A brief interruption: Here we go again...

Just went to find some information on the recent case in which a German homeschooling family was granted political asylum in America. Found several articles, including this one on ABC:
 
http://abcnews.go.com/US/german-couple-persecuted-home-schooling-political-asylum/story?id=9679054
 
Next to the article is a video clip about homeschooling in California. And about how it's illegal here.

AGAIN?????

We DID this already!

This is outdated footage from a year and a half ago. Homeschooling is alive and well and very happy (when it gets enough chocolate) in California.

Here's actual legal info about homeschooling in California:
 
http://www.madeditor.com/2008/09/yes-virginia-homeschooling-is-legal-in.html
 
If you have a second, please drop ABC a line letting them know that they're posting inaccurate information. We California homeschoolers get enough panicked calls and emails from our friends and families without ABC's help.

On the seventh day of giveaway...

...she attempts to pick up the pace a bit by swearing that there are no more talks coming up any time soon, so no excuses not to get this ball rolling. Especially since I can't start mailing until this whole thing is done, since I'm a softy who allows multiple winners (always provided, of course, that one person does not sweep the whole darned giveaway, since that would hurt my softy heart).

First: many thanks to the lovely comments on my last couple of postings. You're keeping me going. Thank you.

Second: the winner of 365 Ways To Live Cheap! (actual exclamation point included in title) is:

Prlegl, she (or he) of the unpronounceable name! Is she a paralegal? A pearl eagle? We don't know! We just know she owns a new book!

Congratulations! Send me your mailing address!

Okay, this next giveaway is a wee little one. It's a great book, but it's water-damaged. None of the words or pictures are smeared or affected in any way other than the fact that the pages have an odd little bulge to them. It's not moldy or mildewy or ANYTHING like that; but unlike the other books I've given away so far, this one is not in new condition.

But it's a terrific picture book, aimed at young readers, so it'd be thrashed after a week in your house anyway.

It came to me in this condition because I requested a review copy and it's put out by a tiny publisher. They could not afford to send a free copy in perfect condition. I have so been there, and that's not my sarcasm voice. That's the voice of the person who was so broke she couldn't afford to send out review copies of her mag for the first few months of its life, and whose head would explode when civilians would ask for a "sample" copy of a 60+ page journal that came out every three months, so they could read it and decide if they liked it enough to remember to pay for a copy a few months later.

Whoops. Sorry. The Bitter Homeschooler just butted in there, as if she doesn't have her own place to kvetch.

Anyway. The book is: I Am Learning All The Time, by Rain Perry Fordyce, illustrated by Audrey Anne Miles Cherney.

This is a great story. There are two things I especially appreciate about it: it says "hooray for homeschooling" without trashing public school, and it brings up legitimate issues that young homeschoolers are sometimes puzzled and/or unhappy about. No, you don't get to ride on a school bus. And you don't have a lunch box. And yes, people will continue to ask you why you're not in school today until you're old enough to vote. Now, here's the cool stuff you get to do.

The book has a great site, Homeschool Adventure Books:

http://www.homeschooladventurebooks.com/

Who wants a free copy?

The offer of doubling your chances of winning still stands for mentioning SHM on your blog, loop, tweet, or whatever it is you kids do these days — please send me a link. And, again, you can triple your chance of winning for mentioning that we are looking for articles big and small, and can pay a little cash money or a nice free subscription for materials.

Don't forget to post!

I'll be doing the drawing for the winner of 365 Ways to Live Cheap! in a little while. That is, after I decide whether I'll use it as one more way to put off cleaning the front room (the floor is positively gritty, hairballs keep drifting by, and the sad part about that last one is we don't have pets), or if --

GRRRRR.

Sorry. My son just came in and without saying "Excuse me," asked, "Mom, is your cell phone charged?"

WOW, do I hate that kind of question. It really punts me into Instant Sarcasm Mode. "WHY? Are you taking some kind of survey? Is this one of those weird homeschooling projects I'm always hearing about? For the love of Pete, TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!"

Apparently we just had a brown out and he wanted to make sure that we had charged cell phones. Fine. Good. He's an excellent citizen. But next time, please put the statement and the question in reverse order, okay? I REALLY don't want to have to wonder just exactly what kind of question I'm answering here.

