares a little of their own personal journey as well as gives some down to earth and practical tips that she has learned along the way. This book is not for those wanting an official report on ADD or ADHD. Rather it is for the parent who wants to understand the condition a little more and gain real life ways to help the family flourish.

Theresa is a home educating mother but her ebook will not heap condemnation upon you if you don’t homeschool. Theresa writes in her humorous, bright and sparky way that will give you a chuckle as well as give you information and creative ideas.

Whether you suspect you have a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, or you have an official diagnosis it goes without saying that you’re exhausted. True, parenting in and of itself is hard work. Throw in a kid with ADHD or some similar issues and a parent can explore new realms of exhaustion not understood by other parents.

It’s one of life’s inequities that this exhausted ‘mom’/dad has even more parental responsibilities. Researching ADHD and learning how to deal with it is a field that has kept experts on their toes and extremely busy. So what’s a tired parent supposed to do?

That’s where this e-Book steps in. Theresa has done a lot of reading on ADHD and its cousins. And she has talked to a lot of parents and experts in the field. As a freelance writer, she’s written a fair amount on the subject.

Theresa wants to pass on to you, a distillation of the things she’s learned from parenting her son. By no means is it comprehensive; she purposely keep things general. She considers part of her job is to help you figure out the questions you need to ask because knowing the right questions to ask is the first step in gaining control. Consider this e-Book a friendly cup of coffee with another ‘mom’ who’ll share some of their experiences.

At the end of this e-Book, there’s a list of books she recommends that will cover specific subjects in detail.

Theresa Lode has been married to her best friend, Jay, for the past 18 years. Prior to parenthood, she was a teacher, a nurse, and a parenting expert. Since the arrival of their three children she is no longer a parenting expert and drinks way too much coffee.

You can find Theresa on her website, ReFraming ADHD

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Once upon a time the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a “new world” so they organized a school. They had adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming. In fact, better than his instructor. But he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to stay after school and also drop swimming in order to practice running. This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn and he was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school so nobody worried about that, except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running but had a nervous breakdown because of so much makeup work in swimming.

The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. He also developed a “charlie horse” from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and D in running.

The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely. In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree but insisted on using his own way to get there.

At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceeding well and also run, climb and fly a little had the highest average and was valedictorian.

The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school.

Does this fable have a moral?

Note: This story was written by George Reavis when he was the Assistant Superintendent of the Cincinnati Public Schools back in the 1940s! This content is in the public domain and free to copy, duplicate, and distribute.

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Today’s Freebie comes from the wonderful folk over at The Old Schoolhouse (TOS). Members of the Military (Australian Defence Forces) can get a subscription to Schoolhouseteachers.com FOR FREE. That’s over $60 in value. For free. This offer expires at the end of the year.

With a Schoolhouse Teachers.com Ultimate membership, you will receive access to a members-only website with unlimited access to daily resources, daily recipe calendar, This Day in History Calendar, and more! Expert teachers in various subject areas like geography, history, home economics, literature, music/voice, and technology provide weekly, daily, and/or monthly lessons plus daily recipe and history calendars.

This is TOS’s way of saying THANK YOU to the military servicemen and their families around the world.

Click HERE to go to the Old Schoolhouse Store!

Psst! Did you know that we have a small, private group on our forum site just for Aussie Homeschooling Defence families?

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AussieHomeschool has great pleasure in informing you of a new homeschool business and service but even more than that, we’re going to introduce you to the business owner and curriculum producer, Joelle so you can get to know her a little more and learn about the heart behind Education Reformation.

Hi Joelle, would you tell us a little about your family?

Jack and I have five children, three boys aged 20, 16 and 14 and two girls aged 18 and 10. We live in a lovely little river valley in south western Victoria.

What made you decide that you wanted to homeschool? Have you been happy with the decision?
We decided to homeschool our children initially because we didn’t want them being brainwashed by evolution. As we began investigating the option of homeschooling we became completely convinced that it was definitely a Biblical approach to raising our children. It has been the best decision we have ever made for our family. It has provided stability in times of difficulty and heaps of flexibility to do more than the average family who is tied down to school commitments. The best thing, though, is the freedom to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He is our constant helper and is ever faithful.

How long have you been home educating?

We are in our 16th year. None of our children have ever been to school.

What methods or approach have you used consistently over that time?

