We're off to a good start! If you've been following my blog, you probably remember that we received RightStart Mathematics Level A (the Second Edition) near Christmas. We began using it with Lil' Sis (our kindergartener) this month. So far, we love it!
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We've only been using RightStart for a few weeks so far and already there is so much I like about it! Plus, just yesterday, Lil' Sis declared that math is now her favorite subject! Yay! We have flipped through the entire level, looked over all the great manipulatives, and completed the first 20 lessons thus far. Our first impressions of the program are: 
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1. RightStart Math is fun! We had been using a good math program previously and my daughter enjoyed it, but so far, RightStart has her asking for more, smiling more, getting more excited, practicing math more without prompting, and saying math is more fun. There are songs, rhymes, multiple angles to grasping a concept, hands-on activities, and games (albeit very simple games so far). As if that weren't enough, it has inspired us with even more fun ideas of our own!  For example, when the book discussed the terms "left" and "right", we decided to listen to the Hokey Pokey song and dance it out! When the book suggested using musical terms like Do Re Mi for early pattern labeling, we sat down that evening to watch The Sound of Music! (The girls spent a lot of time on subsequent days labeling every pattern we came across with the Do Re Mi song notes.) 

​2. The Lessons book is clear and well written. [This is essentially the teacher's guide.] Among the variety of homeschool materials we've tried and used, I've found relatively few that explain things clearly and professionally, aren't overwhelming, were edited properly, are well laid-out, are easy to follow, and have just enough background on the how and why of the program. I am loving the "explanations" column found in the second edition! It is in this space that the author includes additional thoughts, background info, important details, and side notes. It has helped me feel confident in what, how, and why I'm teaching my daughter the way things are shown in the lessons. It has boosted my faith in what we're doing and I don't feel as much like I'm blindly trusting there is rhyme and reason to a program, as I've felt with other things. Additionally, had it not been for this explanations column, I might have skipped over some things or just wondered why certain things mattered in the lesson. I also like that these explanations are not mixed in with the lesson itself, since that would likely interrupt my flow when teaching.

 4. It uses many angles to teach! No, I'm not talking about geometry here - at least, not yet. RightStart Math Level A seems to take the approach of teaching one concept from multiple approaches, utilizing the various senses, and challenging the child to understand and/or see the concept in more than one application.  For example, even with something as simple as number and quantity recognition, they might have the child use tally sticks, colored tiles, the abacus, their fingers, and dot cards to see how the number appears in different ways. Then, the parent will clap that number of times, allowing the child to hear the quantity as well. They also incorporate a silly song and book. In other words, the child is experiencing the quantity, not just memorizing a symbol or learning to count. It might sound like this complicates something simple, but I feel it is, instead, solidifying the knowledge in a way that gives it more dimensions.

​As something of a side note, I also want to say that the representatives I've had contact with at RightStart have been so helpful, kind, and genuine that I have gained respect for the company and their efforts. My initial impression is that they truly care about their products and the quality of their program. 

​Any negatives? I really don't have anything negative to say about our experience thus far, except, perhaps, that we do miss the colorful style of our old workbook. Okay... more accurately, I should say that I miss the colors. Lil' Sis hasn't seemed to notice and maybe that is because there are plenty of colorful manipulatives to keep her attention instead.

So that's it for now! I will continue to share our experience with RightStart Mathematics as we use it over the coming months. Follow my blog and Facebook page to see if our opinion of the program changes or stays the same and to see what other fun and interesting things we find as we go!

Here are two Chinese New Year celebrations coming up in early February.  If I hear about more, I'll add them to this blog post.  Please feel free to comment below if you know of more to include in this list.  I'm not affiliated or associated with any of them, but rather simply passing them on for informational purposes to my readers. Enjoy!

Feb. 5th-6th: Organized by the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce. The Chinese New Year Celebration will be held on Friday, February 5, 2016 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Saturday, February 6, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza.  For more info, go to: https://www.hawaii.com/event/chinese-new-year-celebration/ ​
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Feb. 7th: Kung Hee Fat Choy! Celebrate Chinese New Year and the Year of the Monkey with kung-fu demonstrations and a traditional “lion dance” by the Au’s Shaolin Arts Society. Shoppers are also invited to “feed” the lion for good luck and prosperity. The event starts at 11am on Sunday, February 7. 
​Information & RSVP on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/590198451132491/ 

Thanks to the generous efforts of local homeschool families, there are a lot of field trip opportunities available through various homeschool support groups. When a chance came up to join a group on a snorkeling tour by boat, we jumped on it!  We've gone twice before, with different companies each time, and loved it every time.  Previously, my husband and I did an adult tour with Ko'Olina Ocean Adventures. Another time, Big Sis (then 6 years old) and I went out with Dolphin Excursions in Waianae. We were able to see dolphins up close and personal each time. Once, I was blessed with seeing a mom with her baby come up for air just about 10 feet in front of me!  Another time, we noticed that the pod of dolphins were playing a game with a plastic bag, which was both cute because of their playfulness and sad because of the blatant reminder of the pollution and plastic trash filling our oceans and impacting the creatures who live there - and indirectly, us as well. 