Sheesh. What next? "Hey, mom -- do we have canned food and bottled water?"

Anyway. I'll be doing the next drawing at some point today, assuming I haven't completely lost my mind (or had it stolen).

But don't forget to post a comment at the appropriate blog posting if you want in on the action. I was over at Facebook yesterday, updating the magazine's page, and I made a rare stopover at my own personal page. And I saw some absolutely lovely and wonderful comments about the magazine about the giveaways, and the fact that SHM needs articles. And since I'm an idiot (look, you've seen for yourself that what's left of my mind keeps getting chipped away), I can't remember who it was. But I don't think I saw her post here.

I'm a dork. A low-tech dork, I might add. When it's time to do the drawings, I go to my email and write down all the people who posted comments, in chronological order. If someone got bonus points, I write them down twice (or three times, in this case). And I make this list a nice numbered list, because I want to give all my stuff to all the people who want it and this is the only to keep me honest when I go over to random.org.

Between the hairball floor and Random Question Lad and desperately trying to pull yet another issue of the magazine together, there is no way I'll remember to write someone down for a drawing if I don't see them right in front of me. So please post! And maybe win! And thank you so much for playing!

Giving a public talk (an actual serious announcement!)

I'll be picking a winner for the last giveaway, as well as announcing the new one, in a little while; but first I wanted to mention that

I'm giving a talk about the basics of homeschooling. It'll be this Wednesday, January 20, at 7:00 pm at the main branch of the Santa Monica library. If you're in town, I'd love to see you!

Here's a link to the library's site, which has more information:

http://www.smpl.org/

On the sixth day of giveaway...

Before I announce the next giveaway, it is of course time to visit RANDOM.ORG, the fun site that feels the need to shout its name.

And the winner is...

Kriston! (Yes, I'm a softie who lets people enter for more than one prize; and Kriston has been such a stalwart supporter, how could I say no?)

Congratulations!

With this next book, as always you'll get an extra shot at the drawing if you post about SHM somewhere. But you'll get two extra shots if you post about the fact that we are looking for articles about any aspect of homeschooling that you care to write about. We can't pay much, but we can give a little cash or a free six-month subscription for each piece.

More about this after the giveaway's all done (this is only the halfway mark!); but I will say now that the single biggest difficulty I'm having in keeping SHM going now is no longer money. I'm making enough to pay the printers and the post office and buy my son a book for his upcoming birthday in the bargain. My biggest worry is that I'm getting more and more crunched for time to work on SHM because I have to do so much writing, rather than editing.

Also, I get requests for all kinds of articles that I simply can't write myself. Homeschooling gifted children! Homeschooling a several-child family! Being a homeschool dad! I would love love love to run those articles; but I'm just not qualified to write them.
So: spread the word, and get an extra-extra chance to win a brand-new copy of:

365 Ways to Live Cheap! by Trent Hamm, founder of The Simple Dollar: http://www.thesimpledollar.com

This little paperback is a great book, in excellent condition. I reviewed it some time ago. I read it through, deeply enjoyed it, and employed some of the tips.

The reason that I can part with it is that enough of the tips are things I can't apply to my own life -- many if not most of them assume that you live in a house, or at least a bigger apartment than I have. This is not a criticism. Fact is, living in a tiny place like this (and being the on-site manager to boot), I'm already saving a lot of money. But most people don't live in my situation, and this book has a lot of terrific ideas for them.

Hamm's ideas run the gamut from simple stuff like eating before you go grocery shopping to tips on how to choose investment options, save for retirement, and build up an emergency fund. And yes, I love that the man makes his own laundry detergent.

So: who wants this book? Just post here to enter the drawing!

On the fifth day of giveaway (or, Bet you thought I'd forgotten!)

I'm still here. And I'm still giving stuff away. My family just had a second round of plague, but we're back on our feet, more or less.

Okay, Kriston is the winner by default of A World Away. Email me your mailing address, my dear!

And the next book is:

Wonder-Workers!: How They Perform The Impossible, by the terrific Joe Nickell, published by Prometheus Books.

