This week I am blessed to be hosting the 41st Carnival of Homeschooing. We have many delightful entries so let us jump right in.

Since we all teach our children schoolwork before play let us begin with the academic entries. Though I do have to say, I hope we all teach our kids that school is play;) but none the less, onward. Home-Schoolers Rule says, “I am so Excited!” because they have found some great literature resources. Then Dana over at Principled Discovery telles us how to Help Scientists Study Local Bird Populations. This looks like a great program and is well worth the small investment. Andrew over at The Current Events in Education has posted come lesson plan ideas on Constable’s Great Landscapes. Here’s another in Semicolon’s ongoing series of posts about their study of world geography this year. This week we’re in Korea. There’s a link to the entire series in the sidebar. The Thinking Mother shares information about an Internet based distance learning class in electronics that her nine year old will begin later this month through Quick Study Labs. Then we move onto the more creative subjects. Homeschool Hacks explain that some of the best education hacks are the ones that are so much fun, your child asks to do them again and again. They have found that Scrapbooking is Definitely a Homeschool Hack. 7 Valleys Homeschool welcomes fall in with HappyAutumn!! Crafty Ideas.

Big news this week was the resignation of Scott Sommerville from the HSDLA. Scott Somerville has left HSLDA after 14 years as an attorney to tackle the biggest (non-legal) challenge facing homeschooling today: ‘disengaged dads.’ His post from The K-Dad Network asks which fathers aren’t reaching their homeschool potential yet in Which Dads Aren’t Involved?. Barbara at The Imperfect Homeschooler has her own take on the Fath situation with Are Homeschool Dads “Falling Short,” or Just Pooped?

We have some great posts aiding in the practical side of homeschooling. Doctor Homeschool starts us out with Overcoming Faliure Syndrome. It is a guide on how to restore your child’s self-esteem after making the switch from public to homeschool. The Headmistress at the Common Room helps us find the correct recipe for books in education in Miss Mason, Reading, and Education. HomeschoolCPA deals with a question we all have in Homeschooling and Full Time work. How do you do both? Then Janine at Why Homeschool shares some thoughts about how homeschooling parents are doing a much better job at socialization than the public schools in Homeschooling Does Not Equal Isolation, Part 1.

Then it is time to look at some of the benefits of homeschooling. All Info About Home Schooling reminds us that the government of the US is determined to label children as underachievers….but homeschoolers keep overachieving with The Difference. Corn and Oil wrote Homeschoolers Aprecciated about homeschool graduates and college acceptance. PHAT Mommy says that surveys say that homeschoolers have higher GPAs in college than traditionally-schooled students in Homeschoolers Succeed in College – Imagine That! One of the benifits for me are the things offered by the government that my kids don’t need to take advantage of. Gena at Home Where They Belong talks about one of these things with Drugs for “Crazy Teens”.

Unfortunately, homeschooling isn’t all hearts and flowers. High Desert Hi-Jinks asks What Did You Throw Away to Become a Homeschool Mom? (she really wants to know!) Now, like the author says, I think what I gave up was well worth it. Guilt Free Homeschooling talks about People Who Nearly Scared Me Away from Homeschooling. Then Spunky at Spunky HomeSchool talk about The Cons of Homeschooling.

Finally, we get to take a look at some personal entries. Since we are a community, it is nice to see what is going on in each other’s lives. Trivium Pursuit have some great pictures posted from Colleen Moeller Fund Raiser/Wilder Cave Video Premier/Pie Auction/Barn Dance Last Saturday Night. That is a lot of stuff for one night;). My Domestic Church says reading and reading recovery are on her heart and mind this week. She is just posting some random ramblings and thoughts on the topic and how they are affecting my family and what she proposes to do about it. Joanne at A Day in Our Lives shares how her middle child is learning to enjoy writing after school made her feel like she wasn’t good at it in Day 137 ~ Book Reviews & Writing. Malissa’s Merry-go-round is joyful that One month of schooling is done!

That draws this delightful carnival to a close. Next week the carnival will find its home at Homeschool Hacks. If you would like to submit an article or learn more about the carnival please to to Why Homeschool, the owners of the carnival.