When we realized we were going to be moving, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from either myself of the kids. At one point one of my Facebook friends sent me a link to a great article from Heart of the Matter Online and written by Jimmie {love that girl!}.

Basically we knew we had three options in our moving process:

1. Continue schooling full speed ahead.

2. Focus on the core subjects and abandon the rest until we were settled in.

3. Call off all school and just let the kids run crazy.

We opted for the second and scaled back on planning in many of the subjects, sticking to language, reading, math, science, and handwriting. After about 2 weeks of packing, having the house perpetually clean for showings, and keeping up with school time, etc… I can tell you I was about ready to consider a fourth option ~ sending them to public school until the move was over. :)

That would be about the point that we took a few weeks off and decided to focus entirely on keeping sanity intact and getting the house packed and moved. Fortunately, the entire process for us was very quick ~ from the time we put an offer on one house to the time we moved into our new house was a few days over a month.

Now we’re in, {pretty well} settled, I’m breathing much easier, and everyone is easing back into our full-on routine. If you’ve moved while homeschooling, what are tips that you would give to others in the process?

When Apologia Press saw the Little Leaps of Love challenge this month, they offered two copies of Rachel Carman’s newest book How to Have a H.E.A.R.T For Your Kids ~ one for each of the challenge winners!! I will admit that my interest is definitely piqued after reading the book excerpt and I can’t wait til I have a moment to sit down and start reading it!

How well do you really know your children? Sure, you love them, but do you even like them? What has God shown you about who they are and who they will become? He has sent these children into your home at this specific time for His glorious purposes. Thus you have been invited on the adventure of a lifetime, a journey on which you will see walls fall, seas parted, and giants slain. You don’t need special skills or training for this journey—you need only to seek God and hold tightly to His mighty hand! As with so many things, the first step to having a heart for your children is knowing your heavenly Father.

As you seek daily to share His heart with your kids, keep this inspirational book close at hand. In it, Rachael Carman uses the word HEART to help you remember and focus on what really matters.

Rachel Carmen will also be speaking at Apologia Live in Atlanta, Baltimore, Austin, and Chicago. Thanks so much to Apologia for sharing a little something extra with us!

Today the panel at The Homeschool Village is finishing the following statement:

I believe the best way I can bless my children as their homeschool teacher is …

Having the last few weeks off from school and being in the throes of complete chaos at times has really given me some time to ponder and reflect on what we’ve been doing and what we will be doing/changing…and things I personally need to change to bless my children.

Visit Homeschool Village and see what other moms and I are sharing about this topic ~ you will really be blessed and encouraged by what the other moms are saying about this topic today!

I’ll admit it. I love surfing the web and visiting blogs, websites and such. There are stacks of great ideas out there just begging to be used!! Each of us has our favorite sites that we check out frequently. I have many of my favorites in my sidebar under “Blogs I Love” and also a stash of friends and fun memes on a page called Blogs I Love and Visit Often.

What are YOUR ‘go-to’ sites? Today over at The Homeschool Village the panel of moms is sharing some of their favorite sites. Don’t forget to visit Homeschool Village and see what other moms are sharing about this topic!

Have you wanted to attend a homeschool convention, but found it difficult to travel to one ~ or don’t even have one in your area? The online Schoolhouse Expo, held from May 16-20th, 2011,  may be the answer for you!

The theme for the Spring Expo is: “Homeschooling with Heart.” and speakers this year include Susan Wise Bauer, Dianne Craft, Carol Barnier, Jim Weiss, and one of my favorite people, Marie Rippel from All About Spelling! You can view the full lineup of speakers here and purchase tickets on the Schoolhouse Expo site.

Each Early Bird ticket includes:

• a virtual goodie bags (valued at over $200!), door prizes, and even a virtual vendor hall offering freebies and specials!
• MP3 downloads of all the sessions from the convention, so you can listen to ones that you miss or keep your favorites handy to listen to again.
• one year membership to Homschool Legal Advantage

A special Early Bird ticket price of $19.50 ends Wednesday, February 9th at 11:59 p.m. On February 10, the price goes up to $29.00 and the Bonus Freebies will no longer be available. On February 27, the full price of $39.99 will be in effect.

Just wanted to let you all know about the Early Bird ticket price before they expire!

Although the internet can be an amazing resource, there are times when it can be a struggle to balance online time with everyday tasks. My trip to Relevant in October provided a great resource for me to schedule my time ~ Amy Andrew’s ebook Tell Your Time What to Do. Since then, I have worked MUCH harder at budgeting my time…and sticking to that budget!

Have you struggled balancing blogging, blogs, the internet vs. family? What have been things that have helped you out? Other moms on the the Homeschool Village panel are sharing their tips and suggestions for balancing online time and have some. Be sure to stop over The Homeschool Village and read more here.