I reviewed this book for our "Critical Thinking" issue. It's a collection of thumbnail biographies of various "wonder-workers" throughout the ages. Some, like Harry Houdini and Edgar Cayce, are familiar names; others, like Lulu Hurst and Evangeline Adams, are more obscure. All are fascinating.

This trade paperback children's book was sent to me gratis by the good people at Prometheus Books. I already had a copy (my husband is a big Prometheus fan, and also has a huge crush on Joe Nickell), so this nice fresh new copy needs a good home!

Who wants it?

Remember, post about any aspect of SHM on your blog, loop, listserv, Facebook page, etc., and you'll get an extra chance to win!

On the fourth day of giveaway...

Okay, you know the drill by now...

And the winner of “601 Spanish Verbs” is...

Linda C.! Congratulations! (And I'm so sorry, Kriston! You were so quick on the draw, too!)

Today's giveaway is a young adult fantasy novel called "A World Away: The Quest of Dan Clay, Book One," by T.J. Smith. It was sent to me by the author. I ended up not reviewing it for two reasons.

First off, it doesn't have to do with homeschooling per se, nor is it educational. I've reviewed books and products that push those boundaries a bit (witness my fondness for Fluxx games), but I would have to be head over heels screamingly in love with a novel in order to review it for SHM. This book looks fine, but it simply didn't grab me by the throat the way it would have to in order for me to justify spending the time reading and writing about it.

Second, on glancing through it, I can see that it's written from a religious vantage point, specifically Catholic. I do run reviews of religious books and educational products, but they have to be either extraordinarily good or unexpectedly religious to make it worthwhile. This simply seems to be a fantasy novel that takes place in a Catholic universe in the same sense that the Narnia books spring from a Church of England source.

It's a beautiful book -- a matte paperback with gorgeous cover art. I know that SHM readers aren't necessarily nonreligious; they just don't want to have a specific worldview preached to them when they're trying to figure out what sort of homeschooling would work best for their families. As I was unable to review this book, I'd like at least to find a good home for it. Let me know if you'd like a shot at it. (And speaking of preaching, don't forget to bore everyone around you to tears by droning on and on about SHM.)

On the third day -- something you've seen before!

Time for the drawing -- let's see who wins "Entrepreneur Extraordinaire," the book title that's impossible to type at full speed!

Heading over to random.org...

Hitting "Send & Receive"...

Checking my cute little handwritten list...

And the winner is...

Kristina!

Congratulations! Email me privately with your mailing address! Deborah @ 2ds dot org

Okay, this next drawing item may sound a bit familiar. I got two review copies of it from the publisher -- one to write about, one to use in a giveaway drawing.

However, the reviewer has no further use for it, and has generously donated it to this giveaway.

It's Berlitz' new "601 Spanish Verbs"! In very good to new condition! Nice clean pages, nice smooth cover, tiny tiny crinkle on the top right corner cover!

This hefty trade paperback comes with a free CD-ROM with phrases for your iPod, and has pages devoted to verb activities, tech verbs, text messaging in Spanish, and more!

Post if you want it -- and remember, you get an extra number in the drawing if you post something (anything, really, although I'll be a little hurt if it's bad words) about SHM on a loop, blog, listserv, Facebook page, tattoo --

I take that back. I'm going to feel distinctly guilty if anyone gets an SHM tattoo. I love ink (though I don't have any myself, at least not yet), but I'd feel like a bad influence if someone got, I don't know, highlights from The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List written on her arm.

Although I'd certainly be flattered.

And would probably cough up a lifetime subscription.

Still, don't do it. Just post here if you'd like a shot at the Spanish Verbs book.

On the second day of giveaway...

First, the winner of the first giveaway...

(Running over to random.org...)

(Hitting "Send & Receive" one more magical time just to make sure no one else is trying for the prize...)

And the winner is --

Carol!

Carol, I think I have your address, but couldja email me with it just in case?

And now for the next prize!

A hardcover children's book called "Entrepreneur Extraordinaire: Grandpa Helps Emily Build A Business," by J.M. Seymour, illustrated by Will Hildebrandt.