This Friday's field trip was with Dolphins & You in Waianae and involved the whole family!  It was Lil Sis' first time out on a boat since she was a baby and her first time for open water snorkeling (versus staying close to the beach). Big Sis was thrilled at the chance to go again since it's been a couple of years. Both of them did fantastic! Lil Sis was a bit nervous at first but after she got in the water the first time, she was begging to go back in again and again.  We didn't get pictures of it, but the boat also had an inflatable slide, a paddle board, and a kayak that all the kids seemed to enjoy.  

The tour was titled "swim with wild dolphins", but unfortunately we didn't spot any dolphins underwater this time around, but we did see them jumping and spinning in the water nearby. Many of us also heard them underwater too! I think a few of our tour mates did get to see them underwater, but we were some of the last people in the water, so we kind of missed out on that. We also had a potty break for both kids that delayed us getting in the second time around.  Nonetheless, we all had a good time and enjoyed seeing plenty of fish and what looked like a family of turtles (two or three large/adult turtles and a smaller turtle along with them)! 

Would I recommend a tour like this one to a friend?  Yes!  Would I recommend this company?  Sure!  I would actually say that any one of the companies I mentioned could result in a fun trip... we enjoyed each tour we've done for different reasons. They each were different lengths and one was for adults only.  Only one served food.  I think at least one of them did not have a restroom on board (Dolphins & You *did* have one though, thank goodness), so be sure to ask about that before you book if it's important to you!  We were able to take advantage of a nice group rate since it was booked through our local homeschool group, so if you have friends that would like to go as well, definitely ask about a discount for private or group events.  If you've gone on tours like this, I'd love to hear more!  As always, feel free to email me, comment below, or join me on Facebook!
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Did you know there is such a thing as interactive educational iBooks for Apple devices (such as the iPhone, iPad, and Mac)? Up until last month, I had no idea!  In fact, I must admit that I'd only ever used Kindle books or regular apps and had never ventured into the iBooks store before.  In December, a local (Oahu) author/designer at Liv ’n Fin Interactive Books, L.L.C. introduced me to some of these iBooks that she created for kids and was kind enough to provide free copies for us in return for a fair and honest review.  (The links contained herein are not affiliate links and, as always, the opinions presented below are entirely my own or that of my family/children.)
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Each book has an intro video (which can later be skipped) that explained how to use the iBooks and what to expect. The narrator's voice was also clear and easy to listen to (a critical factor, in my opinion, since we've found that the voice of the narrator in both audio books and apps can have a huge impact on how much we like it)!  
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It is quite apparent that the creator of these books put a lot of time, thought, effort, and heart into her designs! She was, and is, very receptive to feedback and excited about what she has to offer.  She seems passionate about helping kids learn in a fun manner, reaching them through color, silly stories, interesting information, and interactive activities in each book.  

If you're looking for some books for your kids to enjoy on the iPad, you might want to check these out and support a local author/designer!  

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1) Link for USA Fun Map for Kids!:
https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/u.s.a.-fun-map-for-kids!/id988529917?mt=13&at=1001l8dm

2) Link for Alphabet Album:
https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/alphabet-album/id1028921962?mt=13&at=1001l8dm

Remember to check my Calendar of Events page now & then for a list of upcoming events and activities that might be of interest.  Here is a run down of some things that are coming up!
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• Wed., Jan. 20th: FETCH Teen Internship Open House - The Family Education Training Center of Hawaii (FETCH), with the University of Hawaii, is offering another Sustainable Science Teen Internship Program next spring! Open high school students. Tuition is $75/semester with dinner included (prepared by the students). They will have an Open House on January 20th, 2016 @ 2:30pm at the UHM Hale Tuahine Farm at Magood Research Station, 2727 Woodlawn Drive. RSVP is needed and the open house is free of charge. Call 808-956-2248 with questions or to RSVP.  For more info: http://efetch.org/programs/teen-internship/ AND http://efetch.org/2015/11/29/recruiting-teen-interns-for-spring-2016/

