Wednesday, April 29, 2009

We love WeE-books!

John Donne wrote that "no man is an island". However, in the midst of a busy homeschool day, I sometimes feel like the opposite is true. When I taught at an elementary school, if I had a difficult day, I could visit the seasoned, veteran teacher across the hall and glean wisdom from her years of experience. However, at home, there is no one across the hall to listen and offer advice. We homeschoolers have conventions and support group meetings, but they are few and far between. Where is a homeschool mom to turn when she needs help... now?!

TOS Magazine's Schoolhouse Store has the solution, the WeE-book series. This "mini-digital package" offers a selection of thirty different "bite-sized" e-books, each covering a different topic of interest to the homeschool mom. Each e-book is authored by a recognized homeschool expert and lets you "cross the hall" and receive encouragement and advice from Dr. Ruth Beechick, Carol Topp, and Jeannie Fulbright, just to name a few.

Each e-book is written to encourage excellence in homeschooling but is not dry or filled with jargon. The advice is edifying, Bible-based, and applicable. Plus, they are called "WeE-books" for a reason. Each book contains about 20 pages, a quick, easy read... perfect for the busy homeschooling mom.

I have read three books in the collection to date.

Missing in Action or Mentoring in Action, written by Jeannie Fulbright, encourages us to be sensitive to the Lord's leading in the matter of mentoring other moms. She explains that mentoring does not have to be a taxing commitment. Instead, she exhorts us to mentor in "snippets", sprinkling a little salt here and there as the Lord brings others into our lives.

Reading Building Strong Arithmetic Thinking by Dr. Ruth Beechick encouraged me to take a "Home Style" approach to developing mathematical reasoning and problem solving skills in my children. She explains how to make abstract concepts more accessible to concrete thinkers and offers great, easy-to-implement ideas.

Writers Workshop: Getting Children Excited about Writing by Maggie Hogan is my favorite of the three. In our homeschool, we dedicate a few hours per week to a writers workshop time and have experienced great results. For those unfamiliar with the program, this WeE-book explains how the workshop is organized and how to implement it. The information is very well organized and offers several ideas for getting started, involving the entire family, and ensuring success.

Each WeE-book costs $1.95, very affordable. Other topics covered include Classical Education, Beating the Summertime Blues, and The "Me Time" Myth... just to name a few. They are easy to download and will not be expensive to print if you want to organize them in a binder. In fact, to help you organize your collection, you can also download WeE-book Binder Covers for free. Plus, you will never pay shipping. Each book also includes suggested resources if you want to read more on the topic and a page with advice on getting started in homeschool.

The WeE-book collection offers a lot of bang for the buck (plus 95 cents). If you are ready to leave your island, click here and sail over to the TOS Magazine Schoolhouse Store to begin your WeE-book collection today.

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