Updated: We Are Not Alone

Biography, Informative, Just For Fun, Single Parents

Published with Permission
Written by Katharine Trauger
http://katharinetrauger.wordpress.com/

A short life of almost constant pain . . . educated entirely at home in post-Bourbon France . . . who was this famous home scholar?

 Throughout history, men have lost young wives.

This is the case for you, Étienne, as you realize you must somehow manage to raise your small children after their beloved mother dies.

Your own dad was Treasurer of France and you need no money. During this dangerous time in French history, you do desire the protection you believe comes from holding high office, and you put your law degree to good use. Your short marriage to Antoinette Bégon gives you two daughters and a son. She dies when the youngest is a year old.

From the start, you hire a governess, Louise, whose devotion wins the children’s love. She rears them as her own and imparts womanly grace and skills to your daughters, Gilberte and Jacqueline.

Your poor son, though, suffers almost constant pain from unknown causes. You devote yourself to your children’s education, and quit your positions in the birthplace of your family, moving to Paris and its academia when your son is seven.

Your affinity for sciences and math, proficiency in several languages, and skill in poetry make you an excellent teacher. (more…)

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MyCollege – Make College Work for You So You Do Not Have to Pay for It!

Informative, Preparing for College, Single Parents, Technology

Published with Permission
Written by Clifford Stumme
www.TOSMagazine.com

High school graduation is the pinnacle of home school success, but what comes after? You have set your child up for success. From reading lessons at age 3 to finding just the right math curriculum for algebra in high school, you have done everything that you could to make graduation successful and to prepare your child for the “real world.” However, some time, around ninth grade perhaps, something began looming on the academic horizon. You thought, “How will we ever have that much money?” and “Will he be able to pass the ACT or the SAT?” and “For that matter, which test should he take?” and “Where can I get financial aid?”

This unspeakable fear was . . . college.

Most people believe that a four-year degree at a cost of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, is the only way to do college. For years, parents and students have subjected themselves to outrageous tuition fees and years of loan repayment, but there is a way to escape all of that. (more…)

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Plant a Garden in Your Home School

Classes, Classroom Help, Informative, Just For Fun

Published with Permission
Written by Mary Ann Adams
maryannscountrygarden.blogspot.com
www.TOSMagazine.com

Children love to play in the dirt, and tending a vegetable garden gives them that freedom while learning science, math, reading, and other skills that count toward “school time.” My daughters, aged 3 and 6, have played and learned in the garden from the time they stopped eating dirt. My 6-year-old understands which vegetables are seasonally available, saying, “We eat strawberries in the springtime and tomatoes in the summer.” She knows that carrots grow under the ground and that beans grow above the ground, knowledge many children lack when all of a family’s food comes from the grocery store. Gardening helps children understand God’s plan for creation.

If you want to plant a garden for your home school, but have never gardened before, start with a small space; 10 square feet is enough room to grow several plants but small enough to be a pleasure to tend. Folks without yards can garden in large containers. Make sure to choose a spot that gets sun most of the day.

To start a new garden in existing sod, (more…)

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