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• Sat., Feb. 13th: Keiki Great Aloha Run - The Keiki Great Aloha Run will be on Feb. 13th, 2016. It's a 2 mile run around the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, usually with a health and/or fitness expo running that same day in the Blaisdell Center.  Register by Jan 22nd for an early bird discount!  Register at this link: https://www.flpregister.com/168 , or to download a registration form: http://digioh.com/em/21231/58418/ck5y4qymme

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• Mar. 19th: Hawaiian Forest Bird Exhibit Opens @ Bishop Museum -  The "Lele o Nā Manu: Hawaiian Forest Birds" exhibit at the Bishop Museum will be opening in March 19th, 2016. " The Lele O Nā Manu exhibit is about the rich and diverse natural history of endemic Hawaiian forest birds, their preeminence in traditional Hawaiian culture, and the dire need for their conservation." See more at http://www.bishopmuseum.org/exhibits/upcoming.html#birds 

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My younger daughter, Lil Sis, is a new reader. She can handle the basics and read simple sentences, but she does not sit for hours reading books... at least not yet. She will, however, sit happily for long stretches of time if someone is reading to her. We cherish this fleeting time and I take pleasure in reading to her as well. Even Big Sis volunteers to read to her now and then. However, there are times when we can't devote the attention to reading, such as when I am driving, when we are at an appointment or meeting, or during Big Sis' violin lesson. 
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Read on for a list of our favorite children's audio books! Some of our audio books are in CD form, some were borrowed from friends or the library, but most came from Audible.  This is NOT an advertisement or compensated review of the books or Audible. We acquired all these books on our own, whether it be with our own funds, earned credits, or they were borrowed. There are NO affiliate links in this post, nor is OHM (or myself) associated with any product or service herein.  All opinions are completely that of my own and/or my children.  

1) We liked many books by Beverly Cleary. Both girls were engaged and the narrators and story lines were acceptable, sometimes even enjoyable, for me as well.  There may be other versions or narrators of these stories available elsewhere, but our versions are the ones I linked to below.  I've listed some of them as collections, versus the individual books, because we liked each book in the series. Those books are usually available individually as well.  

• The Henry Huggins Audio Collection, by Beverly Cleary. The girls both liked this series so much that they have asked to listen to it repeatedly. With six books and over 15 hours in the collection, it gave us plenty of variety. Since it was easy on my ears, it's been played often when we don't have a new book available. The theme is usually playful, silly, simple, and nonviolent. It is worth noting, however, that there are a number of occasions in which slightly negative comments are made about girls (in general), since the main character is a young boy. While this annoyed me slightly, it was made a bit better by the fact that the comments are fleeting and usually accompanied by favor or appreciation for his friend, Beezus. The biggest thing I did not like about the book was the very ill-behaved Ramona (Beezus little sister). Thankfully, that character personality changed for the better - at least somewhat - in the Ramona Quimby book series.  
• The Ralph S. Mouse Audio Collection, by Beverly Cleary. Lil Sis said this was her favorite. The collection includes The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Ralph S. Mouse, and Runaway Ralph. Much like the Henry Huggins series, the stories are playful, simple, and easy to listen to because the narrator does well. It's been awhile since we've listened to these (we just started it again today), but I don't remember having any issues or concerns. 
• The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection, by Beverly Cleary. Ramona isn't necessarily the best behaved or a good role model, but the stories were fun to listen to and engaged both my children. Despite that Ramona is a girl, they did like the Henry Huggins series more. However, after having heard about Ramona in the Henry Huggins books, they were interested in listening to stories just about her as well. 
• Socks, by Beverly Cleary. This was another win for my family from this author!  In keeping with her other books, Socks was playful and enjoyable. The fact that the book is written from the perspective of a cat made it even more interesting for my kids.  