I reviewed this a few issues ago. This isn't a cuddle-up-on-the-couch-with-the-kiddies kind of read, though it's told in story form and the tone is warm. It's a book with a mission: teaching children about starting a business. I like the fact that it takes it as a given that kids can be business-people now, not just someday when they're older.

Emily, the main character, is frustrated because as often as not, the store where she grabs a bite to eat before soccer practice is out of her favorite cookies. Her mother suggests that this is a niche that could be conquered by a savvy entrepreneur, and her grandfather gives her some sound business advice. I kind of wish I'd had this book before I started SHM, particularly the part about having a business plan (which I admit I still don't entirely understand), but that's another story.

This is a sturdy color hardcover in new condition. Cover price is $20.

Who wants it?

The Twelve Days of Something Giveaway

Many thanks to my son, who decided on the name of this giveaway. He thought that my original title, "The Twelve Days of Whatever," sounded too flip and, as he put it, just doesn’t flow well.

Tomorrow is the first Monday of the new year. I'm so thrilled. Really.

Okay, I'm not. I'm still not over the cold that I fought off just long enough to wake up completely ill on Christmas morning, and as of tomorrow I really have to plunge back into every kind of work I've got. Writing, editing, homeschooling, homeschooling other people's kids, giving exciting motivational talks about homeschooling (whee), and let's not forget the joy of housecleaning. Oh, and I just found out that there will be TWO vacancies this month in the little apartment building of which I'm the on-site manager, so I'll have people calling night and day about those. And the longer they keep me on the phone, the less likely they are to want to rent an apartment. Don't ask me why people call to give me their half-hour autobiographies regarding an apartment they don't want. I don't know. I just want it to stop.

But I digress. A lot. I'm sure you're used to it by now.

So, resisting the urge to crawl into bed and insist that I'm really really just not well enough yet to deal with all this, I'm going to try to ease everyone's transition into 2010 by giving away a bunch of stuff. One item at a time.

Okay, it's books. You probably guessed that.

Every one of them was a gift of some sort. Most are review copies. A few are from fellow homeschoolers who asked if I could find a good homeschooling home for some of the stuff that's crowding their shelves.

All of them have adorable life stories that I will present in terrifying detail.

All you have to do to qualify for a free copy of whatever-it-is is post a comment here. And because I'm trying harder to be an actual business person, and of course SHM needs all the publicity it can get, if you can show me a link to a posting you did about SHM on your blog or a homeschooling listserv or loop or something, you can use that as an extra chance to win. I'll be doing my usual random number generating to figure out the winner of each book, since if it's left up to me I'll just start crying.

You don't have to write an ad-type thing about SHM per se. (“This magazine saved me from the heartbreak of psoriasis!”) You could post about the good old Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List. If you like any of the other free-to-read online articles, you could mention and link to one of them. You could post about Bitter/Sweet and promise to bake a batch of brownies for whoever buys you a copy.

I'm going to try to handle this giveaway in a fairly rapid-fire fashion, since it's roughly based on that whole "every day there's a new present" song. So if something sounds good to you, do post your comment promptly, because the next day I might already be moving on to the next giveaway.

I'll start small and pretty, with Julie Shepherd Knapp's graceful paperback storybook "I Learn at Home -- Today's Lesson: Japan." You many know Homeschool Diner (www.homeschooldiner.com), Knapp's web site. "I Learn at Home" is a story she wrote about a day in the life of an eclectic homeschooling family. The main character, five-year-old Rosie, and her family are doing a unit study on Japan. They learn about Taiko drums, kimonos, Tokyo, Japanese volcanoes, the Japanese language (written and spoken), origami, and of course food. Their math is done on an abacus today.

The art of this book is beautiful, with black-and-white charcoal-style illustrations that I was impressed to learn were photographs altered to look like drawings. And the story’s family are not scary, overachieving homeschoolers who will daunt a timid reader. The day is presented with humor and a genuine sense of fun.

The inside of “I Learn at Home” is in perfect condition, but because I have a bad habit of letting my books knock around in my purse or backpack, the front cover has a couple of smudgy spots at the top.

Let me know if you want it.