Math | Science
Creative Writing Group
Homework Help, Discussion & Fun
Quick Support Sign Up

• Reading Education Center
• Books Under $5
• Writer's Bookstore
• Curriculum Guides
• Homeschooling books

recent poems & writings

"Christmas Rush" & other poems
See our collection of Christmas poems and think about submitting one of your own!!

The Dance of Spring
by Martin
Last year, in 7th grade, my English teacher, Mrs. Geis, assigned a poetry project. In this assignment we had to write several poems. This poem, "The Dance of Spring", is my personification poem, in which I had to give life-like characteristics to inanimate objects.

Shakespeare Youth Theatre
by Beth Bruno & Lois Lake Church
The Shakespearean Youth Theatre, a group of 14 homeschooled young people, ages 12 to 17, from many parts of Connecticut, has performed annually since 1997 at the Puppet House Theater in Stony Creek (Branford), CT. Each January the troupe chooses a play and begins rehearsing. The entire troupe is dedicated to performing quality productions of Shakespeare and learning about the play, the playwright and theater. To this end, the cast is highly involved in every aspect of the production, from selecting and editing the play, to publicity, sets and costumes. Find out more about the troupe and how you might be able to form your own company where you live.

Do You Love Your Mother?
Why don't you tell her?
Send us a poem or story which we will send to our writers group and we will have a little "contest" to see who the greatest Mother's Day poet as determined by the folks on the writers group. It's a lot of fun and you'll get fabulously famous and your whole life will change. (We'll...don't believe everything you read, but at least you'll make your mom happy!!)

Full Circle
Returning to childhood creative processes
by Lara Kehler, veteran homeschooler
My experiences as a Home Schooled kid were amazing, motivational, and have allowed me the passion to pursue the things I do today. I grew up on a mountain 15 minutes outside of Abbotsford, a town in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. I discovered my love of working with talented artists and writers. I received a diploma in Structural Civil Engineering, and developed work experience as a Engineering Technologist. But - - My dream? Produce a well designed magazine with its' entire content dedicated to art and ideas of alternative learners around the world! Learn more about how I came "full circle."

"Fishing With Grandfather"
by Linda Thomas
Billy grabbed his fishing pole from the closet and headed for the back door. As he went out the door, he called to his grandmother that he would be back soon.When he reached the river, he put bait on his hook and threw the line into the water.

Spring & Summer Poems
Get your fifteen minutes of fame
Do you have a poet's heart?
Send us a poem or story which we will send to our writers group and we will have a little "contest" to see who the greatest Spring & Summer poet as determined by the folks on the writers group.

Handprint Poems
Nothing melts the heart more than a child hand, especially when it is immortalized in salt dough. Find out to make the dough and look at some of the wonderful poems we have that you can add to your treasure!!

Christmas Gift Exchange Story
Jenn sent in this story that is used for a Christmas Gift Exchange. She says, "Have each guest bring a wrapped gift for the gift exchange. Everyone sits in a circle while a narrator reads the following story. Each time the words LEFT, RIGHT, or WRIGHT are mentioned, the gifts are passed in that direction. Each person will keep the gift they are holding at the end of the story."
It's a lot of fun and you can print our the story to use at your party.

"The Gift of Christmas" - a story
by Linda Thomas
I was late getting off work on Christmas Eve and I hurried across to the Department store, hoping it was still open.I had to buy a scarf as a last minute gift for my daughter, which she just had to have she had told me this morning....I noticed a small boy, about seven years old with his face pressed against the window. He was dressed in shabby clothes, with only a sweater to ward off the cold.
see the rest of this story

Do you love Harry Potter?
Has it helped you to learn the love of reading.
Take a look at what we have on Harry Potter and then come back here and tell us on our writer's groups and perhaps make up a stpry of your own, which you can share with us!!

"Musical Spanish"
Learning Spanish through pop music!
by Stacey Tipton
hosted by Joe Spataro
Stacey Tipton has spoken and taught Spanish for over 14 years, teaching at Tulane University, Berlitz, and in Buenos Aires. She started using music to learn a foreign language many years ago while she was a Rotary Exchange student in Zacatecas, Mexico. Music played a large role in her becoming fluent in Spanish, and also helped her retain my language skills through the years. In this interview, find out how the connection between learning Spanish and music began; how her immersion in Spanish culture and language in Zacatecas, Mexico shaped her as a teenager; her other musical tastes and a special FREE interactive lesson where you can learn Spanish while learning from the popular song, La Cucaracha.