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2) The Chronicles of Narnia Radio Theatre Collection. We listened to the CD version of these books (7 volumes in total), which we bought used from another family. This was a beautifully done series of audio books! Big Sis absolutely loved this series, which inspired her to read the actual books, which she then couldn't put down. The whole series was an enjoyable listen for me as well... I even found myself wanting to drive somewhere just so we could hear more!  However, there is violence and darker/scarier moments in the story, so it wasn't fully appropriate for Lil Sis. I had to turn the volume down to "skip" some parts or only have the story on when Lil Sis was not in the car. This was not surprising, however, since the target age range is 8 and above.  While some believe these are Christian stories (and they do have a large Christian following and can be found at Christianbook.com, such as linked above), they are not specifically or overtly religious. Indeed, some people believe the stories have pagan influences as well. A Christian family could find things that align with similar themes in Christianity but should not expect it to be mentioned directly. A secular family could expect to enjoy the series as the fantasy novels they are.
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3) The 101 Dalmations, by Dodie Smith. A classic story everyone knows, narrated well, and enjoyed by all. Big Sis has played this FIVE times already from our Amazon Echo, her computer, or my Kindle. Both kids were excited to listen to it whenever we got in the car and were happy to watch the movie after completing the book.
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4) Nate the Great Collected Stories, by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. A favorite series of stories for Lil Sis that was also acceptable (though not a favorite) for Big Sis too. Cute, simple, and fairly brief, these were probably the most fun and engaging for my 5-year old among the variety of audio books we listened to in recent months. My husband dislikes the narration for them, but while I don't find the books particularly interesting, I don't personally mind the narrator. I would definitely recommend these books for those with preschool and early elementary kids. I've linked to the first collection above, but there are others (I think we have them all). I think I've also seen these on CD at the local library.

5) A Bear Called Paddington, by Michael Bond. This one was harder to get into and took us two tries before we actually stuck with it, but the girls both eventually got pulled in and wanted to listen to the whole thing. They have since said they liked it. It was well written and a nice, lovable kids story.  
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6) ​Charlotte's Web, by E. B. White.  Another obvious classic with great appeal! Big Sis has this one on her favorites list. Lil Sis mostly just tolerated it and was a little upset by Charlotte's passing at the end, but she had no objections to listening when it was played in the car. The narration took a little getting used to for us, but we got accustomed to it quickly enough, even liking it later on. A delightful story that I would not say is better than the print book itself, but a decent quality audio book worth giving a try with your kids.
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7) The BFG, by Roald Dahl. We loved the narration on this silly story. Both girls cracked up with nearly every odd thing the BFG said throughout the book, which I think helped keep them engaged and interested. It does have some descriptions and names that might not be suitable for young kids, like Bone Crusher, Blood Bottler, and the fact that the giants - aside from the BFG - eat people and snatch kids from their beds. I imagine this could pose a problem for little ones, particularly if they are afraid of the dark or have other fears at bedtime. Nonetheless, neither of my girls were troubled by any of these aspects, which might stem from how silly the wording was most of the time. It did take us more than one try before the girls wanted to listen to this audio book, but once they did, they were hooked and have since listened to it twice. I don't think it's a story that everyone would enjoy, but it might be worth a try since it's well loved by many.
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8) The Magic Treehouse Collections, by Mary Pope Osborne. These books were among the first ones Big Sis read when she was a beginning reader and were perfect for a quick but fun read that even her dad didn't tire of reading too. Big Sis probably went through nearly the entire series and was quite fond of the stories. She and her dad would even pretend they were Jack and Annie while hiking or adventuring outdoors on father-daughter excursions. So it is no wonder that she loved listening to the audio books as well. Since they were so simply written, Lil Sis was also interested in following along.  All that said... I personally really disliked the narrated version! The repetition of "Jack said" and "Annie said" just got to be a little annoying to me over time. I think this might have been better done as a dramatization (where the characters just speak vs. reading so-and-so "said"... the word said was highly overused).  

Do you and your children have any favorite audio books?  I'd love to hear about them. Please feel free to comment below or email me. Please include the narrator's name, if you know it, since the narration can really make a big difference in how much we enjoy listening.  We're always looking for more books to add to our collection (or borrow) and since we have a lot of time spent in the car, we appreciate having plenty of options! 

Our curriculum teaches the compositional skills and principles needed to create meaningful choreography, develops self-discipline and focus, balanced with positive social interaction with peers and teachers in an environment that challenges students to use their problem-solving and critical thinking abilities while rejoicing in their creative spirit.

Here is a downloadable version of the flyer about Smarty Dance's homeschool classes... 