We began with a textbook approach mostly, though I always tempered that with lots of free time for self education. After a year or two of pouring over homeschool supply catalogues, and feeling more confident to branch out, I began being a lot more eclectic in my approach. One of my children was naturally bent towards self education and I made sure he had the time and opportunities to make the most of that bent. Book work was always done first, then the natural learning. I strongly believe in giving children the tools they need in order to learn naturally. Empowerment and discipline are very important in my view. I have also had a tendency to use some of Charlotte Mason methods, though favour a Christ centered education rather than her child centred one.

One thing that made me confident in my homeschooling is that God is very clear on who he has ordained to teach my children and so I knew I could rely on Him to guide and help me. I threw myself into the role he planned for me as a mother.

What are you really passionate about now?

Well, it may surprise you to know that I don’t particularly enjoy writing! I can only write when I am driven with a clear purpose. I wonder if in writing the books I have that I may have bitten off more than I can chew! However, I am passionate about providing home educators with curriculum written by home educators. I have always preferred this type of curriculum to that aimed at schools. It tends to be more efficient and advanced, not getting bogged down in filling up grade levels. It is also stronger on values and character training.

Other interests are sewing, knitting, crocheting and patchwork when I get the time. I also love to read about economics and business. I love being in business – I find it challenging and a lot of fun, and really enjoy meeting and helping customers. I suppose being in business is my favourite hobby!

The thing I am most passionate about is families living how God has ordained them to. Men and women fulfilling their God given roles and raising children according to His word is what this world needs.

Why Education Reformation?

It rhymes! Seriously, home education is really a reformation in education and I believe will bring about a wider reformation in society and my business name is a reminder of that. It also pertains to the Australian homeschooling curriculum scene in that it is high time we had some culturally relevant curricula of our own and take the opportunity to put ourselves on the map as far as the worldwide homeschooling movement goes.

Fantastic! So what can we expect to find when we visit Education Reformation?

Curricula that is Australian – no more American spelling and grammar; has cultural relevance; is Christian and very importantly efficient in delivering learning, and easy for the parent to use. I am also conscious of the fact that homeschooling curricula should defer to the parent and their authority in their child’s education, rather than imply that a school teacher is the final authority (as in school texts).

Do you have any future plans in the pipeline?

Yes, many! I have lots of book ideas in my head and hope to expand our Copywork Series, and add in some more history and language lessons books. I’m currently thinking through a science book idea and am really excited about one day providing a workbook for teens on God, government and economics.

I am also planning on having a forum for customers who buy my curriculum. It will be a place where I can help them with queries and they can help each other in how they use the curriculum. A forum will provide a place where I can post any additional goodies I want to give to loyal users.

Thank you so much Joelle, it’s been a pleasure hearing about your family and your new business venture. I’ve known you online for quite a few years now and I just know that Education Reformation will be a tremendous blessing to Aussie Homeschool families. I’ll catch you at our own forums and over at your site!

Visit Education Reformation today!

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We have a treat for you today – Freebie Friday!

A free formal electronics (electricity and electronics) course. It is suitable for high schoolers and above. Lessons in Electric Circuits is by Tony Kuphaldt. It comprises 6 volumes and is suitable for high school years and above. It is even up to date with some of the latest revision being January 2012.

This is a fantastic, free resource. Why not start your potential engineer on it today? Lessons in Electric Circuits.

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Simple grammatical errors make us look silly. Copyblogger has assembled the fifteen most commonly used grammar goofs into an infographic. Be sure to share this image with your children- teach them the differences.

Will you share this post via email or your favourite social networking site?

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An idiom is a group of words or an expression that means something different to the literal meaning of the words. As an example, “to bark up the wrong tree,” is to look for something in the wrong place or to go about something in the wrong way.

Idioms can be grouped by language (some idioms are particularly Aussie whereas the British have their own peculiar idioms) and other idioms can be grouped by other particulars such as animals, food, colours, health, time, sports, etc.

Do you use idioms in your speech or your writing? Are you teaching your children about idioms so that they can understand common talk? How about you practice by leaving a comment? Even if you only leave a comment once in a blue moon, leave one here today. But wait, there’s a catch… You have to use an idiom in your comment.

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It’s Freebie Friday at AussieHomeschool and we have a treat for you today! The Amazing-Incredible Handwriting Worksheet Maker is just that – a worksheet maker! You can create sheets with your child’s name on it and include practice for a single word, multi- words, sentences, paragraphs in other print, D’Nealian or cursive!

Simply select the type of handwriting you want your child to practice.  Choose the type of writing – phrase, sentence, word or paragraph. Enter your text. Choose the font size and paper size/layout. Select text colour and line colour. Then print!

Amazing! Incredible!

Ages: Any!

Website: handwritingworksheets.com

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