Posted in AtHomewithKris

Hi everyone!

First, I want to thank all of you that responded with advice on composting. I really appreciate you helping out your fellow bloggers who are needing some assistance with this. The question for this week is in regards to soap-making. I had a blogger email me wondering if I had a recipe for making soap at home. While it is something that I hope to learn how to do and I have a neighbor to help teach me, I do not have any recipes for making my own soap. If you would be so kind to share your favorite recipe (just leave it in the comment section), I'm sure that Denise would really appreciate it!

Kris Price
Senior Editor, HomesteadBlogger.com
www.homesteadblogger.com/hsbfrontporch
www.homesteadblogger.com/athomewithkris

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The Homestead Carnival organizers are wanting to see YOUR creation of some buttons to be used to advertise the Carnival. You can read more about it here.

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Our very own Chas is holding a giveaway of some DVDs ... check out the details here.

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As usual, Grandma Rosie has posted some wonderful recipes this week, so head on over to her blog to see if there is something new to try soon!

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And, if you missed it, Belle is sharing pictures of the sap they are collecting and the maple syrup that her family is making from the sap.

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From the Freebie Friday Newsletter

Next, how about a free Bird Study?  Project FeedWatcher  is designed to help engage children in the excitement of nature study and the wonder of scientific investigation.  You can download a free Project FeederWatch/Bird Sleuth curriculum. There is a cool free coloring book to download also.

This Week's Schoolhouse Store Freebie - only good
through February 21, 2008!

Receive Free: Copywork Notebooking Pages (Patriotic Designs) and Washington, D.C. Notebooking Pages A $7.90 value free!

Copywork Notebooking Pages (Patriotic Designs)
These copywork pages have been designed for use in a variety of copywork settings. Whether you are using them for Bible passages, poetry, literature, quotes, or other types of selections, you should be able to find a page with the right amount of lines needed that will "showcase" your child's copywork without the clutter of unused lines on the page.

Washington, D.C. Notebooking Pages
Set of 34 notebooking pages designed to help you create a notebook study of Washington, D.C.

What To Do:

• Purchase: American Presidents & First Ladies Notebooking Pages CD
• Type "Free Notebooking Pages" in comments

Your Free Notebooking Pages will be emailed to you within 48 hours.

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From the Knowledge House newsletter - Website: www.knowledgehouse.info 

EXPERIMENT OF THE MONTH  

As a service to home educators, Jane Hoffman (a.k.a. the Backyard Scientist) has offered to provide FREE hands-on experiments for readers of this newsletter. These hands-on science experiments are NOT contained in her award-winning Backyard Scientist books and science kits. This month’s experiment is titled: “Measuring Calories in Foods.” To print out a copy, click here: www.knowledgehouse.info/BackyardScientist2008-1.doc  (Since you will be getting another new experiment every month, I would suggest printing them double-sided and placing the pages in a three-ring binder.)

Monumental Homeschoolers

Mount Rushmore, the world's largest stone monument, is a tribute to four Presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. These four presidents were all great patriots who stood for the most honorable principles and highest ideals of America. Do you know what else each of these men have in common? As children, none of them had any regular, formal schooling. They were all self-educated or taught at home! So you might even say that Mount Rushmore is a monument to homeschoolers! Learn more about Mount Rushmore and these four presidents here: www.knowledgehouse.info/rushmore.html  

Did You Know…? February is a popular month for homeschool birthdays! Besides George Washington and Abe Lincoln, the following famous homeschoolers were born in February: Ansel Adams, Thomas Edison, Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, Charles Dickens, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. (Laura attended several different one-room schoolhouses, but often when school attendance was impossible because of distance or weather, Laura was taught by her mother at home. Later, Laura homeschooled her own daughter Rose!)

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7. LEARNING LINKS 

Abraham Lincoln: The Boy, The Man www.knowledgehouse.info/LincolnBooks.html  

Let it Snow http://knowledgehouse.info/njfksnow.html  

The Snowflake Man http://www.knowledgehouse.info/bio_bentley.html  

Laura Ingalls Wilder http://www.knowledgehouse.info/njfklaura.html   

One-Room Schoolhouses www.knowledgehouse.info/schoolhouse.html  

One-Room Schoolteachers www.knowledgehouse.info/schoolteacher.html