My family has had access to this curriculum website for about a month so far - thanks to the Schoolhouse Review Crew - and we've already used it a lot and gained so much just in that amount of time.  I can't wait to see how much more we benefit from it over the coming year!  It might be worth noting here that my kids are in Kindergarten and 3rd grade, so my review is largely centered around that perspective.  We only used elementary grade level and parent/family courses, materials, and resources from the site.  That said, the middle and high school levels seemed to have a lot of interesting courses as well, with many of them noting the credit value of completing the course, which I imagine could come in handy when creating transcripts and records.  
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Our Approach
Our homeschooling is really an eclectic approach, with bits and pieces of what works for us from any source or style of learning and curricula. We have done everything from teacher guided seat work to child-led projects.  From my exposure thus far to SchoolhouseTeachers.com, it seems to fit nicely into our system.  It can be used in a structured manner, such as following an outlined course for violin or art, or using supplemental materials like worksheets for areas in which my children need extra practice or reinforcement.  Yet it can also be used to delve further into topics that my kids are interested in for a more child-led approach.  We can do this by using those same courses and allowing my daughter to choose and work through them as she feels appropriate and/or by selecting videos or unit studies to delve further into subjects my kids are passionate about.

My girls seriously found the entire website to be a treasure trove of possibility and were intrigued by everything from a Spanish lesson to art to music. As I was exploring our possibilities, I kept finding them looking over my shoulder or interacting with the verbal prompts from the videos in various courses. (The art lesson we viewed also inspired my daughter to draw an array of "still life" to showcase her skills.)  And really, this site could have kept my kids engaged for hours straight.  It has a fairly comprehensive selection of subjects to suit nearly any interest area, including categories for Art, Bible, Computer & Technology, Drama & Speech, Electives, Foreign Languages, History, Geography, and Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, Music, Nutrition, Health, and Fitness, and Science!  (As a side note: I didn't feel the math offered for elementary students would work as a complete program, but it did offer lots of resources to supplement or complement a homeschooler's core math curriculum and was, therefore, still a valuable tool in that area.)
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Music/Violin
One subject we spent some time on was music!  Both my girls take violin lessons in person with a wonderful instructor in our area. Nonetheless, the beginning violin course with instructor Nancy Blue, available to members of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, was still of interest to my 8-year old, so she went through some of the video lessons (that also have downloadable documents to go along with them). Nancy Blue (the well-qualified instructor) does a good job of teaching the material and my daughter quickly picked up songs being taught. I'm not sure how well someone new to violin would do if taking this course entirely independently since my kids have had prior instruction, so I would still recommend having a teacher that could help in person to help work through trouble areas and provide hands-on help. That said, it's very possible this course is sufficient to be stand-alone for some students and completion of the entire course can be worth a half credit. One thing I'd like to see in the videos would be a close up or different angle at certain times when it could be helpful to get another view, but Ms. Blue did explain things clearly, so this really is a minor issue. My daughter loved having another teacher's perspective and different ways of explaining things, found new things to learn, and adored playing "Joy to the World" in the process... which really was perfect timing considering we were doing some of this over the holiday break!

Three areas of primary interest to me were the resources for parents, the Focused Learning Centers, and the Daily Writing Prompts (as well as Daily Math, Grammar, and Puzzles)!  

Focused Learning Centers
Even though we have great curriculum that we love, there have been times when I felt like one of my kids struggled with a certain task of lesson and wished we had more practice options in our curriculum.  So off I'd go, into the wide wonderland of the internet - usually Pinterest-ing - to find a suitable supplement.  But now I can go to the Focused Learning Centers (found under the Planners & Resources link in the navigation menu at the top of the page) on SchoolhouseTeachers.com when we need supplements, extra practice, support or ideas to help with a particular skill.  Yay!

​Daily Writing 
Writing has always been something that my daughters love to do but they both could always use more practice. The Daily Writing course, offered by Sharon Watson, is a fantastic list of writing prompts for each day of the month (and archives from previous months).  We started a new daily writing notebook/journal just for this and both girls had fun with writing (and drawing) based off the prompts we tried thus far!  I'd recently stumbled across Sharon Watson's curricula and website, so I was excited to see this Daily Writing series available to us, included in our Yearly Membership on SchoolhouseTeachers.com.  Other daily practice offerings (not by the same instructor) that we found fun and/or useful were Daily Grammar and Daily Puzzles, though we already have other workbooks for these as well.

