Squidoo Update:
A whole bunch of you submitted your unschooling links to A Guide To Unschooling on Squidoo and they’ve all been added. I just also added two new sections:

1. A place to share the link to any Unschooling conferences or gatherings you may know of.
2. A spot to add your unschooling Flicr photos.

That page is growing more and more everyday! Take a look and please rate it while you’re there (up towards the top-near the stars). You can also add the link to your (or your favorite) unschooling blogs, websites and magazines.

Spread The Word!

Twitter:
Are you on Twitter? I just added the link to my Twitter page in the right sidebar under “Also Find Me Here”. Feel free to add me and I’ll do the same.

Hi Joanne,

My name is Danielle Gervais. I’m a Casting Producer for ABC’s Primetime show, “Wife Swap.” I hope you don’t mind me contacting you, but we’re gearing up for a fourth season at the moment and we’re currently looking for one-of-a-kind families with plenty of personality! Specifically, we’re looking for parents who strongly believe in alternative forms of education for their children. Please feel free to forward this email on to anyone you think would be interested in taking part in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

In case you are unfamiliar with the show, the premise of Wife Swap is to take two different families and have the moms switch places to experience how another family lives. Half of the week, mom lives the life of the family she is staying with. Then she introduces a “rule change” where she implements rules and activities that her family has. It’s a positive experience for people to not only learn but teach about other families and other ways of life. Wife Swap airs on Disney owned ABC television on Mondays at 8 pm- the family hour!

Requirements: Each family must consist of two parents and at least one child between 7 and 17 and should reside in the continental U.S. (There may be other children living in the home who are older or younger than the required age…as long as one child is in the required age range.)

Participating in the show is a very unique experience that can be life changing for everyone. In addition, each family that tapes an episode of Wife Swap receives $20,000 as compensation for their time. Anyone who refers a family that appears on our program receives $1000 as a ‘thank you’ from us.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this email and I hope to hear from you soon. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me! If you’re interested in learning more, please don’t forget to include your contact information.

Thank you for your time,

Danielle Gervais
646-747-7956
Danielle.Gervais@rdfnewyork.com

I’m supposed to pass it on to other bloggers. I decided to look for some of my favorite blogs that didn’t have one yet, instead of giving it to someone who already had one. In no particular order…

1) Doc’s Sunrise Rants
2) Wired For Noise
3) Phat Mommy
4) Vegan Momma
5) Another Roadside Attraction
6) Warts And All
7) Relaxed Homeschool
8) Meanderings of a Gentle Gull
9) Second to the Right
10) Throwing Marshmellows
11) Learning in Freedom

There’s a few other additions to our sidebar…

1) I linked to my post about Rewarding Children To Learn in the left sidebar under “Posts Of Interest”.
2) I added the link my my sk*rt and Blogging Zoom profiles in the right sidebar under “Also Find Me Here”.
3) My girls and are are taking part in the Creative Everyday Challenge and we’ve added the button in the right sidebar. I’ll try to do a recap on the weekends of the creative things we’ve done each week. We’re looking forward to doing this!

Laura posted about a topic that is always being discussed at the unschooling lists; unschooling and screen time. She talks about how, at one time she gave screen time to much power by limiting it and I love her whole thought process on going from point A to point B.

Lisa at Do Life Right has some great suggestions for recycling certain items. There were a few new ones to me like donating fur coats to PETA. Her whole blog has a lot of useful information.

Hueina Su at Intensive Care for the Nurturer’s Soul hosts the Carnival of Healing. This is the first time I came across this blog carnival although it seems to have been around for a while. Lots of good stuff to read there.

Laurel Springs School asks homeschool students aged 5-18 to answer the question, “What’s Cool about HomeSchool?” through creative and
entertaining videos. This YouTube contest gives homeschoolers everywhere the opportunity to tell their unique story and show people why homeschooling is a creative, exciting, and realistic alternative to traditional education.

About the Laurel Springs “Why Homeschool is Cool” YouTube video contest:
* Homeschoolers may submit their 60-second videos on YouTube now
through January 7, 2008.
* Laurel Springs School will reward the top rated video with a grand
prize of $1000. The grand prize is open to all qualified entrants aged 5-18.
* There will be a first prize of $250 and a second prize of $100 for
each of three age groups categories: Ages 5-9, 10-13, 14-18.
* The contest is open to any K-12 homeschooled student living in any
country.
* All video entries must be in English (no sub-titles).

Visit www.laurelsprings.com/videocontest for more information and Official Rules.

Media Contact:
Chrystal Hopkins
Jones Public Relations
chrystalh@jonespr.net
(502) 402-2720