Sunflowers
by Evamarie Spataro
I love taking pictures.
Recently I started taking pictures with a digital camera. I can take as many pictures as I want and don't have to worry about film. What I really like about my camera is that you can store the pictures on regular floppy disks. My dad had a lot of extra disks he doesn't use anymore, so I can take as many pictures as I want. I took some pictures in the garden of the sunflowers in my garden. Also, you can learn how to make a sunflower seed necklace, too!

Reading Rescue 1 - 2 - 3
Raise Your Child's Reading Level 2 Grades
with This Easy 3-Step Program
Interview with  Peggy M. Wilber, M.Ed.
hosted by Joe Spataro
Peggy Wilber  is the cofounder of the Pikes Peak One+One Reading Tutoring Program and teaches parents, grandparents, tutors and educators how to help children improve their reading skills. She says, "Research has shown that children who don’t read well become better readers when they receive auditory training." Find out more about her system, how it relates to dyslexia and ADD/ADHD, and get some practical tips to help your child learn to read better.
Find out more

Summer Reading Ideas
Try to get kids to read this summer.
Take a look at "Luring the Noninterested Reader" from the book, "The Magic Bookshelf." We also have some suggestions from you from our members on the support group. If you have question, you are welcome to join and be part of this growing resource. Also remember that reading and writing go hand in hand. See our creative writing group, too!!

"Meet the Author" series
Want to be an author?
See interviews with our authors in our Meet the Author series. We have all sorts of interesting people in education, cooking, crafts, health, pets and more. It's a great opportunity to get involved and get a feel for what it means to be an author.

Meet the Authors
"The Magic Bookshelf"
by Janie & Richard Jarvis
A Parent's Guide to Showing Growing Minds
the Path to the Best Children's Literature
hosted by Joe Spataro
interview & FREE excerpt: The Reluctant Reader
They have written a comprehensive parents' guide to helping children learn to make the right reading choices while creating a more literary environment in their homes. The book helps parents transform their child's lives and brighten their futures by introducing them early to the very best children's literature. Find our more.

Interview with author JK Rowling
Divorced, living on public assistance in a tiny Edinburgh flat with her infant daughter, J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in stolen moments at a cafe table. Fortunately, Harry Potter rescued her! In this interview, Rowling discusses the birth of our hero, the Manchester hotel where Quidditch was born, and how she might have been a bit like Hermione when she was 11.

Rock Paperweight & Handprints
These projects would make great gifts and a special rememberance for mom, dad or someone special as a holiday gift or keepsake. These two crafts include a way to transform a simple rock and also how to make a special handprint craft. One of our crafters, even did a variation on this craft to make a hanging tree ornament. You can add a little poem to the craft too which we received from one of our crafters.

Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament
(Book 4)
by J. K. Rowling

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling offers up equal parts danger and delight--and any number of dragons, house-elves, and death-defying challenges. Now 14, her orphan hero has only two more weeks with his Muggle relatives before returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Christmas Poems
Here are some very nice Christmas poems we have received over the years. Do you have a poem or a story in you? Tell us and become of our growing writers' support group.

Valentine Poems
Get your fifteen minutes of fame
Do you have a poet's heart? Send us a poem or story which we will send to our writers group and we will have a little "contest" to see who the greatest Valentine poet as determined by the folks on the writers group.

Write Source 2000:
A Guide to Writing, Thinking, & Learning:
by Patrick Sebranek, Verne Meyer, Dave Kemper

It is a user-friendly reference which saves students time and gives them autonomy which they prefer it. It is easy to generate lesson plans to get students started on using the books. Introduce a topic, such as subject-verb agreement or sentence-combining, use examples from Write Source 2000, help students find evidence in their own work of the the problem, and let them see how well the book works to support editing.

Take time to smell the roses during the dog days of summer

basset pics

more Doggie Pics
FREE Mother's Day Ideas
FREE Father's Day Ideas
FREE Summer Ideas
FREE 4th of July