Planners & Resources
Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I love organization.  I adore having everything planned out and organized, looking pretty!  But then there is reality: a bit (or a lot!) of chaos, interrupted routines, and changes of plans happen often... pretty much just part and parcel of this wonderful life!  Nonetheless, a handy dandy written planner and good recordkeeping can help get us back on track and stay focused.  Not to mention help my scattered mommy-brain to remember important tidbits I'd otherwise forget.  So you can imagine my happiness in seeing that access to not just one, but six Schoolhouse Planners (a $125 value) were included at no extra charge for members!  These aren't just a few tossed together spreadsheets either.  They are a wealth of options to make a custom planner to suit your individual needs, including all kinds of lists and sections for homeschool, household, and calendars.  You can make your planner as simple or comprehensive as you wish!  There is a general Schoolhouse planner, as well as planners for special needs, primary, intermediate, and high schoolers, and one just for mama.  You do have to print them yourself, but considering that I don't use a large portion of most preprinted planners, this is actually a benefit to me - allowing me to pick and choose exactly what is useful for my particular needs and wants. 
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RightNow Media Library
To top it all off, it is really cool to have access to over 10,000 videos to stream on demand as a SchoolhouseTeacher.com member.  This was not initially a primary feature of interest to my family because we have so much already available via Netflix, Amazon Prime, and our own home library of videos.  However, these are mostly Christian videos and a lot of them aren't available through our other sources. Some of the videos fit perfectly into our other studies, while others were just plain interesting.  Plus, SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers more than a dozen classes based on these streaming videos to provide even greater value!

Any Downsides?
So I've mostly raved about it so far, but there were some things that didn't make it absolutely perfect, in my opinion. Though the courses are good quality, we do have favorite curricula that outshines the material available on the website in some subject areas. But our favorites do add up cost-wise, so SchoolhouseTeacher.com could be a great low-budget alternative to most subjects.  As I mentioned earlier, I do think another math program for the elementary level might still be preferred though (but that may change as they add more courses).

The site didn't have a super modern feel, seemed to have a lot of words, and sometimes things just felt as though they blended together at first. This got better though, after several times of using the site.  I couldn't find a way to get the videos to full screen mode, which I would have liked to do.  Additionally, I did feel hugely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of courses and content offered, despite the fact that they have a number of different ways to find what one might be looking for, such as courses listed by subject or by grade level, quick links, focused areas, and a site directory. It just seemed like too much to process at first, which made it difficult to dig in and get started. I would certainly recommend taking advantage of their New Members Hub (found under the Getting Started link on the navigation bar) to give you a foothold and get things rolling.  However, it would have been nice if there were more direct links on the new member page - instead of just telling me about something like the My Profile or Quick Links pages, it'd be nice if they linked directly as well - although that does force you to learn how to navigate the site for yourself, which is a benefit in the long run!  For me, it was also very helpful to ask other parents I knew who had used the site previously for tips and guidance. I suppose it is also a major benefit to having the Yearly Membership... plenty of time to ease into things and explore every nook and cranny!  

Regardless, the website seems to be growing, updating, and adding new content, and any complaints I might have are really minor and pale in comparison to the benefit that we received overall.

Final Thoughts
​I valued our time using SchoolhouseTeachers.com so far and do plan to continue to use it in the months ahead.  I think it could be a valuable addition to lots of homeschool households.  If you're interested in finding out more, you could check out their intro video on their website.  They also have a Pinterest page that shows the variety of courses they offer and a public Facebook group where you can read more from people who are using the website.  

If you decide you'd like a membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com of your very own, all my lucky readers can use the following coupon code for an amazing half price offer on a one year subscription to SchoolhouseTeachers.com!  Use coupon code: CREWFOLLOWER (valid through 1/31/2016).

Do you have a student interested in astronomy? Check out the "Star Party" *tonight* with the Hawaiian Astronomical Society! 
... ... ... 
"Free public star party at our dark sky site (Dillingham Airfield in Mokuleia). Come join us under the stars. We provide the telescopes and you get to look at really cool stuff like globular clusters, double stars, galaxies and nebulae! Don't know what these are? You'll find out if you come and join us under the stars.
Please read our "Star Party Etiquette" page before coming out to the party. (http://www.hawastsoc.org/star_party_etiquitte.html)
Go here (http://www.hawastsoc.org/directions/dillingham.html) for directions and maps to Dillingham Airfield.
Please note the following items that are part of the agreement to let us use the airfield for our star parties.
* The gate to the airfield is locked at around 7:00 p.m. so you must be in the viewing area before then (we suggest that you plan to be there at 6:30 p.m. to allow for traffic delays). 
* The gate will be opened at scheduled times to allow people to leave - usually about two hours after sundown, at 10:30 p.m. and at midnight (when everyone must leave). 
* Check with the Board-Member-In-Charge for that night's schedule.
* Smoking is not allowed (fire danger), no alcohol and also no pets. Mahalo for your kokua.
* To view a weather forecast, go here:http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php…."
For more: http://www.hawastsoc.org/